storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Xavier]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1456 bytes --]

Hello,

I have a dell xps m1530 which had a seagate 320 gb (not sure which
model exactly).
Anyway that disk was working fine except the last part of the disk
(~20gb or so) was bad and had many bad sectors.
I just stopped to use the bad part of the disk, and I had no problems
for almost one year. I finally decided to get it replaced, and got a
WDC WD3200BEVT-75ZCT2 instead.

I noticed directly that the disk was much more noisy, and also made a
lot of annoying click. After a few days, I check load cycle count,
which is pretty huge :
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age
Always       -       36
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age
Always       -       2481

I noticed this disk, or at least the pattern BEVT appear already 4
times in storage-fixup though the 4rd occurence seems to be either a
bug or a typo (BEVT vs BEVE) :
# Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-75ZCT0
ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
# Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
# Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0
ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
# Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
ata model                       WDC WD*BEVE*

I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)

[-- Attachment #2: dmidecode.log --]
[-- Type: application/octet-stream, Size: 12784 bytes --]

# dmidecode 2.10
SMBIOS 2.4 present.
45 structures occupying 2001 bytes.
Table at 0x000F71E0.

Handle 0xDA00, DMI type 218, 251 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DA FB 00 DA B2 00 0D 5F 0F 37 40 7D 00 00 00 00
		00 7E 00 02 00 00 00 40 00 04 00 01 00 41 00 04
		00 00 00 65 00 05 00 00 00 66 00 05 00 01 00 5E
		00 06 00 01 00 5F 00 06 00 00 00 89 01 07 00 00
		00 8A 01 07 00 01 00 42 00 08 00 01 00 43 00 08
		00 00 00 55 00 09 00 00 00 6D 00 09 00 01 00 2D
		00 0A 00 02 00 6E 00 0A 00 01 00 2E 00 0A 00 00
		00 11 01 0B 00 00 00 10 01 0B 00 01 00 F0 00 0C
		00 01 00 ED 00 0C 00 00 00 41 01 0D 00 01 00 40
		01 0D 00 00 00 47 01 0E 00 01 00 46 01 0E 00 00
		00 4A 01 0F 00 00 00 4B 01 0F 00 01 00 52 01 10
		00 01 00 53 01 10 00 00 00 80 01 11 00 01 00 7F
		01 11 00 00 00 7C 01 12 00 01 00 7B 01 12 00 00
		00 7E 01 13 00 01 00 7D 01 13 00 00 00 92 01 14
		00 00 00 91 01 14 00 01 00 94 01 15 00 00 00 93
		01 15 00 01 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00

Handle 0xDA01, DMI type 218, 251 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DA FB 01 DA B2 00 0D 5F 0F 37 40 86 01 16 00 01
		00 85 01 16 00 00 00 82 01 17 00 01 00 81 01 17
		00 00 00 84 01 18 00 01 00 83 01 18 00 00 00 9B
		01 19 00 00 00 9C 01 19 00 01 00 9D 01 19 00 02
		00 9E 01 19 00 03 00 8D 01 1A 00 00 00 8E 01 1A
		00 01 00 EA 00 1B 00 00 00 EB 00 1B 00 01 00 EC
		00 1B 00 02 00 28 00 1C 00 00 00 29 00 1C 00 01
		00 2A 00 1C 00 02 00 2B 00 1D 00 00 00 2C 00 1E
		00 00 00 E7 00 1F 00 01 00 E6 00 1F 00 00 00 0E
		01 20 00 01 00 0F 01 20 00 00 00 9B 00 21 00 01
		00 9C 00 21 00 00 00 4D 01 22 00 01 00 4C 01 22
		00 00 00 01 01 23 00 00 00 02 01 23 00 01 00 04
		01 23 00 02 00 37 01 24 00 00 00 38 01 24 00 01
		00 D9 01 25 00 01 00 D8 01 25 00 00 00 EA 01 26
		00 00 00 EB 01 26 00 01 00 EC 01 27 00 00 00 ED
		01 27 00 01 00 FF FF 00 00 00 00

