On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 3:51 AM, Akhil <akhilesh.noida@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I am not sure whether this is a relevant question...please ignore if > it seems nonsense.... > > Is it possible in linux (2.6 or 2.4) to write/read directly onto a > particular disk sector? If yes , how? If this is a userspace question, with /dev/sg you can do a lot of direct disk activity. (ie. The kernel does its best to stay out of the way when using /dev/sg.) I believe the most recent versions of hdparm even use /dev/sg to allow you to artificially create bad sectors and in turn to repair them. You can use strace to verify which kernel API is used by hdparm for its new features. sample hdparm commands that should work if you have a new enough release of hdparm: 1) Prep drive for error handling tests hdparm --make-bad-sector nnnnnnnn /dev/sdb ## corrup a sector hdparm --read-sector nnnnnnnn /dev/sdb ## verify that it is now bad 2) test your device driver's error handling etc.. 3) Repair your drive hdparm --repair-sector nnnnnnn /dev/sdb ## fix the bad sector hdparm --read-sector nnnnnnn /dev/sdb ## verify that it is now fixed FYI: I don't know if 2.4 supports /dev/sg. Greg -- Greg Freemyer Litigation Triage Solutions Specialist http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemyer First 99 Days Litigation White Paper - http://www.norcrossgroup.com/forms/whitepapers/99%20Days%20whitepaper.pdf The Norcross Group The Intersection of Evidence & Technology http://www.norcrossgroup.com -- Greg Freemyer Litigation Triage Solutions Specialist http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemyer First 99 Days Litigation White Paper - http://www.norcrossgroup.com/forms/whitepapers/99%20Days%20whitepaper.pdf The Norcross Group The Intersection of Evidence & Technology http://www.norcrossgroup.com -- To unsubscribe from this list: send an email with "unsubscribe kernelnewbies" to ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxx Please read the FAQ at http://kernelnewbies.org/FAQ
