frequent disk head unloads under Linux: additional hardware

Hi,

I've been highly frustrated for more than a year about this problem with my HP nx7400 laptop and its Seagate Momentus 5400.2 disk (which is otherwise a really fine piece of equipment). By switching from Ubuntu to openSUSE today, I had to look for the Suse way of fixing this up (instead of editing /etc/hdparm.conf on Ubuntu), and I stumbled upon the storage-fixup script which is really nice!

As my harddisk isn't included in by default yet, I've attached the required information to this e-mail.

Adding this to /etc/storage-fixup.conf solves it:

# Reported drive model: ST9100824AS
rule hp-nx7400
dmi system-manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
dmi system-product-name HP Compaq nx7400*
ata model ST9*AS
act hdparm -B 255 $DEV

An unfortunate side-effect of meddling with the power saving on my system occurs at shutdown: for some reason I can clearly hear the drive spin down and then suddenly spin up and initialize again before the power is killed... This doesn't happen if I leave everything at default settings. Restoring the default setting (128) manually before shutting down doesn't prevent this either. It's weird and I've been working around it by rebooting and using the power button when I see GRUB appear.

I don't know if others have reported similar behavior.

Thanks for the effort,
Greetings,

Pascal Vandeputte

# dmidecode 2.9
SMBIOS 2.4 present.
23 structures occupying 1029 bytes.
Table at 0x000F3A78.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
Vendor: Hewlett-Packard
Version: 68YGU Ver. F.0C
Release Date: 07/25/2007
Address: 0xE0000
Runtime Size: 128 kB
ROM Size: 1024 kB
Characteristics:
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
EDD 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) ACPI is supported
USB legacy is supported
LS-120 boot 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: 15.12
Firmware Revision: 64.23

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Product Name: HP Compaq nx7400 (RH403ET#UUG)
Version: F.0C
Serial Number: CNU6460H7D
UUID: F209EE5C-97D7-DD11-1198-6D990C43B529 Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: RH403ET#UUG
Family: 103C_5336AN

Handle 0x0040, DMI type 126, 33 bytes
Inactive

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 8 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Product Name: 30A2
Version: KBC Version 40.17
Serial Number: Not Specified

Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 13 bytes
Chassis Information
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Type: Notebook
Lock: Not Present
Version: Not Specified
Serial Number: CNU6460H7D
Asset Tag: CNU6460H7D
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Safe
Security Status: External Interface Enabled

Handle 0x0041, DMI type 126, 32 bytes
Inactive

Handle 0x0004, DMI type 4, 35 bytes
Processor Information
Socket Designation: U10
Type: Central Processor
Family: Pentium M
Manufacturer: Intel(R)
ID: F6 06 00 00 FF FB EB BF
Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 15, 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: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T5600 @ 1.83GHz
Voltage: 1.1 V
External Clock: 166 MHz
Max Speed: 1833 MHz
Current Speed: 1833 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: None
L1 Cache Handle: 0x0005
L2 Cache Handle: 0x0006
L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided
Serial Number: Not Specified
Asset Tag: Not Specified
Part Number: Not Specified

Handle 0x0005, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: Internal L1 Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1 Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 64 KB
Maximum Size: 64 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Unknown
System Type: Unified
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0006, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: Internal L2 Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2 Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: External
Installed Size: 2048 KB
Maximum Size: 2048 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: None
System Type: Unified
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0007, DMI type 9, 13 bytes
System Slot Information
Designation: PC CARD-Slot 0
Type: 32-bit PC Card (PCMCIA)
Current Usage: Available
Length: Short
ID: Adapter 0, Socket 0
Characteristics:
5.0 V is provided
3.3 V is provided
PC Card-16 is supported
Cardbus is supported
PME signal is supported

Handle 0x0008, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
Type: Video
Status: Enabled
Description: 8

Handle 0x0009, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings

	String 1: www.hp.com
	String 2: ABS 70/71 79 7A 7B 7C

Handle 0x000A, 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: No Error
Number Of Devices: 2

Handle 0x000B, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000A
Error Information Handle: No Error
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: SODIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM #1
Bank Locator: Not Specified
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
Manufacturer: 7F7F7F7F7F510000
Serial Number: 04187626
Asset Tag: Not Specified
Part Number: 64T128021HDL3SB

Handle 0x000C, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000A
Error Information Handle: No Error
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: SODIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM #2
Bank Locator: Not Specified
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 667 MHz (1.5 ns)
Manufacturer: CE00000000000000
Serial Number: F45BF1C1
Asset Tag: Not Specified
Part Number: M4 70T2953CZ3-CE6

Handle 0x000D, DMI type 19, 15 bytes
Memory Array Mapped Address

	Starting Address: 0x00000000000
	Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF
	Range Size: 2 GB
	Physical Array Handle: 0x000A
	Partition Width: 0

Handle 0x000E, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address

	Starting Address: 0x00000000000
	Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
	Range Size: 1 GB
	Physical Device Handle: 0x000B
	Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000D
	Partition Row Position: 1

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address

	Starting Address: 0x00040000000
	Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF
	Range Size: 1 GB
	Physical Device Handle: 0x000C
	Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000D
	Partition Row Position: 2