Handle 0xDA02, DMI type 218, 65 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DA 41 02 DA B2 00 0D 5F 0F 37 40 76 01 76 01 01
		00 75 01 75 01 01 00 DD 01 DD 01 03 00 DC 01 DC
		01 02 00 01 F0 01 F0 00 00 02 F0 02 F0 00 00 03
		F0 03 F0 00 00 04 F0 04 F0 00 00 FF FF 00 00 00
		00

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
	Vendor: Dell Inc.
	Version: A12
	Release Date: 11/19/2008
	Address: 0xF0000
	Runtime Size: 64 kB
	ROM Size: 2048 kB
	Characteristics:
		ISA is supported
		PCI is supported
		PC Card (PCMCIA) is supported
		PNP is supported
		BIOS is upgradeable
		BIOS shadowing is allowed
		Boot from CD is supported
		Selectable boot is supported
		3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
		8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
		Serial services are supported (int 14h)
		Printer services are supported (int 17h)
		CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
		ACPI is supported
		USB legacy is supported
		AGP is supported
		Smart battery is supported
		BIOS boot specification is supported
		Function key-initiated network boot is supported
		Targeted content distribution is supported
	BIOS Revision: 1.2
	Firmware Revision: 1.2

Handle 0x0100, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
	Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
	Product Name: XPS M1530                       
	Version: Not Specified
	Serial Number: BC1934J
	UUID: 44454C4C-4300-1031-8039-C2C04F33344A
	Wake-up Type: Power Switch
	SKU Number: Not Specified
	Family:  

Handle 0x0200, DMI type 2, 9 bytes
Base Board Information
	Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
	Product Name: 0D501F
	Version:    
	Serial Number: .BC1934J.CN701668AM0F83.
	Asset Tag:           

Handle 0x0300, DMI type 3, 13 bytes
Chassis Information
	Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
	Type: Portable
	Lock: Not Present
	Version: Not Specified
	Serial Number: BC1934J
	Asset Tag: Not Specified
	Boot-up State: Safe
	Power Supply State: Safe
	Thermal State: Safe
	Security Status: None

Handle 0x0400, DMI type 4, 40 bytes
Processor Information
	Socket Designation: Microprocessor
	Type: Central Processor
	Family: Core 2 Duo
	Manufacturer: Intel
	ID: 76 06 01 00 FF FB EB BF
	Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 23, Stepping 6
	Flags:
		FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip)
		VME (Virtual mode extension)
		DE (Debugging extension)
		PSE (Page size extension)
		TSC (Time stamp counter)
		MSR (Model specific registers)
		PAE (Physical address extension)
		MCE (Machine check exception)
		CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported)
		APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported)
		SEP (Fast system call)
		MTRR (Memory type range registers)
		PGE (Page global enable)
		MCA (Machine check architecture)
		CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported)
		PAT (Page attribute table)
		PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension)
		CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported)
		DS (Debug store)
		ACPI (ACPI supported)
		MMX (MMX technology supported)
		FXSR (Fast floating-point save and restore)
		SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions)
		SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2)
		SS (Self-snoop)
		HTT (Hyper-threading technology)
		TM (Thermal monitor supported)
		PBE (Pending break enabled)
	Version: Not Specified
	Voltage: 3.3 V
	External Clock: 200 MHz
	Max Speed: 2100 MHz
	Current Speed: 1200 MHz
	Status: Populated, Enabled
	Upgrade: None
	L1 Cache Handle: 0x0700
	L2 Cache Handle: 0x0701
	L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided
	Serial Number: Not Specified
	Asset Tag: Not Specified
	Part Number: Not Specified
	Core Count: 2
	Core Enabled: 2
	Thread Count: 2
	Characteristics:
		64-bit capable

