KCLUG June 2007

kclug@kclug.org

36 participants
39 discussions

Stress Testing Hard Drives
by Billy Crook 09 Jul '07

09 Jul '07

Can anyone recommend a program or method of stress testing hard drives? I check memory/cpu with memtest86, but I would like some way to stress test a hard drive. Currently I dd urandom over it for a few days or DBAN it, but I'm looking for something more thought out. Preferably, a program that can run on a live system so I'd just attach the drive to be tested, and point the test at /dev/sdd or whatever dev it was on. Preserving data on the drive is (obviously) not a concern.

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Using USB memory key as boot directory for older computer?
by Leo Mauler 01 Jul '07

01 Jul '07

I have found a lot of articles on installing an entire Linux distribution onto a USB memory key. What I want to do is install Linux on an older computer, with an 80GB hard drive, but the BIOS doesn't like hard drives bigger than 64GB. The computer is one of those systems built to fit inside a compact case, so there is only room for one hard drive inside the case. As you know, Linux ignores the BIOS, so once it boots any size hard drive is okay. In ye olden days I'd use a floppy to boot the computer, but I'd much rather use a 64MB memory key for /boot so that I can use modern kernels. The computer itself will boot from a USB device. I have all of the parts I've mentioned and not enough money to buy anything else. Can anyone direct me to some assistance in getting a distribution installer (CD distribution) to recognize the USB memory key at boot time, so that it can be used as /boot? Also, does the USB key need to be initialized as bootable before beginning the Linux installation? I'm still deciding whether to use Ubuntu or Debian, though I am leaning towards Ubuntu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel. http://travel.yahoo.com/

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An OLD but 'interesting' article
by Julie 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

Hi, I stumbled upon this and got me to wondering if it's not tied to some of the more recents shenanegans of M$ ...and even AT&T. Wahdooya THINK??? AT&T looks into closing its Windows http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5398950.html --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

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Re: Stress Testing Hard Drives
by Billy Crook 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

I think they should lable hard drives with their halflife. On 6/26/07, Geoffrion, Ron P [IT] <Ron.Geoffrion(a)sprint.com> wrote: > > MTBF is a measure of certainty. > > > Thanks, > > Ron Geoffrion > 913.488.7664 > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* kclug-bounces(a)kclug.org [mailto:kclug-bounces@kclug.org] *On > Behalf Of *Billy Crook > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 26, 2007 11:45 AM > *To:* Jonathan Hutchins > *Cc:* kclug(a)kclug.org > *Subject:* Re: Stress Testing Hard Drives > > There's nothing quite as reassuring as uncertainty. > > On 6/26/07, Jonathan Hutchins <hutchins(a)tarcanfel.org > wrote: > > > > I think the only thing that stress testing a drive would do would be to > > move > > it closer to it's failure point. Either that will be early, in which > > case it > > might possibly happen while testing, not quite as early, in which case > > it > > will happen just after installation instead of a week after > > installation, or > > it will be later in the drive's life - in which case it will just happen > > a > > bit sooner than it would have. > > > > About the only use I can see for this would bet to stress test a few > > examples > > of a certain model of a drive to failure, and see what the MTBF is. > > > > There are also environmental factors to consider. Testing the drive in > > an > > open, bench-configured computer really doesn't give you any information > > about > > how it will perform in a closed case sandwiched between two other hot > > drives. > > This is one reason that some manufacturer's well intentioned MTBF > > estimates > > are inaccurate. > > > > Frankly, throwing it off a high building seems just as informative. > > > > If you can write a pattern to the drive and it passes fsck, and you can > > repeat > > this two or three times, that is going to be about as good a test as you > > can > > usefully perform. A drive that will function that well is an > > unpredictable > > distance from failure. > > _______________________________________________ > > Kclug mailing list > > Kclug(a)kclug.org > > http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug > > > >

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Even funnier still...
by Julie 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

