I'm quitting fah - hd might be failing
Well yesterday i heard something nobody wants to hear, i clicking sound comming from the hd:s. I have 2 and don't know which one made the sound but i know what the sound was. I shutdown the comp and had dinner since i was about to anyway.
Later i used what prolly is an older version of drive fitness test to test both drives but no errors was found and the sound was gone. Still though i'm not taking any chances so beginning some time tomorrow when the current wu is done i'm quitting fah.
I had som hd:s die on me last year but lyckly the data could be saved. Still i had to wait for 2 weeks before i knew if the store could backup the data for me and that was torture so now i'm backing up as fast as the dvdburner will let me.
I find it strange that the drives would be failing when they are so new but apperantly they don't like continuous use so i can'r run fah anymore since that requires the computer to be on all the time. I know that i could still run timeless wus but how much fun is that. Good thing i'm not among the top 100 or so because then it would really suck.
Anyone who would like me to continue folding has until tomorrow to convince me that my problems have a easy solution and that i can still fold. But the hd guide on the front page mentions clicking sounds just like the ones i heard. BTW this is my first IC post. I'm not that active here when i'm not in trouble.
Edit
I just noticed that i'm not that far from top 100. Oh well.
Later i used what prolly is an older version of drive fitness test to test both drives but no errors was found and the sound was gone. Still though i'm not taking any chances so beginning some time tomorrow when the current wu is done i'm quitting fah.
I had som hd:s die on me last year but lyckly the data could be saved. Still i had to wait for 2 weeks before i knew if the store could backup the data for me and that was torture so now i'm backing up as fast as the dvdburner will let me.
I find it strange that the drives would be failing when they are so new but apperantly they don't like continuous use so i can'r run fah anymore since that requires the computer to be on all the time. I know that i could still run timeless wus but how much fun is that. Good thing i'm not among the top 100 or so because then it would really suck.
Anyone who would like me to continue folding has until tomorrow to convince me that my problems have a easy solution and that i can still fold. But the hd guide on the front page mentions clicking sounds just like the ones i heard. BTW this is my first IC post. I'm not that active here when i'm not in trouble.
Edit
I just noticed that i'm not that far from top 100. Oh well.
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Comments
I'm quite sure though the hardware savvy members here, will have some solutions/suggestions for you.
Thanks though.
Either way, i'm sure i speak for a lot of people when i say, your contributions have been greatly appreciated for such a worthwhile cause.
Thanks but even if had an older hd för fah, the other ones would still be spinning as long as the computer is one right, and while doing that they will get worn. The only alternative would be a dedicated folding rig with no data other than fah but for now i don't see that happening. No money and barely enough room but money is the biggest issue.
I have a small hdd I will ship to you. Adjust your power scheme settings to have your hdd's shut down after 10-20 mins. Unless you are running other programs that will access your C: drive, they will shut off. Your computer can be on, it doesn't mean your hdd's will constantly spin.
Folding is very CPU intensive and to a lesser extent RAM hungry. I cant see how it can put that much strain on your HHD's as it doesn't need to access them constantly.
I have a 160 GIG Hitachi drive in my main rig which clicks and clucks and whirls constantly and has done so from the day I bought it new. Apart from the fact that the noise is damn irritating, its going on for two years and it's still going strong!
I'm not suggesting you ignore the noise as your drive may well be packing up. I'm just hoping that we can convince you it may not be folding that's causing it and you able to keep up the good fight
I'm thankful that the drive decided to give me some heads up but since theres no sound i'm starting to have doubts as to what it was i heard.I have left the drives on at all time thinking that it would lessen wear and tear. If fah doesn't read/write all the time and since the drives are about 1-2 years old then fah really isn't to blame. And i think i know which drive is failing.
While i was browsing it i suddenly ended up in the homefolder. Now the homefolder is not on that drive so i should not get there just by browsing a folder. Also all other file windows was closed. This is not like ubuntu so maybe i was browsing the failing drive.
