[conspire] 3rd Mastewriter Hard Disk Error

[paulz at ieee.org]

 [Discussion on disk drives and diagnostics.]

Rick's most valuable suggest is to install and test diagnostics BEFORE there is a problem.  I admit I got into a thrashing mode with doing backups and trying to remember if there was something important in a different partition and not being meticulous with the testing.
So what I can report is that the WD DataLifeguard installed and runs on Win7 and Win8.  It recognizes all hard drives, even USB drives.  For any drive it can report the S.M.A.R.T. results.  It also has a list from basic test to fill drive with 0's.  Rick cautioned against doing tests on drives not WD.

Now I know that my problem is that the Seagate SATA drive has problems with reallocating sectors.  This drive has my Debian root partition.

My Windoz partions are not on this drive, so I can use the alternate OS and ignore the warnings about failing drive.  More discussion on a different thread.  

Meanwhile at the Seagate web-site offers a tool for windows. On both Win7 and Win8 it starts, runs for a while and reports "no devices mounted."  The Win7 system has a SG IDE and SG SATA drive. The Seagate web site has a search, but it wants the SERIAL number.   I think the WD tool might show serial number.  

Seagate also has a USB tool.  I was busy using USB copying files to SDD. That done, I have the bandwidth to read the documentation more carefully and also try the SG USB tool. 

To answer a related question.  No I do not have a back-up server.  To be practical, I really need to pull cables through the house so it doesn't need to be at the same desk.  Despite all of the hype, WiFi doesn't work when there are multiple walls and closets.  

BTW, is it necessary to have the French Police siren?


    On Wednesday, November 21, 2018, 7:37:41 PM PST, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:  
 
 Quoting Paul Zander (paulz at ieee.org):

>  In using the computer, I was not aware of any malfunctions.  

With the exception (you mention elsethread) that booting Debian has
'become problematic', because its root partition is on the affected hard 
drive.

> What I saw were:* The message from the BIOS running POST* When running
> Win7, it started popping up a window saying a drive was failing and
> that I should run a backup.

Legitimate cause for concern, and you absolutely did the right thing by 
setting backup as your first priority.

> The Seagate Tool did not run on the "bad" computer with Win7.

Um,... OK?  I'm not totally sure -- actually, a bit mystified -- what
'did not run' means.  I see that there's a SeaTools for Windows whose
compatibility is supposed to include MS-Windows 7, SeaTools for DOS, an
intriguing 'SeaTools Bootable' that is self-hosting and you copy somehow
to a USB flash drive prior to use, and some 'SeaTools Legacy Tools'
files, comprising v1.12 that is  recommended for use if 'you have system
compatibility problems with the v2 GUI version', apparently running in
good ol' text mode, and 'v.2.23 (graphical)'.

I gather that current (non-'legacy') releases of SeaTools appear to
include CLI and graphical versions of the tools.  You should carefully
read program information and documentation, including any information
the drive manufacturer may (or may not) publish about what versions of
their diagnostic software are required for specific hard drive models
they have released in the past.

> On a newer machine with Win10, it identified and tested a Toshiba drive.

Um, huh?

It would be a bad idea on general principle to have a Seagate utility
play around with a Toshiba drive.  I would not have done that.  If it
offered to test a Toshiba drive (let alone repair it), I would have
acted to prevent that operation.  IMO, you should have wanted to find,
for a Seagate drive deemed suspect, the correct Seagate utility to
diagnose and possibly fix it.


> I went back to the Seagate website, but could not find a different (older) version.  

Um... I don't know what 'older' means, here.  Older than what?  Why?

I'm really not clear on what you're doing and why, but FWIW the direct
link for 'SeaTools Legacy Tools' is
https://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/seatools-legacy-support-master/
--- but I'm confused by the notion that you couldn't find that (if
that's what you were trying to find).

I'm concerned that I'm unclear on exactly what you're trying to do,
here, and why.  Perhaps you should back up and, first of all, determine
the exact model of the suspect Seagate drive.  (Among other places, that
will almost certainly be shown in your BIOS Setup screens, in addition
to briefly during each Power-On Self Test.

Try entering that model number plus, oh, I don't, maybe 'diagnostics'
into a Web search engine -- with the aim of attempting to find out from
the Internet what Seagate-offered diagnostic software is (or was)
available for it.  

I don't want to rub salt into your wounds, but around the time you first
acquired that hardware would have been an _excellent_ time to download
and burn to a CD/DVD all of the then-available diagnostic and repair
software for all the parts in your PC, most particularly the hard
drives.  As time passes, one might well expect the manufacturers of the
PC's various subassemblies to _cease_ offering software related to old
and EOLed product.


> In the interest of science, I will try the USB version.

If you mean the self-hosted 'SeaTools Bootable' tool, that sounds like a
fine idea.


  
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