Handle 0x0700, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
	Socket Designation: Not Specified
	Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
	Operational Mode: Write Back
	Location: Internal
	Installed Size: 32 kB
	Maximum Size: 32 kB
	Supported SRAM Types:
		Unknown
	Installed SRAM Type: Unknown
	Speed: Unknown
	Error Correction Type: None
	System Type: Data
	Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0701, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
	Socket Designation: Not Specified
	Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
	Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
	Location: Internal
	Installed Size: 3072 kB
	Maximum Size: 3072 kB
	Supported SRAM Types:
		Pipeline Burst
	Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
	Speed: 15 ns
	Error Correction Type: None
	System Type: Unified
	Associativity: Other

Handle 0x0804, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
	Internal Reference Designator: USB
	Internal Connector Type: None
	External Reference Designator: Not Specified
	External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
	Port Type: USB

Handle 0x0806, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
	Internal Reference Designator: MONITOR
	Internal Connector Type: None
	External Reference Designator: Not Specified
	External Connector Type: DB-15 female
	Port Type: Video Port

Handle 0x080B, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
	Internal Reference Designator: FireWire
	Internal Connector Type: None
	External Reference Designator: Not Specified
	External Connector Type: IEEE 1394
	Port Type: Firewire (IEEE P1394)

Handle 0x080C, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
	Internal Reference Designator: Modem
	Internal Connector Type: None
	External Reference Designator: Not Specified
	External Connector Type: RJ-11
	Port Type: Modem Port

Handle 0x080D, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
	Internal Reference Designator: Ethernet
	Internal Connector Type: None
	External Reference Designator: Not Specified
	External Connector Type: RJ-45
	Port Type: Network Port

Handle 0x0900, DMI type 9, 13 bytes
System Slot Information
	Designation: PCMCIA 0
	Type: 32-bit PC Card (PCMCIA)
	Current Usage: Available
	Length: Other
	ID: Adapter 0, Socket 0
	Characteristics:
		5.0 V is provided
		3.3 V is provided
		PC Card-16 is supported
		Cardbus is supported
		Zoom Video is supported
		Modem ring resume is supported

Handle 0x0A00, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
	Type: Video
	Status: Enabled
	Description: NVIDIA NB8P-GS                

Handle 0x0A01, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
	Type: Sound
	Status: Enabled
	Description: Sigmatel 9205

Handle 0x0B00, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings
	String 1: Dell System
	String 2: 5[0004]
	String 3: 13[PP25L]

Handle 0x0D00, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
	Installable Languages: 1
		en|US|iso8859-1
	Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

Handle 0x1000, DMI type 16, 15 bytes
Physical Memory Array
	Location: System Board Or Motherboard
	Use: System Memory
	Error Correction Type: None
	Maximum Capacity: 4 GB
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Number Of Devices: 2

Handle 0x1100, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x1000
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 2048 MB
	Form Factor: DIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM_A
	Bank Locator: Not Specified
	Type: DDR
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MHz
	Manufacturer: AD00000000000000
	Serial Number: 00007133
	Asset Tag: 410846
	Part Number: HYMP125S64CP8-S6  

Handle 0x1101, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
	Array Handle: 0x1000
	Error Information Handle: Not Provided
	Total Width: 64 bits
	Data Width: 64 bits
	Size: 2048 MB
	Form Factor: DIMM
	Set: None
	Locator: DIMM_B
	Bank Locator: Not Specified
	Type: DDR
	Type Detail: Synchronous
	Speed: 800 MHz
	Manufacturer: AD00000000000000
	Serial Number: 04004081
	Asset Tag: 410846
	Part Number: HYMP125S64CP8-S6  

Handle 0x1301, DMI type 19, 15 bytes
Memory Array Mapped Address
	Starting Address: 0x00000000000
	Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF
	Range Size: 4 GB
	Physical Array Handle: 0x1000
	Partition Width: 0

Handle 0x1401, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
	Starting Address: 0x00000000000
	Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF
	Range Size: 4 GB
	Physical Device Handle: 0x1100
	Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x1301
	Partition Row Position: 1
	Interleave Position: 1
	Interleaved Data Depth: 8

