Computer Specs:
LG GH22NS50 22x SATA INTERNAL OEM Black Color SATA DVD WRITER * 1
STRONTIUM HYNIX 2GB 1333MHz DDR3 PC10660 w/ Lifetime Warranty * 4
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz /3.3GHz Turbo Core 9MB cache Socket AM3 125W TDP * 1
GIGABYTE 890GPA-UD3H AM3 DDR3 1866 Six-Core Processor Ready 890GX+SB850, USB3.0 & SATA3 * 1
Seagate 250G 8M 7200.12 SATA II 3G Internal NCQ HDD (ST3250318AS) * 1
HITACHI 1TB SATA2 3.5" Internal HDD DESKSTAR 7K1000.C 32MB 7200RPM * 3
COOLER MASTER 650W eXtreme Power Plus SLI Silent 12CM Fan Newest ATX 12V V2.3 Dual +12V1 * 1
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Prem 64bit OEM (GFC-00977) * 1
HDD Configuration:
3 * 1 TB Hitachi HDD existing in a RAID5 set (=2TB volume)
1 * Seagate hard drive, exists outside of the RAID set and is used for swap files (Both OS and photoshop)
Problem Description:
The RAID Expert software periodically displays an 'unknown error'
This error is becoming more frequent
Seemingly no impact to the computer as a whole
Is reported in the event log, however no further information beyond the time of its occurence is available
Excluded factors:
Internal power. Usage has been calculated prior to the build of the computer, and is not being exceeded.
External Power. The computer has external power conditioning - a Belkin 4 way power conditioner.
Drivers. Latest Drivers are being used (at least as far as Windows update is concerned)
Remaining factors:
1: BIOS - I am loathe to perform any form of firmware upgrade, unless it can be demonstrated that this is the only way to fix the
problem. Seen too many flash attempts go wrong to happily entertain the idea.
2: RAIDXPERT software - internal/unresolved problem. What scares me about this is that I may have an imminient failure on my hands,
and no way to determine where that failure will occur.
2.1: RAIDXPERT software - false alarm (I dont accept this at this stage, because the frequency is increasing)
3: RAM - Windows is capable of hiding a multitude of sins at the RAM level.
4: One or all drives inside or outside of the set are failing; however:
4.1 All of the drives in the RAID set report being healthy - according to RAIDXPERT itself; and:
4.1.1 The drive outside the set is also reported as being healthy.
5: The motherboard - specifically the south-bridge. Perhaps it really is not fit for purpose.
5.1 The Motherboard - DMA problem?
6: S.M.A.R.T implementation - drive manufacturers have different implementations. Perhaps the less common Hitachi drives are raising
events that the RAIDXPERT cannot correctly interpret. Or using an unexpected metric.
Information provided elsewhere:
One thread suggested disabling S.M.A.R.T. Potentially this information does not propagate through RAID properly. I accept that this
may be the case, and further I recognise that different HDD vendors have their own S.M.A.R.T implementations.
That same thread suggested what I consider masking the symptom: using an older version of the RAIDXPERT software.
Other Information:
When, in the first week, one of the Hitachi drives did fail, the RAIDXPERT did report the problem correctly, and take the drive offline.
Knowing that the RAID controller is them forced to reconstruct the remaining stripe on the fly (computationally expensive), the computer was
shut down until the replacement drive was fitted, and the array rebuilt.
That incident has shaken my confidence in the Hitachi brand. Further; This particular disk is no longer avaialble in NZ. Co-indicence?
I dont know.
My Question:
What suggestions does anyone have that might point me in the right direction here.
Many Thanks,
Chris
