Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

natgab · 2012-07-09 01:41:29

I have a Thinkpad X40, which uses 1.8" 4200 rpm HD ( iPod HD ).

I want to run full disk utilites and the HD SMART test on it because I just erased my Lubuntu partition and re-installed #! Statler. In Lubuntu I used the GUI disk utility, but I couldn't find it in Synaptic. I found this page but its for Ubuntu on how to use GUI disk utilities and fdisk but not sure if the commands are identical for CrunchBang.

Page: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/37659/th … utilities/

I tried using

 sudo umount /dev/sda

and #! says there is no unmount command.

My laptop info:

Thinkpad X40 ( Model # 2371-8EU ) BIOS 2.08
CPU: 1.2GHz Pentium M RAM: 1GHz RAM Storage: 40GB HD Hitachi
GPU: 64MB Intel Extreme Graphics 2
NIC: Intel 82541G Ethernet Wifi: Atheros 5212 / 5213 WIFI
OS: CrunchBang 10 Statler

Last edited by natgab (2012-07-13 01:39:40)

pidsley · 2012-07-09 02:00:07

natgab wrote:

I tried using
 sudo umount /dev/sda 
and #! says there is no unmount command.

You must have typed "unmount" and not "umount" -- but if you want to run fsck on your hard drive, you should really be doing it from a Live CD, not from the disk where #! is running. I have never run this utility, so you might want to wait for someone else with more experience before you run it. I know you can do a lot of damage if you don't do it correctly. Let me say that again: you can do more harm than good if you don't do it correctly.

I don't really know why you want to run full diagnostics on your disk just because you uninstalled something. Were you having problems you think were caused by a faulty disk?

But anyway:

To use the SMART tools, either install the gnome-disk-utility (this is the GUI tool in the link you posted):

sudo apt-get install gnome-disk-utility

and then run it from a terminal by typing

palimpsest

Make sure you spell that right -- "palimpsest"

or load the command-line smartmontools package:

sudo apt-get install smartmontools

and then follow the instructions here: http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/smartm … iki/TocDoc

Last edited by pidsley (2012-07-09 02:21:08)

natgab · 2012-07-09 17:45:12

pidsley wrote:

natgab wrote:
I tried using
 sudo umount /dev/sda 
and #! says there is no unmount command.
You must have typed "unmount" and not "umount" -- but if you want to run fsck on your hard drive, you should really be doing it from a Live CD, not from the disk where #! is running. I have never run this utility, so you might want to wait for someone else with more experience before you run it. I know you can do a lot of damage if you don't do it correctly. Let me say that again: you can do more harm than good if you don't do it correctly.
I don't really know why you want to run full diagnostics on your disk just because you uninstalled something. Were you having problems you think were caused by a faulty disk?
But anyway:
To use the SMART tools, either install the gnome-disk-utility (this is the GUI tool in the link you posted):
sudo apt-get install gnome-disk-utility
and then run it from a terminal by typing
palimpsest
Make sure you spell that right -- "palimpsest"
or load the command-line smartmontools package:
sudo apt-get install smartmontools
and then follow the instructions here: http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/smartm … iki/TocDoc

--I think I did not explain my reason for wanting to run the program properly. I really was more concerned with the last time I ram the SMART test and it said I had some bad blocks.

My main question is are the bad blocks marked in the HD firmware when I ran SMART in Lubuntu or did the information get lost when I changed from dual boot to CrunchBang only?

I won't touch anything untill I get more responses yikes Good thing I mised-typed!

pidsley · 2012-07-09 17:54:49

I am not absolutely certain, but I believe the HDD handles this all by itself. I have a disk that SMART says has some "bad blocks" and I've never had any problems with it. I have moved it from one machine to another, and installed all kinds of things on it, and it works fine. I think the HDD logs the "bad blocks" and just doesn't use them.

The SMART tools are safe to run (smartmontools from the command line and palimpsest if you want a GUI) it's just fsck that can cause major problems on a mounted file system.

Eventually someone who knows more than I do will probably find this thread, but in the meantime you can go ahead and run palimpsest and see what it tells you, but I wouldn't worry about a few bad blocks.

natgab · 2012-07-09 18:12:09

pidsley wrote:

I am not absolutely certain, but I believe the HDD handles this all by itself. I have a disk that SMART says has some "bad blocks" and I've never had any problems with it. I have moved it from one machine to another, and installed all kinds of things on it, and it works fine. I think the HDD logs the "bad blocks" and just doesn't use them.
The SMART tools are safe to run (smartmontools from the command line and palimpsest if you want a GUI) it's just fsck that can cause major problems on a mounted file system.
Eventually someone who knows more than I do will probably find this thread, but in the meantime you can go ahead and run palimpsest and see what it tells you, but I wouldn't worry about a few bad blocks.

--OK, thanks. I will install the SMART tools and see what it says. I mostly worry becuase it is an odd-ball (expensive) iPod sized HD that runs at 4200rpm. So I think its a little more vulnerable to having bad blocks than your normal 3.5" HD in a desktop.

I wasn't worried about swapping out OS in the HD, I like to swap out Linux distros in my desktop. But that HD I bought new and it has never shown to have any bad blocks.

--SMART test took care of my problem I ran it and now all the bad sectors are marked. thanks pidsley !

Last edited by natgab (2012-07-13 01:42:49)

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#1 2012-07-09 01:41:29

Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

#2 2012-07-09 02:00:07

Re: Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

#3 2012-07-09 17:45:12

Re: Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

#4 2012-07-09 17:54:49

Re: Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

#5 2012-07-09 18:12:09

Re: Disk Utility question [SOLVED]

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