On Thu, 28 Feb 2013, zlinw@mcmedia.com.au wrote:
From recent behaviour I think the most likely cause is the spindle motor on the drive is slow in starting. I will though check __ALL__ connections as I have had some __VERY__ strange things caused by both SATA data and power connectors not being fully home.
I suggest that you firstly don't turn the system off until you have purchased a replacement disk. In the past when dealing with servers I've had a practice of not turning systems off for more than a few minutes if they have been running 24*7 for a long time to avoid the risk of such problems. If the power to your house is reliable (or you have a UPS) and the system can run 24*7 then you could just run it non-stop until you are ready to replace the disk (if the disk is out of warranty but too valuable or inconvenient to replace now then this is a good option). If the disk can be easily and cheaply replaced (as is probably the case for a SATA disk that's less than 3TB in size) then just replace it now and figure out the problem later. It could be that your current diagnosis is incorrect. But having a spare SATA disk lying around is always handy so if you can afford it then just buy another disk. If nothing else you will end up knowing more about the problem and have a spare disk for backups. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/