Dead disk?

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The HDD is dead, right?
The partition isn't mounted at boot.
File system check throws up an I/O error and suggests using alternate superbocks, but no luck there -

Code: Select all

root@beyonwizt4:~# e2fsck -b 8193 /dev/sda
e2fsck 1.44.3 (10-July-2018)
e2fsck: Input/output error while trying to open /dev/sda

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem.  If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
    e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
 or
    e2fsck -b 32768 <device>

root@beyonwizt4:~#
root@beyonwizt4:~# e2fsck -b 32768 /dev/sda
e2fsck 1.44.3 (10-July-2018)
e2fsck: Input/output error while trying to open /dev/sda

The superblock could not be read or does not describe a valid ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem.  If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2/ext3/ext4
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
    e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
 or
    e2fsck -b 32768 <device>

root@beyonwizt4:~#

smartctl seems to fail with a hardware error -

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root@beyonwizt4:~# smartctl -x /dev/sda
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [mips-linux-3.14.2] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Western Digital Purple
Device Model:     WDC WD40PURX-64GVNY0
Serial Number:    WD-WCC4E0SJTAVU
LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 20bcef368
Firmware Version: 80.00A80
User Capacity:    4,000,787,030,016 bytes [4.00 TB]
Sector Sizes:     512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical
Rotation Rate:    5400 rpm
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ACS-2 (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Thu Dec  9 13:23:58 2021 AWST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled
AAM feature is:   Unavailable
APM feature is:   Unavailable
Rd look-ahead is: Enabled
Write cache is:   Enabled
DSN feature is:   Unavailable
ATA Security is:  Disabled, NOT FROZEN [SEC1]
Wt Cache Reorder: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity
                                        was never started.
                                        Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed
                                        without error or no self-test has ever
                                        been run.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:                (53460) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:                    (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                                        Auto Offline data collection on/off support.
                                        Suspend Offline collection upon new
                                        command.
                                        Offline surface scan supported.
                                        Self-test supported.
                                        Conveyance Self-test supported.
                                        Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                                        power-saving mode.
                                        Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.
                                        General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   2) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:        ( 534) minutes.
Conveyance self-test routine
recommended polling time:        (   5) minutes.
SCT capabilities:              (0x703d) SCT Status supported.
                                        SCT Error Recovery Control supported.
                                        SCT Feature Control supported.
                                        SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAGS    VALUE WORST THRESH FAIL RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     POSR-K   200   200   051    -    1060
  3 Spin_Up_Time            POS--K   226   174   021    -    5675
  4 Start_Stop_Count        -O--CK   095   095   000    -    5380
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   PO--CK   200   200   140    -    0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         -OSR-K   199   199   000    -    149
  9 Power_On_Hours          -O--CK   053   053   000    -    34624
 10 Spin_Retry_Count        -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
 11 Calibration_Retry_Count -O--CK   100   100   000    -    0
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       -O--CK   096   096   000    -    4596
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count -O--CK   200   200   000    -    152
193 Load_Cycle_Count        -O--CK   199   199   000    -    5246
194 Temperature_Celsius     -O---K   097   092   000    -    55
196 Reallocated_Event_Count -O--CK   200   200   000    -    0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  -O--CK   200   200   000    -    0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   ----CK   100   253   000    -    0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    -O--CK   200   199   000    -    26
200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   ---R--   100   253   000    -    0
                            ||||||_ K auto-keep
                            |||||__ C event count
                            ||||___ R error rate
                            |||____ S speed/performance
                            ||_____ O updated online
                            |______ P prefailure warning

ATA_READ_LOG_EXT (addr=0x00:0x00, page=0, n=1) failed: scsi error medium or hardware error (serious)
Read GP Log Directory failed

