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Title: Combatting IDE data corruption

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Combatting IDE data corruption

Applies to

Kernel: Version 2.2

Symptom:

Data corruption can of course show up in a number of ways. The best way to identify the problem is of course via standard elimination and troubleshooting measures. The following are some example indications:

* - please note these can be caused by other hardware problems as well, such as memory, processor, cache problems.

A simple, but decent test, involves copying large amounts of data from or to the IDE device, and then using diff to see if the data compares to be the same. Ex.: Copying a few hundred megabytes from a CDROM to a hard drive

cp -r /cdrom/something /tmp/something
diff -r /cdrom/something /tmp/something
If any differences are encountered, you are definitely seeing data corruption.

Cause:

A variety of problems can cause data corruption in the IDE communication stream. These include:

Solution:

A variety of steps are possible, and multiple may be necessary. In discussion of IDE modes, you may want to refer to the brief mode listing below, or perhaps refer to a more detailed online discussion of IDE modes, such as this one or this one.

Mode reference:

The following is a listing of modes from most reliable to most rapid:

PIO (programmed I/O) Mode 0 - this may not be available in all intefaces 
                        DMA Mode 0
PIO Mode 1
PIO Mode 2
PIO Mode 3
                        DMA Mode 1
PIO Mode 4              DMA Mode 2
PIO Mode 5              DMA Mode 3 (also known as DMA 33, or UDMA)
                        DMA-66

All other things equal, the PIO modes tend to be better supported than the DMA modes.

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Keywords: DATA ERRORS, DATA CORRUPTION, IDE CABLE, PIO

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Categories: IDE , Installation

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SDB-jrodman_ide_data_err, Copyright SuSE GmbH, Nuremberg, Germany - Version: 09. Dec 1999
SuSE GmbH - Last generated: 10. Dec 1999 10:33:10 by jrodman with sdb_gen 1.00.0