> On Tue, 11 Feb 1997, Gary Vinson wrote:
>
> > " ide0: do_ide_reset: success
> >
> > Now, my question is, can (or is it remotely possible) linux be
> > writing something out to the WD IDE drives to break the drive.
>
> Yes. The answer is Yes! IDE drives are like cheap watches. They look
> like drives. When new, they even work like drives. However, IDE, correctly
> translated means CHEAP. Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) is a way
> of making drives real CHEAP, merely functional for a short time. What
> Linux is doing "wrong" is USING your drive. A Multitasking Operating System
> does MUCH more disk I/O than MS-DOS. It is being worn out. The head actuator
> bearings are wearing out, the disc spindle bearings are being worn out. This
> will allow the Disc assembly to wobble. Eventually the heads will touch
> and...
> That's all she wrote!
So now we have the SCSI <--> IDE wars on this list ? I've installed a
number of heavily used Linux machines with IDE drives that have run for
several years (just over 3, the longest one) with no problems at all with
the disks. Some of these use WD drives. WD however has had a software
problem which they fixed (patch at www.wdc.com) and most drives are fixed
with new software. I've also installed other multitasking, multiuser OS's
on IDE, no sweat. Of cource I prfer SCSI beacuse of better concurrent disk
access, bigger on-drive buffers, faster drives etc. but there's a price
for it.
> Your next disk drives should be SCSI. You will probably never replace them,
> only transfer them to other systems when you replace them with the latest
> higher-speed, larger-space units when they become available. One-point-two
> gigabyte drives are now considered "obsolete", you can get a few for the
> cost of a real poor 2 gigabyte IDE drive. The only problem is you will need
> a SCSI Controller and they are not cheap. A good one will set you back maybe
> US$300.
>
> Cheers,
> Dick Johnson
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> Richard B. Johnson
> Project Engineer
> Analogic Corporation
> Voice : (508) 977-3000 ext. 3754
> Fax : (508) 532-6097
> Modem : (508) 977-6870
> Ftp : ftp@boneserver.analogic.com
> Email : rjohnson@analogic.com, johnson@analogic.com
> Penguin : Linux version 2.1.26 on an i586 machine (66.15 BogoMips).
> Warning : It's hard to remain at the trailing edge of technology.
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
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Hugo Van den Berg - hbe@cypres.nl
Phone - +31 (0)30 - 60 25 400
Fax - +31 (0)30 - 60 50 799
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