I don't know which version of DFT i was using but if thrax is right and new versions comes out every now and then, then maybe this version will work better. And if just one if the drives are giving up then it should be safe for me to reboot know and to some testing since all data on that drive is backup up. I still how much more on the otherone.
Maybe the solution is to figure out which drive is failing, backup/move eveything of value of it, and continue using fah, this time letting the drives turn of when idle.
I'm attaching a debug log that nautilus created when the error occoured. Please have a look at it since it didn't mean much to me. And am i correct that what i should change is in power management and: let the computer sleep while inactive for x minutes. I'm post back in a few hours or so when the tests are done.
Are you sure that's not just the standard working sound. Besides this sound just started as the computer already was on. As i said i'll post back soon. You posted while i was writing my post. :o
If that is indeed the case, you can be assured that F@H is not the cause. Day-to-day operations in Windows are more stressful than 20 F@H clients writing WU steps to disk. You also mentioned allowing the HDD to move into idle: That's more stressful to the drive than allowing it to remain spinning at a constant velocity. When spun up an HDD's inertia greatly assists to sustain the rotation, putting less stress on the spindle motor. Going from a cold start requires a full ramp of the motor and a full head seek with the armature, which is more work than an HDD does on a regular basis.
Succinctly: It may just be the drive's time to go.
When i first got the error i was sure the drive was moments away from dying so i posted there. The more time that past the more i started wondering if i was correct, but you're right it's not a fah issue any more.
Hmm i think i have SMART enabled but can't remember. It's a bios thing right?. Can't check now since i just started folding again. Kept the computer off during the night as well as while i was at work just in case something happened. About the HD, thanks i'll think about it.
Well now i know unemployment sucks. I can say that because i have been using the computer a lot during the days then left it on for folding during the nights. That must have been wearing the drives out even though i did let them run and not shut down during idle as suggested. Since both drives are failing is there anyway to check which drive so i can move the files from that one.
Well my previous box might have been a bit too warm but not this one.
Looks like it's back to backups for the time being till i know for sure which drive that needs to be replaced. :sad2:
I have a seagate drive with perpendicular writing in my NAS that will wake me up in the middle of the night when it decides to rattle its little tune.
If the manufacturers dignostics say it is okay I wouldn't worry about a little clicking from a functioning drive. However, backups are always a good idea.
Still though, until i can find another computer for dedicated folding i'm going on a break. I don't want to risk the drives anymore than i have to and as long as the computer is on they will get worn even if fah is on another drive. I'll be folding for about 2 or so days because the wu i was working on ran past its deadline and got kicked out. I was wondering why fah was running when i used the oneunit flag but now i know. 2 days 3 hours to be precise.
BTW i forgot to say that my drives are 160 GB Seagate SATA drives.
Drives - good
Not backing up - bad
Not Folding for a cure - Very bad... :bigggrin:
Don't go!
EyesOnly please don't stop folding :bawling:
I'm starting to really consider a new drive but i need to know if it's needed. Is there some absolute way to know that a drive is failing while theres still time to fix it, or should i just wait for the click of death or similar sound. My files are disorganised since i don't want to move thing back should i need to backup again.
I've looked at the settings in ubuntu and there doesn't appear to be any option to shut down the drives. The only power options are for making the computer sleep or to turn of the screen. A quick answer would be nice so i can stop by the computer store for a new drive should it be necessary.
Also, squeaking from a PC case it usually a fan, not a HD.
Ok so no hd error. Still it's strange that the sound stopped. All fans are still running so if one was failing i should hear it.
Anyways my hd:s are in somewhat of a mess since i had to split up some folders before i could back them up. Since i like order i want to move the files back but i don't wanna do that if i'll be making rolling backups. How will i know which files that's changed since the last time. So i wanna know if there are any sure ways of knowing that a drives is going bad while there's still time to fix it. I'll be keeping the computer on so there's no point in checking bootup times. Or should i just make weekly schedules to run DFT?
As far as fah not using the discs is concered i do download a lot of files as well and that does require discs.
There's a definite difference between the two, but it can't be put to words.
BTW being non native english i had to look up tepid.