help with dma error

[Viper8896]

hi. i was trying to compile something and i left it think it was ok. then when i came back it said something like

hda: dma timeout error

...etc. i cant remember exactly what it said but it was something like this.

[Viper8896]

i am trying to make an LFS. every time i left it compiling gcc came back and the same exact error came up. i am compiling from the lfs live cd which is supposed to work. what is causing this problem cos i cant get very far before i go into this error.

[retired1af]

Need to post the entire contents of the error you're receiving.

[Viper8896]

even if i do that will i actually get a reply. it has happened twice when i was trying to make an LFS system and both times the error was slightly different. when this happens i crashes and i cant do anything but press the reset button on the front of my pc.

also how can i log everything that it says so i can post it here. when the error ocurs i have no control over it and it completly crashes and is impossible to get back to normal. so i need to log everything as i am going along.

[Viper8896]

ok i was trying to compile lfs again. i got past the binutils part then on the gcc after a long time it suddenly stoped and it said

hda: DMA timeout error
hda: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest }

know how am i supposed to build lfs. it is recomended that use the lfs live cd and copy all of the packages off it and build from it which is what i do and i get this same error everytime.

[puntmuts]

This could be caused by several reasons, here are some possibilities:
- ide flatcable from harddrive (wrong type or broken or not properly connected)
- your drive is about to break
- invalid or too agressive dma settings, could be caused by a ide controller for example.

What to do about it ?
- check ide cable and connections
- make a backup of your drive
- test your dma setting using hdparm and try to lower them a step, so if you have udma 100 enabled, try setting your drive to udma 66 and see if the error still occurs. hdparm is the tool to do it with on IDE/PATA . Not sure about SATA and SCSI, I don't have scsi drives or SATA drives.

hdparm comes with excellent manpages

[Viper8896]

its an ide drive. i dont use it now cause it aint working prooperly. sems like this only happens with heavy usage like compiling cos i can use it normally for a while.