Random Freezes-Hard Drive issue?

[TerranQ]

Hi all,
I just recently switched to Kubuntu on my Acer Aspire 5570 laptop, and I'm experiencing random freezes. The screen grays out for 5-90 seconds, mouse (usually) still responds. Any keystrokes do not appear until the freeze and graying end, then it all appears. My system log shows the following:

07/11/07 01:19:03 AM Laptop kernel [ 5621.088000] ata1.01: cmd a0/00:00:00:00:20/00:00:00:00:00/b0 tag 0 cdb 0x0 data 0

07/11/07 01:19:03 AM Laptop kernel [ 5621.088000] ata1.01: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x2 frozen

07/11/07 01:19:03 AM Laptop kernel [ 5621.088000] ata1.01: qc timeout (cmd 0xa0)

07/11/07 01:19:03 AM Laptop kernel [ 5621.088000] res 51/20:03:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/b0 Emask 0x5 (timeout)

07/11/07 01:19:08 AM Laptop kernel [ 5626.128000] ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient (Status 0xd1)

07/11/07 01:19:13 AM Laptop kernel [ 5631.112000] ata1: device not ready (errno=-16), forcing hardreset

07/11/07 01:19:13 AM Laptop kernel [ 5631.112000] ata1: soft resetting port

07/11/07 01:19:14 AM Laptop kernel [ 5631.532000] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100

I'm assuming this is a hard drive issue of some sort. Laptop is less than 6 months old, no problems with windows, so I'm pretty sure it's not faulty/failing. Any ideas on how to fix this?

[TerranQ]

Re: Random Freezes-Hard Drive issue?

OK, did some reading, found this bug report:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/boss/+sou....20/+bug/84603

the solution they recommend is to upgrade the firmware of my dvd drive (a TSSTcorp TS-L632D), thus voiding the warranty. This, I do not want to do. I also found these instructions in the thread:

I've solved the problem editing /etc/initramfs-tools/modules, and adding this lines:

piix
ide_generic
ide_cd
ide_disk

# blacklist bad driver
blacklist ata_piix

# prevent unnecessary modules from being loaded (you don't need to do this)
blacklist ata_generic
blacklist libata
blacklist scsi_mod

after editing:

sudo update-initramfs -u

after reboot I have my hard disks with the old fashioned /dev/hd*, without bugs!!!

I followed these instructions, and it's fixed the freezes I was experiencing. However, it also added about a minute to my boot time. Can someone tell me exactly what this does ( I assume it tells the system not to load the ata_piix driver and the listed modules) and why this would slow my boot times down so much. Also, is anyone aware of any patches/workarounds which would not disable DMA on my DVD drive?

[TerranQ]

Re: Random Freezes-Hard Drive issue?

Forgot to mention, I did this shortly after posting my opening post. Following the directions above, I have had no freezes in about 24 hours, whereas they used to occur every 5-20 minutes. However, the long boot times are a pain. Another workaround in the bug report is to leave a cd/dvd in the drive. So, I re-edited my /etc/initramfs-tools/modules to remove the blacklisted items, ran the update initramfs-tools, and put a cd in the drive. Will report back with the results re: the freezing.

One noticeable effect is my boot time is now much reduced, about a minute or so less than it was with the edit to initramfs-tools/modules.

[TerranQ]

Re: Random Freezes-Hard Drive issue?

well, cd in the try doesn't work as well as it does for others. After a few hours of running, had another freeze. Following is from ksystemlog:

08/11/07 03:50:55 AM Laptop kernel [ 5734.300000] ata1.01: cmd a0/00:00:00:00:20/00:00:00:00:00/b0 tag 0 cdb 0x1e data 0

08/11/07 03:50:55 AM Laptop kernel [ 5734.300000] ata1.01: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x2 frozen

08/11/07 03:50:55 AM Laptop kernel [ 5734.300000] res 40/00:02:00:08:00/00:00:00:00:00/b0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)

08/11/07 03:51:00 AM Laptop kernel [ 5739.348000] ata1: port is slow to respond, please be patient (Status 0xd0)

08/11/07 03:51:05 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.332000] ata1: device not ready (errno=-16), forcing hardreset

08/11/07 03:51:05 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.332000] ata1: soft resetting port

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.748000] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.940000] ata1.01: configured for UDMA/33

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.940000] ata1: EH complete

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.948000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 195371568 512-byte hardware sectors (100030 MB)

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.956000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00

08/11/07 03:51:06 AM Laptop kernel [ 5744.956000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off

08/11/07 03:51:07 AM Laptop kernel [ 5745.232000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA

08/11/07 03:51:07 AM Laptop kernel [ 5745.248000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] 195371568 512-byte hardware sectors (100030 MB)

08/11/07 03:51:07 AM Laptop kernel [ 5745.248000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 00 3a 00 00

08/11/07 03:51:07 AM Laptop kernel [ 5745.248000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA

08/11/07 03:51:07 AM Laptop kernel [ 5745.248000] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off

So, the freeze still occurs, but much less often it seems, as long as I have a cd in the tray