"How to shoot yourself in the foot" by 'bportlock' Pascal - The compiler won't let you shoot yourself in the foot. Delphi -Take a laser cannon and point it at your foot. However be warned that pulling the trigger is liable to result in your entire lower body being vapourised. C - You pull the trigger and the gun fires so rapidly that you empty a whole magazine into your foot. C++ - You can't shoot yourself in the foot, but you can shoot anything derived from a foot. Java - Make a coffee, take out the gun and shoot discrete packets of bullets at your foot in a variety of styles. HTML - Wait for a public gathering, give out your address and announce that anyone wishing to visit may watch in total comfort whilst you shoot your foot. Warn eveyone that speed of performance may be highly variable. Ada - Create several instances of your foot and shoot them all simultaneously. Forth - Foot. Yourself. in the. Shoot. COBOL - Take a 4.5" shell and drop it on your foot smashing your whole lower leg into a bloody pulp. Fortran - Take a front loading musket, ram home the powder and shot and repeatedly pull the trigger until the bloody thing fires. Remember to aim at your foot. SAP - Hire an operating theatre, an expensive surgeon and a professional hitman. Have the hitman shoot you in the foot because you didn't pay all that money to have to do it yourself. The surgeon will then be able to upgrade your foot. RPG - Shoot yourself in the in the in the in the in the in the in the in the in the foot. RPG II - SHTFT. BASIC - Using a toy pistol, shoot at your feet and watch the sucker-tipped bullets bounce off. Your foot will be totally unharmed. VB - Proceed as for Basic but using coloured bullets. Smile during the whole process because it feels so good! Access - The toy pistol provided is too complicated to use so you have to throw the coloured sucker-tipped bullets at yout foot. Performance enhancements are only possible if you buy a bigger gun. OS/2 - You would like to shoot yourself in the foot, but nobody makes ammunition to fit your gun anymore. Assembly - Dig out the ore, smelt the metal and cast a gun, bullet and shell case. Make some gunpowder and fill the shell case and fit the bullet. Point it at your foot and pull the trigger but don't be surprised if it misses and kills someone else. Windows - It is time you had your feet amputated anyway. Nobody uses feet anymore now that Wheels XP is available. ***************************************************** I copied and pasted the above from the comments in this article: "Security Issues" by Paul Murphy http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=899 Have a good laugh! Julie @};- --------------------------------- Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.

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Even Softies get the Vista installation blues | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com
by Julie 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Hi, Y'all just might get a chuckle out of this one! I did...hehehe! <devil emoticon here> http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=531&tag=nl.e539 L8rz, Julie @};- --------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!

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Linux coders tackle power efficiency
by betelgeuse67stang＠yahoo.com 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

This ZDNN (http://news.zdnet.com/) story has been sent to you from betelgeuse67stang(a)yahoo.com, who added this comment: Thought ...OOOOPS! (call the fire dept! LOL!!!) some of you guys might be interested in this. L8rz, Julie @];- Linux coders tackle power efficiency By Stephen Shankland Programmers have begun serious work to cut consumption, extending PC Linux battery life and easing server costs. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6192865.html?tag=sas.email Read all technology news from this week: http://www.news.com/thisweeksheadlines/ -------------------------------- Copyright 2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. CNET Networks, Inc. 235 Second Street San Francisco, CA 94105 U.S.A.

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RE: Stress Testing Hard Drives
by John D. Frakes 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

So what label would come on out of box failure drives? The best thing I can think of is to partiton the drive and format with ext3, setting the block size low and performing a bad block check. Also do some reasearch into SMART and see if you can use smartds to log possible failures. Depending on the drive manufacturer, some log way before the failure. -john frakes -----Original Message----- From: "Billy Crook" <billycrook(a)gmail.com> To: "Geoffrion, Ron P [IT]" <Ron.Geoffrion(a)sprint.com> Cc: kclug(a)kclug.org Sent: 6/26/2007 11:51 AM Subject: Re: Stress Testing Hard Drives I think they should lable hard drives with their halflife. On 6/26/07, Geoffrion, Ron P [IT] <Ron.Geoffrion(a)sprint.com> wrote: > > MTBF is a measure of certainty. > > > Thanks, > > Ron Geoffrion > 913.488.7664 > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* kclug-bounces(a)kclug.org [mailto:kclug-bounces@kclug.org] *On > Behalf Of *Billy Crook > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 26, 2007 11:45 AM > *To:* Jonathan Hutchins > *Cc:* kclug(a)kclug.org > *Subject:* Re: Stress Testing Hard Drives > > There's nothing quite as reassuring as uncertainty. > > On 6/26/07, Jonathan Hutchins <hutchins(a)tarcanfel.org > wrote: > > > > I think the only thing that stress testing a drive would do would be to > > move > > it closer to it's failure point. Either that will be early, in which > > case it > > might possibly happen while testing, not quite as early, in which case > > it > > will happen just after installation instead of a week after > > installation, or > > it will be later in the drive's life - in which case it will just happen > > a > > bit sooner than it would have. > > > > About the only use I can see for this would bet to stress test a few > > examples > > of a certain model of a drive to failure, and see what the MTBF is. > > > > There are also environmental factors to consider. Testing the drive in > > an > > open, bench-configured computer really doesn't give you any information > > about > > how it will perform in a closed case sandwiched between two other hot > > drives. > > This is one reason that some manufacturer's well intentioned MTBF > > estimates > > are inaccurate. > > > > Frankly, throwing it off a high building seems just as informative. > > > > If you can write a pattern to the drive and it passes fsck, and you can > > repeat > > this two or three times, that is going to be about as good a test as you > > can > > usefully perform. A drive that will function that well is an > > unpredictable > > distance from failure. > > _______________________________________________ > > Kclug mailing list > > Kclug(a)kclug.org > > http://kclug.org/mailman/listinfo/kclug > > > >

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64-bit #2
by lowell 25 Jun '07

25 Jun '07

thx to all who responded; will put that information to work soon I hope...

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64-bit
by lowell 25 Jun '07

25 Jun '07

</lurk> Would the list care to comment on the current state of Linux on 64-bit mobo's? <lurk>

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KCLUG June 2007