fd0 causes KERNEL PANIC (an un-resolved long tale of woe)

Dan St.Andre' (grillon@m3.interserv.com)
Sat, 12 Apr 1997 14:05:24 -0500


>
>
>Folks,
> I'm a newbie but here is what's happening to me. **I** think it is a
>hardware problem, but "... we don't have this problem on DOS ..." is
>causing
>Linux to get a bad name.
>
>QUESTION:
> Are there any known problems (a)kernel modules (b)diskette drivers
>(c)file system modules that you know of? Are they fixed in any release
>or
>rpm?
>
>QUESTION:
> Are you aware of any diskette or diskette controller hardware
>configurations, (or other hardware for that matter) that causes or
>contributes to these problems?
>
>QUESTION:
> How might I instrument this so that (1) **I** can get a handle on
>what
>is really happening -- hardware vs. software, and (2) I can collect data
>for
>others to use to resolve any real software issues.
>
>Context:
>I'm still using the RH 3.0.3 distribution. I cannot do RH4x yet because
>I
>do not have time to sort out all the PAM, CHAP, PAP whatever that I see
>on
>the lists.
>
>The server is a commercial pentium tower built by Intel.
>The clients are PC's with an industrial form factor called PC-104. They
>are
>really PC's in every way except mechanically.
>
>The Situation:
> intermittent KERNEL PANIC as a result of troubles with the diskette
>device
> [major number 002].
>1) our server never has a hickup
>2) our clients fail routinely
>3) Yesterday, Friday 11 April 1997, we could hardly do anything at all.
>
>What we Do:
>We are using diskettes for sneaker net by typing
> mount /a; cp $FILES /a; umount /a
>or
> mount /msdos; cp $FILES /msdos; umount /msdos
>[Of course the copy might go the other way.]
>
>The mount points are in /etc/fstab as follows:
>
> /dev/fd0 /a ext2 user,noauto 0 0
> /dev/fd0 /msdos msdos user,noauto 0 0
>
>What we Tried:
>1) we modified /etc/rc.d/init.d/syslog to make klogd more verbose
> daemon klogd -c 7
>2) we modified /etc/fstab to be more defensive
> /dev/fd0 /aC ext2 user,noauto,errors=continue,check=strict
>0
>0
> /dev/fd0 /msdosC msdos user,noauto,errors=continue,check=strict
>0
>0
>
>Analysis:
>1) diskettes written on the server with /aC mount point could not be
>read
>on the clients without a flood of I/O complaints
>2) client mount point does not seem to matter
>3) things work fine for a while
>4) once trouble start, we must cycle system power
>
>During mount:
> floppy0: probe failed...
> ...
> floppy0: probe failed...
>... auto retry
> floppy0: probe failed...
> ...
> floppy0: probe failed...
>... success
>
>During mount:
>... requesting process appears to stall waiting for mount command
>completion
>... diskette light is on solid
>... requesting process is in D-wait
>manual eject the diskette
>... sometimes mount completes reporting "wrong fs-type..." error
>... sometimes we get Kernel PANIC
>
>During copy:
> I/O error...
>... sometimes the copy retries and succeeds
>... sometimes the copy retries and fails
>... sometimes we get a Kernel PANIC
>========================================================================
>====
>
>========
> "In a dragon fight, often times, the bleachers get scorched."
> ... let The GRILLON Group help you slay your dragons. Call Today.
>========================================================================
>====
>
>========
> Daniel M. St.Andre' The GRILLON Group
> voice: 512.331.8271 Information Management
>Consultants
> fax: 512.331.8915 10511 Weller Drive
> ofc email: grillon@interserv.com Austin, TX 78750 USA
>========================================================================
>====
>
>========
>
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============================================================================
========
"In a dragon fight, often times, the bleachers get scorched."
... let The GRILLON Group help you slay your dragons. Call Today.
============================================================================
========
Daniel M. St.Andre' The GRILLON Group
voice: 512.331.8271 Information Management
Consultants
fax: 512.331.8915 10511 Weller Drive
ofc email: grillon@interserv.com Austin, TX 78750 USA
============================================================================
========