SATA Error

[Liberto Camús]

When I plug a SATA disk and power it externally, dmesg outputs:

ata1: irq_stat 0x00000040, connection status changed

ata1; SError: { Commwake DevExch }

ata1: limiting SATA link speed to 1.5 Gbps

ata1: SATA link down {SStatus 1 SControl 310)

ata1: exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4040000 action 0xe fro

It appears five times, until it writes:

ata1: EH pending after 5 tries, giving up

ata1: EH complete

The disk works flawlessly in my laptop.

I'm booting from the official ubuntu image. Could anyone help me?

Thanks in advance

Liberto

[Liberto Camús]

It seems to be a compatibility problem with the hard disk. It's a WD5000BEVT (WS Scorpio Blue 500GB 2,5)

I've tried with a OCZ SSD and it works. 

I want to buy a hard disk for the wandboard, but now i fear it might not be compatible. What should I keep in mind when I buy it to be reasonably sure it will work?

[Martin Wild]

Hi!

What you are facing here is more likely a problem with your power source, than your hdd.
I've also had this kind of error with a different board,and it vanished as i switched to an stable 3A 5V psu. Seemed like the peak power consumption from the hdd when seeking or doing spinup was too high for the old psu. This would explain why your ssd works for it consumes less and more constant power.

Regards,martin

[Liberto Camús]

Hi, Martin!

I've tried what you said and It seems that the power source isn't the problem. The same power source and the same hdd connected via adapter sata->usb works perfectly.
I'll make some more tests

Thanks for your answer
Liberto

[Liberto Camús]

Hi again!

You're right, Martin.
I've tested three hard drives (hdd, ssd and a hybrid one) using other psu and all of them work perfectly.
There is no compatibility problem.

Thanks a lot!
Liberto