[kwlug-disc] Media errors on a USB disk

[unsolicited]

Khalid Baheyeldin wrote, On 10/23/2010 9:14 PM:
> So, here is an update.
> 
> I ran the e2fsck -c -y on the the disk (1TB), still in its USB enclosure.
> 
> One thing I noticed is that it complained about the bad blocks inode being
> shared by another file. Should I be concerned about this? Or has it been
> fixed by fsck?
> 
> Also, it took a long time. I know I can take the disk out of the enclosure
> (with some tinkering, this USB enclosure is not designed to be opened), but
> I have reasons not to for the time being.

Warranty, or it's a client's, presumably.

None of your messages to date indicate you mistrust the data that's 
there, so I'll leave that branch of this thread. Mind you, Charles' 
advice about taking an image (now?), resonates. Presumably a raw 
image. Thus, if it's a client's, you may be protecting your backside 
by taking one. (Hopefully you don't have to buy another USB drive just 
to back up this one. See 'irony.')

	Hopefully this is the only USB device you have hooked up at the 
moment, at least on that channel. Any change if you use a different 
usb port? The AC adapter is plugged in to it? Have you noticed any 
difference between a 'powered' usb port and a non-powered one?

If warranty is the issue ... well ... how 'bad' does a drive have to 
be (per your manufacturer) before it is replaceable? Perhaps worth 
finding out?

This thread does make me wonder ... are you dealing with file system 
corruption, or a disk going bad (let alone the usb interface "isn't 
ATA"). If it's disk corruption, presumably file system corruption is 
not far behind, jeopardizing the files that are currently there and 
healthy, now. (You have a backup?) Could that be what you are now 
seeing? (Thus the inode issue, now?)

Since it's a USB drive and you're reluctant to extract it, I'm 
guessing the manufacturer intended it to only ever be a USB drive. In 
that case ... might they have a diagnostic program that does run over USB?