Handle 0x1411, DMI type 126, 19 bytes
Inactive

Handle 0x1402, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
	Starting Address: 0x00000000000
	Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF
	Range Size: 4 GB
	Physical Device Handle: 0x1101
	Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x1301
	Partition Row Position: 1
	Interleave Position: 2
	Interleaved Data Depth: 8

Handle 0x1412, DMI type 126, 19 bytes
Inactive

Handle 0x1500, DMI type 21, 7 bytes
Built-in Pointing Device
	Type: Touch Pad
	Interface: Bus Mouse
	Buttons: 2

Handle 0x1600, DMI type 22, 26 bytes
Portable Battery
	Location: Sys. Battery Bay
	Manufacturer:                 
	Name: DELL RN8878A    
	Design Capacity: 52000 mWh
	Design Voltage: 11100 mV
	SBDS Version: 1.0
	Maximum Error: 3%
	SBDS Serial Number: 0898
	SBDS Manufacture Date: 2008-10-15
	SBDS Chemistry: LION            
	OEM-specific Information: 0x00000001

Handle 0x1B00, DMI type 27, 12 bytes
Cooling Device
	Type: Fan
	Status: OK
	OEM-specific Information: 0x0000DD00

Handle 0x1C00, DMI type 28, 20 bytes
Temperature Probe
	Description: CPU Internal Temperature
	Location: Processor
	Status: OK
	Maximum Value: 127.0 deg C
	Minimum Value: 0.0 deg C
	Resolution: 1.000 deg C
	Tolerance: 0.5 deg C
	Accuracy: Unknown
	OEM-specific Information: 0x0000DC00

Handle 0x2000, DMI type 32, 11 bytes
System Boot Information
	Status: No errors detected

Handle 0xB000, DMI type 176, 5 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		B0 05 00 B0 00

Handle 0xB100, DMI type 177, 12 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		B1 0C 00 B1 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

Handle 0xD000, DMI type 208, 10 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		D0 0A 00 D0 01 04 FE 00 2E 02

Handle 0xD800, DMI type 216, 9 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		D8 09 00 D8 01 03 01 F0 03
	Strings:
		NVidia Corp.         
		 
		060.084.064.000.008.000  

Handle 0xD900, DMI type 217, 8 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		D9 08 00 D9 01 02 01 03
	Strings:
		US-101
		Proprietary

Handle 0xDB00, DMI type 219, 9 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DB 09 00 DB 03 01 02 03 FF
	Strings:
		System Device Bay
		Floppy, Battery, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD+RW, DVD+/-RW, Hard Disk, BLU-RAY
		DVD+/-RW  

Handle 0xDC00, DMI type 220, 22 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DC 16 00 DC 01 F0 00 00 02 F0 00 00 00 00 03 F0
		04 F0 00 00 00 00

Handle 0xDD00, DMI type 221, 19 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DD 13 00 DD 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
		00 00 00

Handle 0xD400, DMI type 212, 37 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		D4 25 00 D4 74 00 75 00 00 10 2D 2E 5C 00 78 BF
		40 5D 00 78 BF 00 08 00 1D DF 00 03 00 1D DF 00
		FF FF 00 00 00

Handle 0xD401, DMI type 212, 17 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		D4 11 01 D4 74 00 75 00 03 40 49 4A FF FF 00 00
		00

Handle 0xDE00, DMI type 222, 16 bytes
OEM-specific Type
	Header and Data:
		DE 10 00 DE 01 02 FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01

Handle 0x7F00, DMI type 127, 4 bytes
End Of Table


[-- Attachment #3: hdparm.log --]
[-- Type: application/octet-stream, Size: 3000 bytes --]


