Kernel Panics and SATA Errors: ICH7 & WD drives

[Rich Renomeron]

Thorne Lawler wrote:
> A complete win2k install and several hours of shunting multi-GB files
> around produced zero errors. A ~3HR-per-disk run of the "Advanced"
> Hitachi disk fitness tests on each disk produced zero errors.
>
> If there is something wrong with the disks, (a) Everyone else seems to
> be able to avoid triggering it, and (b) I am not going to be able to
> convince the vendor to take them back a faulty.
>
> Since my last post I have verified that this same problem occurs with
> Dapper 32-bit server, Dapper 32-bit desktop and Breezy live-cd.

Have you tried a different distribution, say Fedora Core 5?  That way
you can see if your problem is Ubuntu-specific.

The Mandrake mailing list post cited earlier in this thread implied that
WD drives have not played nice with Linux in the past.  Your success
with Windows 2000 may be due to a driver that understands the quirks (if
any) of WD drives that make them "different" from a drive that follows
the SATA standard to the letter.  If it's feasible for you, you might
want to try a drive from a different manufacturer.

In the meantime, consider my (formerly) absolute faith in WD shattered.

Good luck,
Rich

-- 
 From the Notebook of Rich Renomeron
 The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.