Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!gatech!akgua!codas!ablnc!jrs2 From: jrs2@ablnc.ATT.COM (J.R. Smithson) Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix Subject: hard disk errors Message-ID: <219@ablnc.ATT.COM> Date: Tue, 30-Dec-86 17:16:04 EST Article-I.D.: ablnc.219 Posted: Tue Dec 30 17:16:04 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 31-Dec-86 20:36:48 EST Organization: AT&T, Maitland, Florida Lines: 32 Keywords: bad tracks, sectors HELP! I've had my XENIX System V running on my IBM PC clone running for 2 months. In that time I've had 3 separate occasions of bad blocks on the hard disk. I'm using a Seagate ST225 (20Mb, 78ms) with a DTC 5150BX controller. The last time this happened, my system would not boot, it would get hung just after completing the filesystem checks. Looks like I'll have to reload the disk. No problem since I have backups. What I would like to know is what I can do to avoid this in the future. 1. Does turning off the power cause the heads on the hard disk to land on the platter and create bad tracks? Seems that I've seen the debate rage on this issue in other newsgroups and the concensus was that it was better to leave the machine powered up all the time to keep the heads from landing on the platter. 2. If the above is true, does XENIX have a utility to park the heads over a safe zone before power off? /etc/haltsys??? I have the DOS utility included on the IBM diagnostic disk to park the heads for shipping. I ran it and it seemed strange to me that it worked for several minutes (disk made very strange seeking noise) and then terminated. I would think that this utility would just require a few hundred milliseconds to execute. I'd leave the machine powered up all the time but it does throw out a bit of RF interference for my TV. Please post replies to this group as I'm sure all are interested. Jim Smithson {ihnp4}!ablnc!jrs2 (305)834-5439