SMART Log Directory Version 1 [multi-sector log support]
Address    Access  R/W   Size  Description
0x00           SL  R/O      1  Log Directory
0x01           SL  R/O      1  Summary SMART error log
0x02           SL  R/O      5  Comprehensive SMART error log
0x06           SL  R/O      1  SMART self-test log
0x09           SL  R/W      1  Selective self-test log
0x80-0x9f      SL  R/W     16  Host vendor specific log
0xa0-0xa7      SL  VS      16  Device vendor specific log
0xa8-0xb6      SL  VS       1  Device vendor specific log
0xb7           SL  VS      39  Device vendor specific log
0xbd           SL  VS       1  Device vendor specific log
0xc0           SL  VS       1  Device vendor specific log
0xe0           SL  R/W      1  SCT Command/Status
0xe1           SL  R/W      1  SCT Data Transfer

SMART Extended Comprehensive Error Log (GP Log 0x03) not supported

SMART Error Log Version: 1
ATA Error Count: 315 (device log contains only the most recent five errors)
        CR = Command Register [HEX]
        FR = Features Register [HEX]
        SC = Sector Count Register [HEX]
        SN = Sector Number Register [HEX]
        CL = Cylinder Low Register [HEX]
        CH = Cylinder High Register [HEX]
        DH = Device/Head Register [HEX]
        DC = Device Command Register [HEX]
        ER = Error register [HEX]
        ST = Status register [HEX]
Powered_Up_Time is measured from power on, and printed as
DDd+hh:mm:SS.sss where DD=days, hh=hours, mm=minutes,
SS=sec, and sss=millisec. It "wraps" after 49.710 days.

Error 315 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 34624 hours (1442 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.

  After command completion occurred, registers were:
  ER ST SC SN CL CH DH
  -- -- -- -- -- -- --
  04 61 00 00 00 00 00

  Commands leading to the command that caused the error were:
  CR FR SC SN CL CH DH DC   Powered_Up_Time  Command/Feature_Name
  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --  ----------------  --------------------
  e3 00 00 00 00 00 00 00      04:09:46.524  IDLE
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 00      04:09:46.371  IDENTIFY DEVICE
  ef 03 46 00 00 00 a0 00      04:09:46.369  SET FEATURES [Set transfer mode]
  ec 00 00 00 00 00 a0 00      04:09:46.369  IDENTIFY DEVICE

Error 314 occurred at disk power-on lifetime: 34624 hours (1442 days + 16 hours)
  When the command that caused the error occurred, the device was active or idle.
{blah}

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Hmm, maybe it just took a short holiday -

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root@beyonwizt4:~# umount /dev/sda1
root@beyonwizt4:~# fsck.ext4 /dev/sda1
e2fsck 1.44.3 (10-July-2018)
T4: clean, 10343/476944 files, 965661261/976754176 blocks
root@beyonwizt4:~# mount /dev/sda1 /media/hdd
root@beyonwizt4:~#
root@beyonwizt4:~# df -h
Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
ubi0:rootfs               1.8G    204.1M      1.6G  11% /
devtmpfs                563.7M      4.0K    563.7M   0% /dev
tmpfs                    64.0K         0     64.0K   0% /media
tmpfs                   563.8M    736.0K    563.1M   0% /var/volatile
/dev/sda1                 3.6T      3.6T     42.3G  99% /media/hdd
root@beyonwizt4:~#

[peteru]

It looks like an unhealthy disk, but that could potentially be due to external factors. The fact that you are getting both raw read errors and CRC errors on bus transfers (at least I assume it was bus transfers, but can't be sure since you truncated the output of smartctl -x) would suggest bad power supply or perhaps cabling / connectors. Then again, it could be failing electronics on the drive or even HDD firmware bugs.

My suggestion would be to back up data from the HDD and exercise/test the disk in a separate disk enclosure.

Before you start ripping things apart, you may want to post the full output of smartctl -x to see if there are more clues.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Before you start ripping things apart, you may want to post the full output of smartctl -x to see if there are more clues.

Thanks.

Here's two runs of smartctl -x. One from y'day ("#1") and the other ("#2") from today when I noticed the disk was back online.

[peteru]

The HDD is running a bit on the warmer side, but not outside of the specification.