/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media
	Model Number:       WDC WD3200BEVT-75ZCT2                   
	Serial Number:      WD-WXC0AA9E9477
	Firmware Revision:  11.01A11
	Transport:          Serial, SATA 1.0a, SATA II Extensions, SATA Rev 2.5
Standards:
	Supported: 8 7 6 5 
	Likely used: 8
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	16383
	heads		16	16
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16514064
	LBA    user addressable sectors:  268435455
	LBA48  user addressable sectors:  625142448
	Logical/Physical Sector size:           512 bytes
	device size with M = 1024*1024:      305245 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:      320072 MBytes (320 GB)
	cache/buffer size  = 8192 KBytes
	Nominal Media Rotation Rate: 5400
Capabilities:
	LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
	Queue depth: 32
	Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, with device specific minimum
	R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16	Current = 0
	Advanced power management level: 254
	Recommended acoustic management value: 128, current value: 128
	DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5 *udma6 
	     Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
	PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
	     Cycle time: no flow control=120ns  IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
	Enabled	Supported:
	   *	SMART feature set
	    	Security Mode feature set
	   *	Power Management feature set
	   *	Write cache
	   *	Look-ahead
	   *	Host Protected Area feature set
	   *	WRITE_BUFFER command
	   *	READ_BUFFER command
	   *	NOP cmd
	   *	DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	   *	Advanced Power Management feature set
	    	SET_MAX security extension
	   *	Automatic Acoustic Management feature set
	   *	48-bit Address feature set
	   *	Device Configuration Overlay feature set
	   *	Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE
	   *	FLUSH_CACHE_EXT
	   *	SMART error logging
	   *	SMART self-test
	   *	General Purpose Logging feature set
	   *	WRITE_{DMA|MULTIPLE}_FUA_EXT
	   *	64-bit World wide name
	   *	IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
	   *	Segmented DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
	   *	Gen1 signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
	   *	Gen2 signaling speed (3.0Gb/s)
	   *	Native Command Queueing (NCQ)
	   *	Host-initiated interface power management
	   *	Phy event counters
	    	DMA Setup Auto-Activate optimization
	    	Device-initiated interface power management
	   *	Software settings preservation
	   *	SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
	   *	SCT Long Sector Access (AC1)
	   *	SCT LBA Segment Access (AC2)
	   *	SCT Error Recovery Control (AC3)
	   *	SCT Features Control (AC4)
	   *	SCT Data Tables (AC5)
	    	unknown 206[12] (vendor specific)
	    	unknown 206[13] (vendor specific)
Security: 
	Master password revision code = 65534
		supported
	not	enabled
	not	locked
	not	frozen
	not	expired: security count
		supported: enhanced erase
	106min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 106min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Logical Unit WWN Device Identifier: 50014ee2ae493f1d
	NAA		: 5
	IEEE OUI	: 0014ee
	Unique ID	: 2ae493f1d
Checksum: correct

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Xavier]

On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 2:33 PM, Xavier <shiningxc@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a dell xps m1530 which had a seagate 320 gb (not sure which
> model exactly).
> Anyway that disk was working fine except the last part of the disk
> (~20gb or so) was bad and had many bad sectors.
> I just stopped to use the bad part of the disk, and I had no problems
> for almost one year. I finally decided to get it replaced, and got a
> WDC WD3200BEVT-75ZCT2 instead.
>
> I noticed directly that the disk was much more noisy, and also made a
> lot of annoying click. After a few days, I check load cycle count,
> which is pretty huge :
>  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age
> Always       -       36
> 193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age
> Always       -       2481
>
> I noticed this disk, or at least the pattern BEVT appear already 4
> times in storage-fixup though the 4rd occurence seems to be either a
> bug or a typo (BEVT vs BEVE) :
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-75ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVE*
>
> I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
> is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
> sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)
>

Was it the right place for this information ?
I added the two people who committed to storage-fixup git, just in case.

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Tejun Heo]

Hello,

On 12/14/2009 09:29 PM, Xavier wrote:
>> I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
>> is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
>> sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)

OEMs sometimes load specialized firmwares to drives and BIOS may
configure APM differently according to drive model, so it kind of
matters.

