hda:set_multmode:status=0x51 {DriveReady SeekComplete Error},hda:set_multmode:error=0

[premraj]

Hi All,

I am getting an error hda:set_multmode:status=0x51 {DriveReady SeekComplete Error} and hda:set_multmode:error=0x04{DriveStatusError}.I have connected an compact flash on an ide interface.The compact flash seems to work fine for around 9-10 months and then the data on the filesystem gets corrupted and beccomes unusable.I tried to disable the multimode option in the kernel and this error message goes away,but still the compact flash remains unusable after using it for 9 -10 months.

Iam wondering what could possibly be the reason,when i had initially performed some read/write test on the compact flash and have found that the compact flash works fine. Any one with any idea or solutions please tell me !!

Regards,
Prem,

[Roxoff]

Compact flash cards have a finite number of write cycles they can do. My advice if you're going to use this approach is to turn off all systems and services that write back to the disk mechanism frequently. My media centre runs off a CF disk 'cos it's quiet and very low power consumption, but to extend the life of the flash disk, I have turned off syslog (so it's not continually writing to the system logs), set the 'noatime' option for all the flash partitions, and I never run the update utility unless there's something that I desperately need to fix.

I could do more. If I were to mount the media centre default users home directory from my server, it would probably have another big effect on the time the CF lasts for.

[premraj]

Hi,

Though there may be a finite number of write cycles,what i would like to say is that i use a standard ide kernel driver which should be taking care of the "wear-levels" in the compact flash. Iam also using an linux ext2 filesystem on the compact flash.

Regards,
Prem

[premraj]

Hi,

Its true that the CF has a finite (fixed) number of write cycles.My observation is that if there is an unlimited number of writes on the compact flash,then the read/write blocks on the flash would get corrupted and thus make the flash unusable again.In our case/issue,it seems to be the filesystem on flash which is getting corrupted after 9-10 months of time.If we erase and write into CF, a new filesystem the CompactFlash is well and works again for an period of 6-7 months or so.It then faces the same issue again

What could possibly be the issue? I guess the problem is with filesystem.Dont have a clue about how to solve this!! Any one with an different thought please reply...

Regards,
Premraj,