[aggregate][g/f/e] Default HD power management settings will kill drive

Bug #161239 reported by Brian Ealdwine
2
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
acpi-support (Ubuntu)
Confirmed
Undecided
Brian Ealdwine

Bug Description

================================
This was created to be the head of the Load_Cycle_Count bugs when #59695 was replaced with a static page. The static page has been removed, and this bugreport is no longer necessary.
================================

Binary package hint: acpi-support

This is an aggregate bug for the "Load_Cycle_Count" bugs. It has been created to replace #59695, which has been replaced by a static web page due to traffic from Slashdot and digg, and which was incorrectly merged into #17216, and then de-merged, back into the (now static) #59695.

Symptoms of this bug are:
* frequent HD clicks (more than one per 3 minutes while idle, louder than the typical access sounds)
* Rapidly Increasing Load_Cycle_Count as displayed in the final number in "sudo smartctl -a /dev/hda | grep Load_Cycle_Count" (where /dev/hda is replaced with your own hard disk device)
* Early hard disk failure -- some disks are cut down to less than a year of actual uptime.

The problem seems to be caused by:
* Hardware defaults to aggressive power management
* Disk is touched often.

This problem has been confirmed in Ubuntu as well as in other distributions.

A disk that has this issue:
WD1200VE -- http://www.wdc.com/en/library/portable/2879-001121.pdf -- This aggressive parking is a feature of this disk, but that feature relies on behaviour that allows for significant amounts of (truly) idle time without the disk being touched. Notice the "Load/unload cycles" of 600,000.

Brian Ealdwine (eode)
description: updated
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Brian Ealdwine (eode) wrote :

This bug has had a *LOT* of activity, and is a very "popular" bug.

PLEASE DO NOT POST SUPPORT QUESTIONS HERE. You can use the launchpad support tracker at:
https://answers.launchpad.net/

Also, there are many forums that are being used to help users with this problem:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=591503
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=596602
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=589936
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=591564

Please only post to this bug for the purposes of resolving the bug.

Revision history for this message
Brian Ealdwine (eode) wrote :

The need for this bug has been removed, since bug #59695 is no longer being replaced with a static page, and the older #59695 is preferable.

Changed in acpi-support:
assignee: nobody → eode
status: New → Invalid
status: Invalid → Confirmed
Brian Ealdwine (eode)
description: updated
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