> Was it the right place for this information ?
> I added the two people who committed to storage-fixup git, just in case.

storage-fixup is at best a stop-gap measure until something better and
more intelligent comes along.  It might be able to serve as
documentation later on too.  I don't think it would be wise to
configure APM to certain value after matching only the drive model.
That's too wide.  A good solution would be...

* Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
  models.

* Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
  increase at an excessive rate, warn the user and configure higher
  APM value.

If you replaced the drive yourself, putting hdparm command in one of
boot scripts should do it for now.  :-(

Thanks.

-- 
tejun

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Xavier]

On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 5:39 AM, Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On 12/14/2009 09:29 PM, Xavier wrote:
>>> I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
>>> is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
>>> sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)
>
> OEMs sometimes load specialized firmwares to drives and BIOS may
> configure APM differently according to drive model, so it kind of
> matters.
>

Ah ok, good to know.

>> Was it the right place for this information ?
>> I added the two people who committed to storage-fixup git, just in case.
>
> storage-fixup is at best a stop-gap measure until something better and
> more intelligent comes along.  It might be able to serve as
> documentation later on too.  I don't think it would be wise to
> configure APM to certain value after matching only the drive model.
> That's too wide.  A good solution would be...
>
> * Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
>  models.
>
> * Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
>  increase at an excessive rate, warn the user and configure higher
>  APM value.
>

Yes, that sounds quite good and reasonable to me.

> If you replaced the drive yourself, putting hdparm command in one of
> boot scripts should do it for now.  :-(
>

Well for now, I just edited storage-fixup.conf [1] but I could indeed
just run hdparm directly.

Since this is not the original disk, you think it does not deserve
being in upstream storage-fixup.conf as an additional rule [2] ?
Note that the original disk was under warranty and that the new wd
drive was shipped by dell.

[1]
rule dell-xps-m1530
dmi system-manufacturer		Dell Inc.
dmi system-product-name		XPS M1530
#ata model			SAMSUNG HM*I
ata model			WDC WD*BEVT*
act hdparm -B 254 $DEV

[2]
rule dell-xps-m1530-2
dmi system-manufacturer		Dell Inc.
dmi system-product-name		XPS M1530
ata model			WDC WD*BEVT*
act hdparm -B 254 $DEV

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Tejun Heo]

(cc'ing Kay and Lennart.  Hello.)

This thread was discussing about drives which unload heads too
frequently.  These problems happen mostly on laptops.  Either mobile
HDDs default to too aggressive power saving or laptop firmware
configures them that way.  Anyways, some drives end up unoading and
reloading the head more quite a few times per minute.

Mobile drives tend to have higher load cycle limits than desktop ones
and this information can be found from drive specs published on vendor
websites.  Most modern mobile ones seem to be rated for 600,000
cycles.  Unfortunately, with 5 unloads per minute, the drive will
reach its rated limit only after 83 days of uptime.  IOW, if you use
the machine 8hrs per day, it will expire before one year has passed.

Very short unload timeout is inherently dangerous as idle IO patterns
can differ depending on a lot of things and these rapid load/unload
cycles can happen under various different configurations (it happens
under windows too).  When this problem first appeared, I thought
vendors would realize the danger and it would go away sooner or later.

Expecting it to be a temporary problem, I wrote up a simple script
named storage-fixup which matches the system and harddrive model and
issues safe powersave configuration.  This is a crude and sub-optimal
solution which doesn't scale too well.  Many of those configurations
wouldn't require such APM adjustments and a lot of configurations
where APM re-configuration is required are out there killing their
drives.

A proper solution would be....

* Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
  models.  The former shouldn't be difficult.  Each vendor carries
  only a few product lines at any given time and publish datasheets on
  the webpage.  Plus, all the mobile drives I've seen are rated for
  600,000 cycles.  The latter may be a bit more tricky.  Depending on
  drive model, certain APM values simply don't work (e.g. 255 means
  max power by spec but some firmwares wrap the value and recognize it
  as min power), some values overheats the device and so on.  In most
  cases the value 254 seems safe tho.  storage-fixup.conf should be
  useable as the source for useable values, I think.

* Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
  increase at an excessive rate (e.g. such that it reduces uptime to
  under a year), warn the user and configure higher APM value.

As this problem mostly happens on laptops, I think it's probably best
to handle this from the new desktop disk management thing so that the
user can be warned.  Do you think it's feasible to handle this from
devkit?

On 12/18/2009 10:22 PM, Xavier wrote:
> On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 5:39 AM, Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> On 12/14/2009 09:29 PM, Xavier wrote:
>>>> I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
>>>> is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
>>>> sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)
>>
>> OEMs sometimes load specialized firmwares to drives and BIOS may
>> configure APM differently according to drive model, so it kind of
>> matters.
> 
> Ah ok, good to know.

And the above was my rationale for matching the drive model.  Another
thing was that I really wanted to avoiding forcing APM setting to a
very conserative value where not necessary.

>>> Was it the right place for this information ?
>>> I added the two people who committed to storage-fixup git, just in case.
>>
>> storage-fixup is at best a stop-gap measure until something better and
>> more intelligent comes along.  It might be able to serve as
>> documentation later on too.  I don't think it would be wise to
>> configure APM to certain value after matching only the drive model.
>> That's too wide.  A good solution would be...
>>
>> * Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
>>  models.
>>
>> * Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
>>  increase at an excessive rate, warn the user and configure higher
>>  APM value.
>>
> 
> Yes, that sounds quite good and reasonable to me.
> 
>> If you replaced the drive yourself, putting hdparm command in one of
>> boot scripts should do it for now.  :-(
>>
> 
> Well for now, I just edited storage-fixup.conf [1] but I could indeed
> just run hdparm directly.
> 
> Since this is not the original disk, you think it does not deserve
> being in upstream storage-fixup.conf as an additional rule [2] ?

Unfortunately, yeah, for now.

Let's see if we can find a scaleable solution.

Thanks.

-- 
tejun

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Robert Hancock]

On 12/20/2009 10:34 PM, Tejun Heo wrote:
> (cc'ing Kay and Lennart.  Hello.)
>
> This thread was discussing about drives which unload heads too
> frequently.  These problems happen mostly on laptops.  Either mobile
> HDDs default to too aggressive power saving or laptop firmware
> configures them that way.  Anyways, some drives end up unoading and
> reloading the head more quite a few times per minute.
>
> Mobile drives tend to have higher load cycle limits than desktop ones
> and this information can be found from drive specs published on vendor
> websites.  Most modern mobile ones seem to be rated for 600,000
> cycles.  Unfortunately, with 5 unloads per minute, the drive will
> reach its rated limit only after 83 days of uptime.  IOW, if you use
> the machine 8hrs per day, it will expire before one year has passed.
>
> Very short unload timeout is inherently dangerous as idle IO patterns
> can differ depending on a lot of things and these rapid load/unload
> cycles can happen under various different configurations (it happens
> under windows too).  When this problem first appeared, I thought
> vendors would realize the danger and it would go away sooner or later.
>
> Expecting it to be a temporary problem, I wrote up a simple script
> named storage-fixup which matches the system and harddrive model and
> issues safe powersave configuration.  This is a crude and sub-optimal
> solution which doesn't scale too well.  Many of those configurations
> wouldn't require such APM adjustments and a lot of configurations
> where APM re-configuration is required are out there killing their
> drives.
>
> A proper solution would be....
>
> * Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
>    models.  The former shouldn't be difficult.  Each vendor carries
>    only a few product lines at any given time and publish datasheets on
>    the webpage.  Plus, all the mobile drives I've seen are rated for
>    600,000 cycles.  The latter may be a bit more tricky.  Depending on
>    drive model, certain APM values simply don't work (e.g. 255 means
>    max power by spec but some firmwares wrap the value and recognize it
>    as min power), some values overheats the device and so on.  In most
>    cases the value 254 seems safe tho.  storage-fixup.conf should be
>    useable as the source for useable values, I think.
>
> * Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
>    increase at an excessive rate (e.g. such that it reduces uptime to
>    under a year), warn the user and configure higher APM value.
>
> As this problem mostly happens on laptops, I think it's probably best
> to handle this from the new desktop disk management thing so that the
> user can be warned.  Do you think it's feasible to handle this from
> devkit?