The HDD is definitely experiencing issues. The original problem looks a lot like the HDD firmware has decided to stop accessing the media. The drive only had ~300 errors up until yesterday. Since then, the error count went up by an additional 2000 errors. There is some evidence of seek errors and the HDD took about 20% longer to spin up today than it did the previous time it was turned on. The difference in spin up time could be coincidental, or it could indicate other issues, such as insufficient power delivery or failing motor/bearings.

The most likely scenario is that the drive is developing a mechanical issue. You may want to run some self tests using smartctl. Run a short test first, then a conveyance test. If those catch any errors, the drive is very much on it's last legs and you should not expect to retrieve all of the data from it. Next run a full test (it will take close to 15 hours, so an overnight wait) to see what it reports. Note that even if a full test does not report any errors, it does not mean that the drive is healthy. However, a full test pass generally indicates that you have a good chance of retrieving data.

Bear in mind that electrical issues, in particular bad power supplies and intermittent cables/connectors, can cause the issues you've experienced. The alternate enclosure test is highly recommended before you bin the HDD.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Thanks Peter.

Can you please advise if these command lines for those suggested "short" and "conveyance" tests are correct as I got nothing "returned" (yes, I waited).

"short" -

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root@beyonwizt4:~# smartctl --test=short /dev/sda
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [mips-linux-3.14.2] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 2 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Fri Dec 10 17:43:34 2021

Use smartctl -X to abort test.
root@beyonwizt4:~#

"conveyance" -

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root@beyonwizt4:~# smartctl --test=conveyance /dev/sda
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [mips-linux-3.14.2] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===
Sending command: "Execute SMART Conveyance self-test routine immediately in off-line mode".
Drive command "Execute SMART Conveyance self-test routine immediately in off-line mode" successful.
Testing has begun.
Please wait 5 minutes for test to complete.
Test will complete after Fri Dec 10 17:54:23 2021

Use smartctl -X to abort test.
root@beyonwizt4:~#

[peteru]

The results of those tests will be printed as part of smartctl -x output. Alternatively, you can use smartctl -l xselftest. There should be a section that contains entries similar to this:

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=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Extended Self-test Log Version: 1 (1 sectors)
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63596         -
# 2  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63572         -
# 3  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63548         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63524         -
# 5  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63500         -
# 6  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63476         -
# 7  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     63463         -
# 8  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63452         -
# 9  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63428         -
#10  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63404         -
#11  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63380         -
#12  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63356         -
#13  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63332         -
#14  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63308         -
#15  Extended offline    Completed without error       00%     63295         -
#16  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63284         -
#17  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63260         -
#18  Short offline       Completed without error       00%     63236         -

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Thanks again. The "short" test looks to me like it shows an error -

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root@beyonwizt4:~# smartctl -l xselftest /dev/sda
smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [mips-linux-3.14.2] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART Extended Self-test Log Version: 1 (1 sectors)
Num  Test_Description    Status                  Remaining  LifeTime(hours)  LBA_of_first_error
# 1  Short offline       Completed: read failure       60%     34652         480344
# 2  Short offline       Completed: read failure       60%     34649         480344
# 3  Conveyance offline  Completed without error       00%     34649         -
# 4  Short offline       Completed: read failure       60%     34649         480344

root@beyonwizt4:~#

[peteru]

Yep, looks like the HDD problems start at about 240MB into the test.

Probably a bad HDD, but I'd still give it a good testing in another system, such as a desktop computer or a good quality external enclosure. Also, give the HDD the "ear test", listen to it during power up and also during the self test to see if you hear anything unusual. Given that the test fails after only 240MB, it should not take very long to get to the problematic part of the HDD.

[stevebow]

Another option is to plug your HDD into a PC and try using WD's own "Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows" software. It's "Quick Test" simply runs the HDD's SMART short test, but it's "Extended Test" does its own thing and has a good attempt to repair or reallocate bad sectors where possible. It may at least give you a more meaningful explanation of what is failing.

