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e2fsck errror: Error reading block (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read)

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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Aug 28, 2012, 9:40:02 AM8/28/12
to
When I ran

$sudo e2fsck -c -c -f -v /dev/sdb7

I am getting a lot of errors such as

Error reading block 18022401 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
Force rewrite<y>? yes
Error reading block 19562497 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
Force rewrite<y>? yes
Error reading block 19824640 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
Force rewrite<y>? yes
Error reading block 19824641 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
Force rewrite<y>? yes

1) Does this mean there are badblocks on my hard drive?
2) Am I correct in choosing "yes" to both these questions or is there a
better way?
3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?
4) What might have caused this problem and how to prevent it in the future?
5) Is the filesystem on this partition corrupted?

thanks
raju

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http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


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Federico Alberto Sayd

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Aug 28, 2012, 9:50:02 AM8/28/12
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On 28/08/12 10:28, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
> When I ran
>
> $sudo e2fsck -c -c -f -v /dev/sdb7
>
> I am getting a lot of errors such as
>
> Error reading block 18022401 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
> Force rewrite<y>? yes
> Error reading block 19562497 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
> Force rewrite<y>? yes
> Error reading block 19824640 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
> Force rewrite<y>? yes
> Error reading block 19824641 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
> Force rewrite<y>? yes
>
> 1) Does this mean there are badblocks on my hard drive?
> 2) Am I correct in choosing "yes" to both these questions or is there a
> better way?
> 3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?
> 4) What might have caused this problem and how to prevent it in the future?
> 5) Is the filesystem on this partition corrupted?
>
> thanks
> raju
>
Did you try to diagnose your hardrive with smartmontools? Smartmontools
uses S.M.A.R.T.[1] technology included in harddrives, and displays info
about predictable failures, time of use, etc.

Regards

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.


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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Aug 30, 2012, 10:20:02 AM8/30/12
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Federico Alberto Sayd wrote:

> Did you try to diagnose your hardrive with smartmontools? Smartmontools
> uses S.M.A.R.T.[1] technology included in harddrives, and displays info
> about predictable failures, time of use, etc.
>
> Regards
>
> [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

$smartctl -a /dev/sdb
smartctl 5.41 2011-06-09 r3365 [i686-linux-3.0.0-1-686-pae] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-11 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net

/dev/sdb: Unknown USB bridge [0x059b:0x0571 (0x000)]
Smartctl: please specify device type with the -d option.

Use smartctl -h to get a usage summary

What device type should I specify? This is what I get from dmesg when I
connect the hard drive

[123948.292055] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device number 11 using ehci_hcd
[123948.425272] usb 1-1: New USB device found, idVendor=059b, idProduct=0571
[123948.425280] usb 1-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=10, Product=11,
SerialNumber=3
[123948.425287] usb 1-1: Product: Iomega HDD
[123948.425292] usb 1-1: Manufacturer: Iomega
[123948.425296] usb 1-1: SerialNumber: 506000009854
[123948.426280] scsi7 : usb-storage 1-1:1.0
[123949.466729] scsi 7:0:0:0: Direct-Access ST950032 5AS
PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 CCS
[123949.493174] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] 976773168 512-byte logical blocks: (500
GB/465 GiB)
[123949.493931] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
[123949.493936] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 28 00 00 00
[123949.494673] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page present
[123949.494679] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[123949.497805] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page present
[123949.497810] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[123949.733091] sdb: sdb1 sdb2 sdb3 sdb4 < sdb5 sdb6 sdb7 sdb8 >
[123949.736964] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] No Caching mode page present
[123949.736969] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
[123949.736973] sd 7:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk

Also, sometimes when I try to mount the partition, I get
$pmount /dev/sdb7
[124321.902673] FAT-fs (sdb7): bogus number of reserved sectors
[124321.918675] FAT-fs (sdb7): bogus number of reserved sectors

I am sorry I am a bit naive when it comes to hard drive failures. Any help I
can get is appreciated.

thanks
raju
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http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


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Sthu Deus

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Aug 30, 2012, 12:50:02 PM8/30/12
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Good time of the day, Kamaraju.
You will not be able to do so until You connect Your drive to computer
directly - i.e. through PATA/SATA cable.


Sthu.


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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Aug 30, 2012, 2:30:04 PM8/30/12
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Sthu Deus wrote:
>
> You will not be able to do so until You connect Your drive to computer
> directly - i.e. through PATA/SATA cable.
>

This is an external USB hard drive. The only connection it has is USB. So, I
guess in this case smartctl is not much useful.

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Dan Ritter

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Aug 30, 2012, 4:20:01 PM8/30/12
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On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 09:28:20AM -0400, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
> 1) Does this mean there are badblocks on my hard drive?

Yes.

> 2) Am I correct in choosing "yes" to both these questions or is there a
> better way?

Yes.

> 3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?

Yes.

> 4) What might have caused this problem and how to prevent it in the future?

I don't know, but in my experience, USB-connected hard disks
suffer these problems much more than PATA/SATA/eSATA/SCSI/SAS
disks do.