Handle 0x0010, DMI type 32, 11 bytes
System Boot Information
Status: No errors detected

Handle 0x0085, DMI type 133, 34 bytes
OEM-specific Type

	Header and Data:
		85 22 85 00 01 A0 0F 56 07 2E 07 02 00 2B 00 1B
		00 40 30 00 00 30 2A 02 E0 40 00 00 12 10 15 10
		1B 10
	Strings:
		01101 10/13/2006
		HP                

Handle 0x0086, DMI type 126, 34 bytes
Inactive

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 144, 26 bytes
OEM-specific Type
Header and Data:
90 1A 11 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00

Handle 0x0012, DMI type 127, 4 bytes
End Of Table

/dev/sda:

ATA device, with non-removable media

	Model Number:       ST9100824AS                             
	Serial Number:      5PL3FK4S
	Firmware Revision:  7.24    
Standards:
	Supported: 7 6 5 4 
	Likely used: 8
Configuration:
	Logical		max	current
	cylinders	16383	17475
	heads		16	15
	sectors/track	63	63
	--
	CHS current addressable sectors:   16513875
	LBA    user addressable sectors:  195371568
	LBA48  user addressable sectors:  195371568
	device size with M = 1024*1024:       95396 MBytes
	device size with M = 1000*1000:      100030 MBytes (100 GB)

Capabilities:
LBA, IORDY(can be disabled)
Standby timer values: spec'd by Standard, no device specific minimum
R/W multiple sector transfer: Max = 16 Current = 16
Advanced power management level: 128
Recommended acoustic management value: 254, current value: 0
DMA: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
Cycle time: min=120ns recommended=120ns
PIO: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
Cycle time: no flow control=240ns IORDY flow control=120ns
Commands/features:
Enabled Supported:
* SMART feature set
Security Mode feature set
* Power Management feature set
* Write cache
* Look-ahead
* WRITE_BUFFER command
* READ_BUFFER command
* DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE
* Advanced Power 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
* IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD
* SATA-I signaling speed (1.5Gb/s)
* Phy event counters
* Device-initiated interface power management
* Software settings preservation
* SMART Command Transport (SCT) feature set
Security:
Master password revision code = 65534
supported
not enabled
not locked
frozen
not expired: security count
supported: enhanced erase
62min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. 62min for ENHANCED SECURITY ERASE UNIT.
Checksum: correct

smartctl 5.39 2008-05-08 21:56 [x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-8 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===

Model Family:     Seagate Momentus 5400.2 series
Device Model:     ST9100824AS
Serial Number:    5PL3FK4S
Firmware Version: 7.24
User Capacity:    100,030,242,816 bytes
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   7
ATA Standard is:  Exact ATA specification draft version not indicated
Local Time is:    Sun Sep  7 21:20:50 2008 CEST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status: (0x82) Offline data collection activity
was completed without error. Auto Offline Data Collection: Enabled.
Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed
without error or no self-test has ever been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection: ( 426) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities: (0x5b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
Auto Offline data collection on/off support. Suspend Offline collection upon new command.
Offline surface scan supported. Self-test supported.
No Conveyance Self-test supported. Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
power-saving mode.
Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported.
No General Purpose Logging support.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time: ( 63) minutes.
SCT capabilities: (0x0001) SCT Status supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10 Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:

ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000f   118   099   006    Pre-fail  Always       -       185697728
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0002   095   094   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0033   100   100   020    Pre-fail  Always       -       782
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   036    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000f   079   060   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       85069371
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   095   095   000    Old_age   Always       -       4489
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   100   034    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0033   100   100   020    Pre-fail  Always       -       700
187 Reported_Uncorrect      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
189 High_Fly_Writes         0x003a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0022   060   055   045    Old_age   Always       -       40 (Lifetime Min/Max 40/40)
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       38
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age   Always       -       126746
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   040   045   000    Old_age   Always       -       40 (0 8 0 0)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x001a   082   054   000    Old_age   Always       -       195816853
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0010   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x003e   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
202 TA_Increase_Count       0x0032   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

SMART Error Log Version: 1
No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1

Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%      1947         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%      1945         -

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1

 SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS
    1        0        0  Not_testing
    2        0        0  Not_testing
    3        0        0  Not_testing
    4        0        0  Not_testing
    5        0        0  Not_testing

Selective self-test flags (0x0):
After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.
If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

Hello,

How much does the Load_Cycle_Count increase under idle usage per hour without the adjustment?

That's a known problem of certain HP laptops. Please take a look at the following bug report.

http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=8855

Thanks.

tejun

About thrice per minute:

# while : ; do smartctl --all /dev/sda | grep ^193; sleep 60; done
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126856
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126859
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126862
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126865
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126867
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   037   037   000    Old_age  
Always       -       126869

I reached the first 120000 cycles within 10 months of moderate usage (it's my personal laptop, not used for my day job).

It occurs in Windows XP as well, but not as frequently.

Thanks for the pointer, I have already submitted my own data in that topic in the mean time. I hope that someday I can install the latest distro without worrying about hdparm tweaks :-)

Greetings,

Pascal

added

tejun