Possible problem with IDE device driver in kernel.

I would like to report a bug that I've seen in a few linux kernels now. This may be a serious problem with the IDE controler software because it may cause a hard drive to ware out over a period of time. I've noticed for a long time that when linux is loaded the hard drive light on my computer goes on and stays on. It never turns off. If I boot with windows the light turns off. I think it may be the device driver that forgets to turn of the light. Could one of you please confirm if this is a problem with the kernel and get back to me if it is not.

Thank you,

Philip V. Neves

I experience the same feature, but not only in Linux.

BeOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD do not turn off the IDE light.

The manual for my main board (GA-6BXDS) sais that the light does not turn off if no SCSI devices are attached to the board and SCSI is set to 'off' in the BIOS. But even if I turn it on, the light is constantly lit.

If I use a kernel compiled for Pentium (not PII which I really have) the lamp does turn off sometimes (I mean with some kernels, I don't see any other regularity).

I'm using a western Digital Caviar disk (WDC AC29100D) for over 2 years now, and everything but for the light is fine.

Cezary Kaliszyk