Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 21:45:38 +0200 From: Roland Smith <rsmith@xs4all.nl> To: John Almberg <jalmberg@identry.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: low-level format before install? Message-ID: <20090407194538.GB62574@slackbox.xs4all.nl> In-Reply-To: <13D52068-D184-42D9-AE6C-F095C1283975@identry.com> References: <13D52068-D184-42D9-AE6C-F095C1283975@identry.com>
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[-- Attachment #1 --] On Tue, Apr 07, 2009 at 03:15:59PM -0400, John Almberg wrote: > Well, I've got real problems with that database server that lost > power over the weekend. We reloaded FreeBSD from scratch and then > reinstalled mysql, and pf. I loaded up my database and switched over > all my customer's websites. The database server ran fine for about 2 > minutes, and then died. At the moment, I can't even ssh into the > machine, although they can get into it using a keyboard/monitor at > the data center. In other words, sshd is not working. > > I am now wondering what kind of format the FreeBSD install process > does by default, and if it is possible to do a low level format, > first, to block out any bad sectors (not sure if this is the right > terminology). What you could do is run a shell from the install CD, then fill the disk with zeros using 'dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/<yourdisk> bs=2m'. As I understand it, modern hard disks cannot be low-level formatted by the user. It is done at the factory. And bad blocks are re-allocated by the built-in controller without user intervention. In fact, you'll only see re-allocated blocks in the smartctl -a output (as Reallocated_Sector_Ct) when the drive has exhausted its spare sectors. In which case you'd better replace it, because it is failing. > I'm starting to get real depressed about this machine... You would > think a top-tier data center could keep the power on... Are you sure that the hardware isn't crapping out on you? At least run smartctl -a on your disks to see if they failed any self test, and a monitoring program like mbmon to check on temperatures and voltage levels. Roland -- R.F.Smith http://www.xs4all.nl/~rsmith/ [plain text _non-HTML_ PGP/GnuPG encrypted/signed email much appreciated] pgp: 1A2B 477F 9970 BA3C 2914 B7CE 1277 EFB0 C321 A725 (KeyID: C321A725) [-- Attachment #2 --] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.11 (FreeBSD) iEYEARECAAYFAknbrWIACgkQEnfvsMMhpyXFjACeNNqUpf3MgXTO4rADpuJ9Whz4 TOIAnRZdQuKoo7rZIvaIWO+r58NihHQ2 =jnx1 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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