> 5) Is the filesystem on this partition corrupted?

Possibly. If you get to the end of the fsck and run it again,
and it comes up clean, then the filesystem is OK. Nevertheless,
it's time to get a new disk and copy everything you want off.

-dsr-


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Lisi

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Aug 30, 2012, 4:40:01 PM8/30/12
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On Thursday 30 August 2012 19:17:14 Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
> Sthu Deus wrote:
> > You will not be able to do so until You connect Your drive to computer
> > directly - i.e. through PATA/SATA cable.
>
> This is an external USB hard drive. The only connection it has is USB. So,
> I guess in this case smartctl is not much useful.

You could take it out of the enclosure and connect it directly. That is what
is being suggested.

Lisi


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Sthu Deus

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Aug 30, 2012, 5:30:02 PM8/30/12
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Kamaraju, You wrote:

> > You will not be able to do so until You connect Your drive to
> > computer directly - i.e. through PATA/SATA cable.
> >
>
> This is an external USB hard drive. The only connection it has is
> USB. So, I guess in this case smartctl is not much useful.

And You can not disassemble it?


Sthu.


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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Aug 30, 2012, 11:40:02 PM8/30/12
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Sthu Deus wrote:

> Kamaraju, You wrote:
>
>> > You will not be able to do so until You connect Your drive to
>> > computer directly - i.e. through PATA/SATA cable.
>> >
>>
>> This is an external USB hard drive. The only connection it has is
>> USB. So, I guess in this case smartctl is not much useful.
>
> And You can not disassemble it?
>
>

May be I am missing something here. The USB hard drive I am talking is very
similar to http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Prestige-Portable-
SuperSpeed-35192/dp/B004NIAG5E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top . The case can't be
removed.

raju
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http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Aug 30, 2012, 11:50:01 PM8/30/12
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Dan Ritter wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 09:28:20AM -0400, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
>> 4) What might have caused this problem and how to prevent it in the
>> future?
>
> I don't know, but in my experience, USB-connected hard disks
> suffer these problems much more than PATA/SATA/eSATA/SCSI/SAS
> disks do.
>

What about solid state hard drives that can be connected via USB drive? I
heard solid state hard drives are more dependable (but expensive) than the
usual (IDE?) ones. Does USB connection matter there too?

Thanks for answers to my other questions as well.

raju
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http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


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Dan Ritter

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Sep 2, 2012, 10:20:02 AM9/2/12
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On Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 11:40:55PM -0400, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
> Dan Ritter wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 09:28:20AM -0400, Kamaraju S Kusumanchi wrote:
> >> 4) What might have caused this problem and how to prevent it in the
> >> future?
> >
> > I don't know, but in my experience, USB-connected hard disks
> > suffer these problems much more than PATA/SATA/eSATA/SCSI/SAS
> > disks do.
> >
>
> What about solid state hard drives that can be connected via USB drive? I
> heard solid state hard drives are more dependable (but expensive) than the
> usual (IDE?) ones. Does USB connection matter there too?

I haven't any experience with those, other than thumb-sized
sticks and the like. I suspect the problem is the USB connection
rather than the drive technology.

-dsr-


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lee

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Sep 2, 2012, 11:00:03 AM9/2/12
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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi <raju.mai...@gmail.com> writes:

> When I ran
>
> $sudo e2fsck -c -c -f -v /dev/sdb7
>
> I am getting a lot of errors such as
>
> Error reading block 18022401 (Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted
> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>? yes
> Force rewrite<y>? yes
> 3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?

Corresponding entries in /var/log/syslog about the inability to read
sectors from this device would indicate that there is a hardware
problem. Provided that all connections and the power supply are ok, I
would say the device is broken when there are such errors in syslog.

In case there aren't errors in syslog, I would look somewhere else
first.

Are you really still using ext2fs?


Besides, is the device in question an SSD disk connected via USB? Why
would anyone connect an SSD drive via USB? And do you get the same
errors in syslog with an SSD drive as you get with an SATA or SCSI
drive? SSDs don't really have sectors, do they?


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Sthu Deus

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Sep 4, 2012, 12:50:02 PM9/4/12
to
Good time of the day, Kamaraju.


You wrote:

> May be I am missing something here. The USB hard drive I am talking
> is very similar to http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Prestige-Portable-
> SuperSpeed-35192/dp/B004NIAG5E/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top . The case
> can't be removed.

You have to understand: You have to connect it to the controller
directly OR You can not use what the SMART offers to You. That simple.

Personally, I do not believe that the HDD is not extractable -
speaking in general.


Sthu.


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Andrei POPESCU

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Sep 4, 2012, 12:50:02 PM9/4/12
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On Ma, 04 sep 12, 23:39:37, Sthu Deus wrote:
>
> Personally, I do not believe that the HDD is not extractable -
> speaking in general.

To quote an uncle of mine, one only needs a "persuader" (read: hammer)
:D

Kind regards,
Andrei
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Sthu Deus

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Sep 4, 2012, 1:30:03 PM9/4/12
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Good time of the day, Andrei.