I have gotten a little more life out of a few WD HDDs using DLDW, but not much more really, the HDDs were on their last legs. Worth a shot with nothing to lose though.

[kj3931]

Following on to an old topic - with a similar problem:
Having just returned from a holiday I found my Beyonwiz having no recorded files, the "movie" folder being empty, showing a size of 66K, with 100% available. The external disk is a 4TB Seagate one, but it does not show up.
Beyonwiz - Menu - System - Storage shows "no storage devices found"
Being an unexperienced but not new user I eventually worked out how to connect to the Beyonwiz from my Mac via ssh.
Checked the available disks with df and got the following:

root@beyonwizv2:~# df -h
Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/root 6.4G 416.9M 5.7G 7% /
devtmpfs 458.3M 4.0K 458.3M 0% /dev
tmpfs 64.0K 0 64.0K 0% /media
tmpfs 458.6M 296.0K 458.3M 0% /var/volatile
/dev/mmcblk0p3 1004.0K 8.0K 996.0K 1% /boot

I also checked the drive then on the mac with diskutil, and it does not show up at all.
It's dead, isn't it? I am just asking whether I missed something before writing off all the previously recorded shows and investing in a new drive.

[raj]

If your Beyonwiz has an external power supply, the first thing I would do is get a new power supply and see if that restores things.

Worst case is you have a spare power supply.

[kj3931]

Sorry, no go. The drive gets its power from the Wiz through the USB port.

[billyblue]

Might be worth trying a USB HDD enclosure (from $13).
Open (break) the old case and transfer the HDD across.
If it works the you've saved most of the cost of a new drive, otherwise you're buying a new drive anyway and now have a spare enclosure that can be used in the future.

[IanL-S]

Opening the case of a 3.5" USB drive is an alternative; if it is a 2.5" drive some newer ones do not have a standard SATA connector - I found this with a Seagate drive.

Ian

[kj3931]

It's a Seagate SRD0NF1 model - 4TB, 2.5 inch drive. A bit less than 3 years old and I bought it bundled with my Beyonwiz V2 at the time. I have a few others of those for Mac backup purposes and none has given me any problems.
I can hear it spinning up, but it is not being detected by either the V2 (df command) or the Mac (diskutil).
I consider it dead, its just a shame that all recorded shows got lost in the process, plus the added expense for a new one.

[garyvx]

If you can, plug it into a Windows computer and run Seagate Sea Tools Diags https://www.seagate.com/au/en/support/k ... -007742en/

Regards Gary

[gibster]

It's a Seagate SRD0NF1 model - 4TB, 2.5 inch drive. A bit less than 3 years old and I bought it bundled with my Beyonwiz V2 at the time. I have a few others of those for Mac backup purposes and none has given me any problems.
I can hear it spinning up, but it is not being detected by either the V2 (df command) or the Mac (diskutil).
I consider it dead, its just a shame that all recorded shows got lost in the process, plus the added expense for a new one.

Could be the controller in the USB enclosure to. If it doesn't work when plugged into a PC try removing the disk and trying a different enclosure.

[Altimes]

+1 on a death of sata to usb controller. Had an old hp 2TB enclosure which seemed to "die". Broke the drive out of its enclosure and tested on a PC and the drive was just fine. A few dollars for a new enclosure and back to business with the upside that the enclosure was usb3 giving a little future comfort.

As a curious observation about 8 years ago I paid $102 for the 2TB HP drive on special at Big W, that is, about $50/TB. Hard drives still seem to sit near that rate of cost (excluding the "big" drives that seem to have a sweet spot of about $40/TB).

Alan

[peteru]

I paid a $540 for a 20TB high performance CMR + Flash NAS drive a month ago. That included delivery. That's only $27/TB and there are cheaper drives available, around the $25/TB mark.

[IanL-S]

I picked up a 5TB 2.5" Seagate HDD for $155 on eBay recently. I suspect it is OEM but at that price I do not care. Also got a 4TB one for about $130.

