The head unloading problem is as described here: <https://ata.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Known_issues#Drives_which_perform_frequent_head_unloads_under_Linux> I am intending that this report contributes to that table. (Aside: many of the links in that table are broken.) My computer is an HP Compaq 2710p notebook/tablet. <http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12718_na/12718_na.html> It has a Toshiba MK8009GAH 80GB 1.8inch 4200RPM Hard Drive. I recently replaced a similar one that failed, perhaps due to excessive head unloading. The replacement disk was used. When I got it: 5349 Power_On_Hours 49711 Load_Cycle_Count 9.29 cycles / hour Now: 5698 Power_On_Hours 87423 Load_Cycle_Count While I've had it (i.e. delta of above POH and LCC numbers): 349 Power_On_Hours 37712 Load_Cycle_Count 108.06 cycles / hour It sure looks like Linux is worse than whatever system used the disk before I got it. (For what it's worth, my failing disk reported 21252 Power_On_Hours and 526387 Load_Cycle_Count. This isn't really useful data since I don't know what OS was used with it before I purchased it last summer.) "hdparm -B 254 /dev/sda" stops the count running up. "hdparm -B 255 /dev/sda" does not. The OS I use on this system is x86-64 CentOS 6.3. I don't actually know why it is accessing the disk 108 times per hour when the machine is mostly idle. Here is a transcript of dmidecode and hdparm output. Note that Advanced power management level is reported as 254 because I set it that way. The default was 128. ==== start of transcript ==== [root@redhop hugh]# dmidecode # dmidecode 2.11 SMBIOS 2.4 present. 27 structures occupying 1291 bytes. Table at 0x000F2EAF. Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes BIOS Information Vendor: Hewlett-Packard Version: 68MOU Ver. F.15 Release Date: 01/22/2010 Address: 0xE0000 Runtime Size: 128 kB ROM Size: 1024 kB Characteristics: PCI 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: 15.21 Firmware Revision: 116.58 Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes System Information Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Product Name: HP Compaq 2710p Version: F.15 Serial Number: USH826020A UUID: 1065C9F5-8D46-DD11-0298-98B710202929 Wake-up Type: Power Switch SKU Number: 434566R-999 Family: 103C_5336AN Handle 0x0040, DMI type 126, 48 bytes Inactive Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 8 bytes Base Board Information Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Product Name: 30C8 Version: KBC Version 74.3A 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: USH826020A Asset Tag: USH826020A 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: FD 06 00 00 FF FB EB BF Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 15, Stepping 13 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 (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported) SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions) SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2) SS (Self-snoop) HTT (Multi-threading) TM (Thermal monitor supported) PBE (Pending break enabled) Version: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU U7500 @ 1.06GHz Voltage: 1.1 V External Clock: 133 MHz Max Speed: 1067 MHz Current Speed: 1067 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: 2048 MB Form Factor: SODIMM Set: None Locator: DIMM #1 Bank Locator: Not Specified Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Kingston Serial Number: 4B1E9789 Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: 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: 2048 MB Form Factor: SODIMM Set: None Locator: DIMM #2 Bank Locator: Not Specified Type: DDR2 Type Detail: Synchronous Speed: 667 MHz Manufacturer: Nanya Technology Serial Number: C421170C Asset Tag: Not Specified Part Number: M2N2G64TU8HD6B-3C Handle 0x000D, DMI type 19, 15 bytes Memory Array Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF Range Size: 4 GB Physical Array Handle: 0x000A Partition Width: 2 Handle 0x000E, DMI type 20, 19 bytes Memory Device Mapped Address Starting Address: 0x00000000000 Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF Range Size: 2 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: 0x00080000000 Ending Address: 0x000FFFFFFFF Range Size: 2 GB Physical Device Handle: 0x000C Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x000D Partition Row Position: 2 Handle 0x0010, DMI type 22, 26 bytes Portable Battery Location: Primary Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard Manufacture Date: 09/11/2007 Serial Number: 00307 Name: HP Chemistry: Lithium Ion Design Capacity: 40000 mWh Design Voltage: 11100 mV SBDS Version: Not Specified Maximum Error: Unknown OEM-specific Information: 0x00000000 Handle 0x0011, DMI type 126, 26 bytes Inactive Handle 0x0012, DMI type 32, 11 bytes System Boot Information Status: No errors detected Handle 0x0013, DMI type 126, 8 bytes Inactive Handle 0x0014, DMI type 126, 20 bytes Inactive Handle 0x0085, DMI type 133, 34 bytes OEM-specific Type Header and Data: 85 22 85 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Strings: No battery Handle 0x0086, DMI type 134, 34 bytes OEM-specific Type Header and Data: 86 22 86 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Strings: Handle 0x0015, DMI type 144, 26 bytes OEM-specific Type Header and Data: 90 1A 15 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 Handle 0x0016, DMI type 127, 4 bytes End Of Table [root@redhop hugh]# hdparm -I /dev/sda /dev/sda: ATA device, with non-removable media Model Number: TOSHIBA MK8009GAH Serial Number: X835WF9AW Firmware Revision: BS021C Standards: Supported: 7 6 5 4 Likely used: 7 Configuration: Logical max current cylinders 16383 16383 heads 16 16 sectors/track 63 63 -- CHS current addressable sectors: 16514064 LBA user addressable sectors: 156301488 Logical Sector size: 512 bytes Physical Sector size: 512 bytes device size with M = 1024*1024: 76319 MBytes device size with M = 1000*1000: 80026 MBytes (80 GB) cache/buffer size = unknown 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: 254 DMA: sdma0 sdma1 sdma2 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 * NOP cmd * DOWNLOAD_MICROCODE * Advanced Power Management feature set * Device Configuration Overlay feature set * Mandatory FLUSH_CACHE * SMART error logging * SMART self-test * General Purpose Logging feature set * IDLE_IMMEDIATE with UNLOAD * WRITE_UNCORRECTABLE_EXT command Security: Master password revision code = 65534 supported not enabled not locked frozen not expired: security count not supported: enhanced erase 82min for SECURITY ERASE UNIT. HW reset results: CBLID- above Vih Device num = 0 determined by the jumper Checksum: correct [root@redhop hugh]# exit ==== end of transcript ==== -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-ide" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