I think that would be a good approach if we can do it. The situation 
definitely isn't ideal though. Has anyone approached any of the laptop 
manufacturers or drive manufacturers regarding this problem? I suspect 
there's probably a lack of awareness about it. (Though it could just be 
that Windows usually accesses the drive so often that it just never 
really reaches the unload timeouts..)

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Tejun Heo]

Hello,

On 12/21/2009 01:34 PM, Tejun Heo wrote:
> (cc'ing Kay and Lennart.  Hello.)
> 
> A proper solution would be....
> 
> * Build database of load cycle limits and useable APM values on drive
>   models.  The former shouldn't be difficult.  Each vendor carries
>   only a few product lines at any given time and publish datasheets on
>   the webpage.  Plus, all the mobile drives I've seen are rated for
>   600,000 cycles.  The latter may be a bit more tricky.  Depending on
>   drive model, certain APM values simply don't work (e.g. 255 means
>   max power by spec but some firmwares wrap the value and recognize it
>   as min power), some values overheats the device and so on.  In most
>   cases the value 254 seems safe tho.  storage-fixup.conf should be
>   useable as the source for useable values, I think.
> 
> * Monitor load cycle count by smart commands and if it continues to
>   increase at an excessive rate (e.g. such that it reduces uptime to
>   under a year), warn the user and configure higher APM value.
> 
> As this problem mostly happens on laptops, I think it's probably best
> to handle this from the new desktop disk management thing so that the
> user can be warned.  Do you think it's feasible to handle this from
> devkit?

Lennart, any thought on this?

Thanks.

-- 
tejun

Re: storage fixup laptop model dependent ?

[Xavier Chantry]

On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 2:33 PM, Xavier <shiningxc@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have a dell xps m1530 which had a seagate 320 gb (not sure which
> model exactly).
> Anyway that disk was working fine except the last part of the disk
> (~20gb or so) was bad and had many bad sectors.
> I just stopped to use the bad part of the disk, and I had no problems
> for almost one year. I finally decided to get it replaced, and got a
> WDC WD3200BEVT-75ZCT2 instead.
>
> I noticed directly that the disk was much more noisy, and also made a
> lot of annoying click. After a few days, I check load cycle count,
> which is pretty huge :
>  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age
> Always       -       36
> 193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   200   200   000    Old_age
> Always       -       2481
>
> I noticed this disk, or at least the pattern BEVT appear already 4
> times in storage-fixup though the 4rd occurence seems to be either a
> bug or a typo (BEVT vs BEVE) :
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-75ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD1600BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVT*
> # Reported drive model: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0
> ata model                       WDC WD*BEVE*
>
> I am just wondering : does it really matter in which laptop that disk
> is used ? As laptop disk can be changed/replaced easily, this also
> sounds strange to me, but there might be a good reason I am missing :)
>

This disk died after two months usage.
I don't know what I am doing wrong, or if Dell just gives my crappy
disks, or if my laptop is doing crazy things with it, or ...

The new one is TOSHIBA MK3263GSX , and I get crazy loading/unloading
with an annoying noise, just like with the WD :
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age
Always       -       402
In half a day...

I just noticed the Power on Hours went crazy :
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age
Always       -       603

I must have some magic power for destroying any hard drives that I touch :)
Unless Power_On_Hours actually means Power_On_Minutes , I will monitor
that field too.

And I will just live with hdparm -B254 , no big deal !

cheers
Xavier