For the most reliable performance with PVR a surveillance or NAS drive is best. But these days standard drives are incredibly reliable.

[paullings]

Hi,
I think I have a dead disk in my U4 . Went to play a recording this afternoon and when I hit OK on the recording to play the U4 rebooted. Came good after I powered it down and was able to play a recording as well as watch live TV. Went to play another recording tonight and after hitting OK to open the recording folder it went into a continual loop of rebooting. Powered down and restarted but just the same continual loop of rebooting.
Thankfully I was able to do a backup of the disk between events.
Thanks
Edit: I powered it down and left it alone for a while (and swore at it) then decided to power it back up but all that happens is the red power light comes on.
Edit: It has a Seagate 2.5 disk so I removed the disk this morning and tested it using Seatools for Windows. Disk is fine so looks like it's off to NASA hopefully to be repaired. Not ready to give up on my Wiz's yet.

[IanL-S]

Sending it off to Nasa may be premature.

Try deleting all partitions on the drive - there could be a file system error that could not be corrected by SeaTools. If you have a spare 2.5" drive it; or a spare USB HDD. File system corruption can happen to PVRs - had it happen to Beyonwiz, Topfield, and IceTV IceBox.

Ian

[paullings]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your reply however by the time I saw it the U4 was packed up and sent.
NASA received it yesterday (Saturday) and they let me know it was repaired and ready to send back today (Sunday).
Here is the list of repairs
1- Replace power IC regulator.
2- Replace cooling fan ... old fan was very slow and made the main board overheat .
3- Replace power adapter ... the output was not stable and not pure DC.
The repair cost will be $169.95 this is including parts , labour and shipping back to you.

Pretty good service I'd say.

[IanL-S]

That corresponds to my recent experience with my U4. Said there would be an extra charge for the new power supply but did not happen. I was very pleased with the service.

[RGE]

U4
I suspect the HDD may be failing and I have just ordered another 1TB drive.

Q.
When I get the new drive can I pull out the current drive and use a USB docking station I have to clone the current drive to the new drive so that I don't loose all my recordings on the current drive?

[prl]

U4
I suspect the HDD may be failing and I have just ordered another 1TB drive.

Q.
When I get the new drive can I pull out the current drive and use a USB docking station I have to clone the current drive to the new drive so that I don't loose all my recordings on the current drive?

Yes, but if the HDD is failing, the clone may not work properly. It would probably be a good idea to do a HDD check after you do the clone and reinstall the HDD to make sure that any problems in the filesystem that may have been caused by the failing HDD get ironed out. If the original HDD may be failing, it's probably not a good idea to try to repair the filesystem before doing the clone, it might exacerbate any existing problems.

[RGE]

Thanks Peter.

What is your recommended method, for a not too technical Windows PC user, to do the HDD check?

Can I use the U4 and if so how, and/or
Can I use my Win10 PC with the HDD in the USB drive bay.

[prl]

Thanks Peter.

No problem.

What is your recommended method, for a not too technical Windows PC user, to do the HDD check?

Can I use the U4 and if so how

Yes, MENU>Setup>Storage>File system check. If you have timeshift auto-start enabled (the default), you need to set MENU>Setup>TV>Timeshift settings>Automatically start timeshift after to Disabled, and then do a GUI restart, or reboot.

If you've enabled debug logging and directed it to /media/hdd (debug logging is disabled by default), you need to disable debug logging and then do a GUI restart, or reboot.

There must also not be any recordings being made when you try to do the HDD check.

After you've done the HDD check, restore any changed settings to their normal values and do a GUI restart, or reboot.

and/or
Can I use my Win10 PC with the HDD in the USB drive bay.

The factory format for the U4 internal HDD is the Linux ext4 file system. This can't be accessed or checked on Windows without third party software. I have also heard reports that Windows may mess up the formatting of an ext4 filesystem HDD, but I don't have direct experience of it happening. But unless you have the necessary third-party software for Windows, there's no point in connecting the HDD to Windows anyway.