You wrote:

> To quote an uncle of mine, one only needs a "persuader" (read:
> hammer) :D

You have very wise uncle! :o)


Sthu.


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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi

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Sep 5, 2012, 8:40:01 AM9/5/12
to
lee wrote:

> Kamaraju S Kusumanchi <raju.mai...@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> When I ran
>>
>> $sudo e2fsck -c -c -f -v /dev/sdb7
>>
>> I am getting a lot of errors such as
>>
>> Error reading block 18022401 (Attempt to read block from filesystem
>> resulted
>> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>?
>> yes Force rewrite<y>? yes
>> 3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?
>
> Corresponding entries in /var/log/syslog about the inability to read
> sectors from this device would indicate that there is a hardware
> problem. Provided that all connections and the power supply are ok, I
> would say the device is broken when there are such errors in syslog.
>
> In case there aren't errors in syslog, I would look somewhere else
> first.

Yes, there are I/O errors in syslog such as

Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.218041] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384272
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.219839] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384273
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.221584] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384274
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.223310] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384275
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.224973] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384276
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.226582] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384277
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.228158] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384278
Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.229713] Buffer I/O error on
device sdb7, logical block 5384279



>
> Are you really still using ext2fs?

The partitions are ext3. Is there a better command to check ext3 partitions
other than ext2fs?

> Besides, is the device in question an SSD disk connected via USB? Why
> would anyone connect an SSD drive via USB? And do you get the same
> errors in syslog with an SSD drive as you get with an SATA or SCSI
> drive? SSDs don't really have sectors, do they?

No, this is not an SSD drive. It is the ordinary (IDE?) drive with an
enclosure connected via USB. I do not have any experience with SSD drives.

thanks
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http://malayamaarutham.blogspot.com/


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Jon Dowland

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Sep 5, 2012, 8:50:02 AM9/5/12
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On Tue, Sep 04, 2012 at 11:39:37PM +0700, Sthu Deus wrote:
> You have to understand: You have to connect it to the controller
> directly OR You can not use what the SMART offers to You. That simple.

This is not actually true. Yes, the majority of USB hard drives do not support
SMART, but some do. See
<http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/smartmontools/wiki/Supported_USB-Devices>,
which tells me that lucky me, my WD Elements Desktop 2TB is supported.


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lee

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Sep 5, 2012, 3:20:02 PM9/5/12
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Kamaraju S Kusumanchi <raju.mai...@gmail.com> writes:

> lee wrote:
>
>> Kamaraju S Kusumanchi <raju.mai...@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> When I ran
>>>
>>> $sudo e2fsck -c -c -f -v /dev/sdb7
>>>
>>> I am getting a lot of errors such as
>>>
>>> Error reading block 18022401 (Attempt to read block from filesystem
>>> resulted
>>> in short read) while reading inode and block bitmaps. Ignore error<y>?
>>> yes Force rewrite<y>? yes
>>> 3) Is the drive going bad and need to be replaced?
>>
>> Corresponding entries in /var/log/syslog about the inability to read
>> sectors from this device would indicate that there is a hardware
>> problem. Provided that all connections and the power supply are ok, I
>> would say the device is broken when there are such errors in syslog.
>>
>> In case there aren't errors in syslog, I would look somewhere else
>> first.
>
> Yes, there are I/O errors in syslog such as
>
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.218041] Buffer I/O error on
> device sdb7, logical block 5384272

That seems to indicate that the disk is broken. At first I thought these
messages look different from what I've seen, but googling shows quite
some agreement that messages like this tell you that the disk is
damaged.

>> Are you really still using ext2fs?
>
> The partitions are ext3. Is there a better command to check ext3 partitions
> other than ext2fs?

See man fsck ... running "fsck -t ext2" probably ends up doing the same
thing as calling the fs-type specific checking tool directly, though.


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Sthu Deus

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Sep 6, 2012, 1:50:01 AM9/6/12
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Good time of the day, Jon.


Thank You for Your correction.
You wrote:

> > You have to understand: You have to connect it to the controller
> > directly OR You can not use what the SMART offers to You. That
> > simple.
>
> This is not actually true. Yes, the majority of USB hard drives do
> not support SMART, but some do. See
> <http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/smartmontools/wiki/Supported_USB-Devices>,
> which tells me that lucky me, my WD Elements Desktop 2TB is supported.

We will hope OP is lucky also.


Sthu.


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Sthu Deus

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Sep 6, 2012, 2:00:02 AM9/6/12
to
Good time of the day, Kamaraju.


You wrote:

> Yes, there are I/O errors in syslog such as
>
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.218041] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384272
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.219839] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384273
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.221584] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384274
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.223310] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384275
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.224973] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384276
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.226582] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384277
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.228158] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384278
> Aug 30 08:27:20 kusumanchi kernel: [118453.229713] Buffer I/O error
> on device sdb7, logical block 5384279

It seems that the *ATA-USB controller just quitted from its work
- therefore it is not the HDD failure - simply reset the controller.


Sthu.


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