Ubuntu file system going into "lockdown" mode

[Jerry Feldman]

On 10/11/2010 09:36 AM, Bill Bogstad wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 11, 2010 at 8:32 AM,  <edwardp-mh2Nk+tgbQM at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>  =20
>> Richard Pieri wrote:
>>    =20
>>> Either save your syslog files on a different disk entirely (USB flash=
 drive, perhaps) or to a syslog server so that when the fault happens aga=
in it can be recorded.
>>>
>>>      =20
>> I looked at the last-saved syslog file (syslog.1) and there were only
>> two items that would seem to indicate what looks like an error.  Both =
of
>> these were repeated in the syslog with different timestamps:
>>
>>    =20
>>> Oct  3 18:57:45 ubuntu kernel: [   83.925182] ata1.00: error: { ICRC
>>> ABRT }
>>> Oct  3 18:58:45 ubuntu kernel: [  143.894672] ata1.00: failed command=
:
>>> READ DMA
>>>      =20
> Google is your friend....
>
> https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Libata_error_messages
>
> says:
>
> ICRC	Interface CRC error during Ultra DMA transfer - often either a
> bad cable or power problem, though possibly an incorrect Ultra DMA
> mode setting by the driver
>
> Which was referenced in this thread:
>
> http://linux.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/Kernel/2008-06/msg04447.html
>
> That is exactly the kind of error which will cause the kernel to put
> the disk into read-only mode.   If you are lucky, it could just be a
> bad cable or power supply (as suggested).   I suspect
> that a bad interface on the drive or motherboard could cause those
> errors as well.   You might try doing massive amounts of read IO to
> see if you can force the problem to occur.
> (Something like "dd < /dev/hd.... > /dev/null.)   If you can force the
> problem to occur, then try replacing the cable and try to force an
> error again.  If it doesn't happen, then you are done.
> If not, I would personally not spend that much more time on hardware
> that old (32bit Athlon with max of 512Mbyte of RAM?); but you could
> start swapping out the other relevant parts:
> power supply, motherboard, drive.
>
> Bill Bogstad
>
> P.S. You probably have multiple ATA connectors on your motherboard.
> If so, it might be possible to move the drive to the other connector.
> It sounds like this is the only hard drive in the system so the other
> connector may be free.  I can't remember if typical BIOSes will boot
> from the second ATA interface so this might not help much.  Also, the
> drive names/numbers would change so your grub config file and
> /etc/fstab might need to be modified to point to the new interface.
>
>  =20
In the past I have had to replace ribbon cables after encountering
errors. I would, however, try to run a complete diagnostic on your
system. The Ultimate Boot CD, http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/, has a
number of excellent utilities you can use. I suspect that the issue with
that system is just that it is not aging gracefully, and would do much
better if submerged in Salem harbor :-)

--=20
Jerry Feldman <gaf-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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