A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far way, someone said... [...] > My hardware is: > > - Dell NetPlex 486SX/25 > - 32MB RAM > - AHA1542C SCSI Controller > - 3COM 509B Ethernet Controller > - 2-port 16550A Serial Card > - 3 x SCSI Hard Drives External > - 1 x SCSI Jaz Drive External > - 1 x SCSI Sony DDS-3 DAT Drive External > > My software is: > > - Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 (slink) > - Glibc 2.1 added from potato > - Linux 2.2.11 kernel
[...] > After the system has been up for a random length of time (usually > about a week or so) it will crash in the middle of the night during a > full backup to the DAT drive using cpio. The machine hangs in either > an infinite loop or a kernel panic. I originally was running Debian > 2.1 with a 2.0.36 kernel, and I would see the following scrolling > endlessly off the screen after a crash: > > Sending SCSI DID_RESET... > Sending SCSI DID_RESET... > Sending SCSI DID_RESET... > Sending SCSI DID_RESET... > Sending SCSI DID_RESET... > other scsi messages, etc... > > Since installing the 2.2 kernel and associated upgraded packages as > detailed in the errata for slink, the crashes *seem* to occur less often, > but this morning I saw: > > aha1542_out failed... > aha1542_out failed... failed to reset target... > ... > Kernel panic: unable to find empty mailbox for aha1542... > > and the system was locked up. Since upgrading to the 2.2 kernel, I > also notice periodic messages in the syslog (about one per day) like > this: > > aha1542.c: interrupt received but no mail > > The system will run perfectly for a week or so, doing this same backup > routine every night, and then it will just pull this trick on some random > night. > > I have tried: > > - disconnecting all devices except the tape drive hard drives > - installing the highest quality cables I can find for the external > devices (this machine currently has about $400 US worth of Granite > Digital cables hanging off of it). > - installing a Granite Digital active terminator on the end of the SCSI > chain > - verifying that there are no interrupt or IO port confilicts both in the > device jumper configurations and from the /proc filesystem Tried a different (newer) kernel? IIRC there have been changes to the aha1542 driver since 2.2.11 - current is 2.2.13. > I am completely at my wits end with this. I have searched DejaNews > repeatedly for any discussions of kernel panics and crashes with > Adaptec cards, Linux, SCSI in general, etc., and all I can find is one > thread from about a year ago mentioning the same sorts of problems but > no solution. > > Is this a problem that anyone else has ever had with Linux and an > AHA1542C in particular or SCSI in general? Can anyone recommend which > part of the setup I should change or eliminate? > Is it a bad card? It's a possibility. > Are Adaptec cards bad in general? Not at all - they're considered to be among the best. > Is the aha1542 scsi driver problematic? It's a possibility. Try a newer kernel. I have a different revision 1542 (I think its a 1542CF) with a small HD and a CD-ROM drive hanging off it, and have no problems. > Is Linux SCSI in general problematic? Not in my experience. I have 3 computers with running Linux and SCSI, and none of them have this problem. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Phil Brutsche [EMAIL PROTECTED] "There are two things that are infinite; Human stupidity and the universe. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
