# [SOLVED] DriveReady SeekComplete Errors

## LMCBoy

Hello,

I realize there are many posts on this topic already, but I think I've read most of them and am still stumped.

I have a WD Caviar 200GB HD, for which I am using the ATA interface.  I get error messages in my kernel log, when the drive is being accessed:

```
Jul 25 19:51:44 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

Jul 25 20:15:23 [kernel] spurious 8259A interrupt: IRQ15.

Jul 25 20:18:13 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

                - Last output repeated 27 times -

Jul 25 22:12:04 [kernel] ata1: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC }

Jul 25 22:12:06 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

                - Last output repeated 16 times -

Jul 25 22:17:21 [kernel] ata1: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC }

Jul 25 22:17:23 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

                - Last output repeated 76 times -

Jul 25 22:37:36 [kernel] ata1: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC }

Jul 25 22:37:36 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

                - Last output repeated 33 times -

Jul 25 22:47:02 [kernel] ata1: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC }

Jul 25 22:47:02 [kernel] ata1: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }

```

Under heavy disk usage, my computer will often completely freeze up.  First, the UI becomes unresponsive, then eventually even the mouse cursor can't be moved.  At this point, a power cycle is my only option.

System details:

* x86_64  2.6.9-gentoo-r1

* IDE/ATA controller is nVidia nFroce3

* using libata, so I can't run smartmontools, and hdparm is useless

* not using reiserFS or RAID

* WinXP diagnostic program from WD reports nothing wrong with the HD

Any ideas?

UPDATE: Got it.  After totally trashing my root partition (ran e2fsck, and "repaired" hundreds of errors, which rendered my system unbootable), I reformatted the partition and reinstalled Gentoo.  When I got my system back up, I was dismayed to see the same errors in my logs  :Sad: .  Before chucking the disk, I decided to try reseating the ATA cable.  Since I did that, I have seen no more error messages, even under heavy disk usage.  Sheesh!

Thanks for the help everyone.   Gentoo:  It's the forums!

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## LMCBoy

Well, I tried booting from a Knoppix 3.9 CD (which uses kernel 2.6.11 and i686 arch), and am getting the same errors.  I'm pretty stumped.  The windows diagnostic utility claims there's nothing wrong with the drive; but what else could it be?  I guess I'll try reseating the ribbon cable...

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## elektronisch

Time to get a new hard drive  :Sad: 

I used to get those errors with my drive that was failing..

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## LMCBoy

Yeah...I'm worried, though, that WD won't replace the drive, since their diagnostic tool reports no problem.

I guess I'll just send it to them and get another drive in the meantime.

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## tranquilcool

i have a new drive but get the same errors depending on the kernel i use. for example with cko patches i don't have any errors with others yes. maybe it's not so much a drive problem- at least that's what i think.

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## zieloo

Boot a LiveCD of your choice (gentoo one will be ok) and play a little bit with hdparm. But before you do examine the logs for the mentioned messages. If you happen to see them reboot and boot again but with ide=nodma option (I know it's insane, but try). Check the logs. No information - you will need to spend a few more bucks on a new hard disk; still there? - there's something wrong with the drivers, check another kernel sources (probably vanilla), what are you using now btw?

 *Quote:*   

> Jul 25 22:17:21 [kernel] ata1: error=0x84 { DriveStatusError BadCRC } 

 

Bad CRC ?

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## radoslawc

hi all 

this message is pretty normal with some hdds (especially old WD) and it's not dying message.

Anyway from kernel config help:

```

CONFIG_IDEDISK_MULTI_MODE:                                              x  

  x                                                                         x  

  x If you get this error, try to say Y here:                               x  

  x                                                                         x  

  x hda: set_multmode: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }        x  

  x hda: set_multmode: error=0x04 { DriveStatusError }                      x  

  x                                                                         x  

  x If in doubt, say N.

```

its under device drivers/ATA support/use multimode by default

cheers

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## zieloo

 *radoslawc wrote:*   

> hi all 
> 
> this message is pretty normal with some hdds (especially old WD) and it's not dying message.
> 
> Anyway from kernel config help:
> ...

 

You're correct to some extend but you cannot exclude the possibility of drive failure. Better safe than sorry.

Pozdrawiam!

----------

## Raistlin

Hi,

maybe testing the drive's fitness with smartctl could reveal any _real_ error  :Smile: 

anyway: I can confirm that some error messages depend on the kernel version one uses (I had similar experiences). Also the age of the BIOS does play a role: in one of my old notebooks I get a IDNF (ID Not Found) error on startup - it's annoying, and it spams the S.M.A.R.T. error log, but it does no harm  :Smile: 

Good luck!

Cheers, R.

----------

## LMCBoy

Hi everyone, 

Thanks for the feedback, but I haven't found a solution yet.

I can't run smartctl, and I can't run hdparm, because I am using the ata interface.  I tried loading a livecd (Knoppix 3.9 i686), but it was still using ata, so no joy.

I've already established that the error messages are not "harmless", because under heavy disk usage, my system will lock up hard.  So unless those lockups are unrelated to the error messages, the messages are bad news.

I tried updating to a newer kernel with a different patchset (2.6.12-ck3-r1), but I am still getting the errors.  Still haven't heard back from WD.  I wish the Windows diagnostic tool had seen the problem, because then I could just send it back for warranty replacement  :Sad: 

----------

## evoweiss

Hi,

Tell me, what file system are you running? I had the very same problem when running the xfs file system (especially as there was a power outage or three where I'm at and I had no UPS.) I didn't get a lock up, but the number of errors caused my driver to switch to read only mode and then all you could do was reboot. I did several tests of my HDD using the diagnostic stuff built into my computer and nothing turned up as bad. When I rebuilt gentoo, I chose ext3 for my file system. I have never once gotten the error again.

Best,

Alex

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## widan

 *LMCBoy wrote:*   

> I can't run smartctl, and I can't run hdparm, because I am using the ata interface.  I tried loading a livecd (Knoppix 3.9 i686), but it was still using ata, so no joy.

 

You need a kernel patched for ATA passthru. A patch for 2.6.12 can be found here. Once you're running the patched kernel, use "smartctl -d ata -a /dev/sda".

Also try another SATA cable, I think that BadCRC does not mean "disk failure", but "transmission error on the ATA bus". The disk received a data packet with a bad CRC, which means the command got corrupted during the transfer.

 *LMCBoy wrote:*   

> I've already established that the error messages are not "harmless", because under heavy disk usage, my system will lock up hard.

 

The error handling in libata is still incomplete (it just passes the error back to the block layer, and does not attempt to reset the ATA bus and/or the controller chip), so it is quite possible that some error got the ATA controller confused and made access to the disk impossible (the block layer will do some retries, but if the controller is too confused, it won't be enough). That can lead to problems if the kernel can't access its swap partition.

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