Re: [ubuntu-users] Double Trouble with GRUB



On Mon, 2009-08-31 at 14:54 -0600, Ted Hilts wrote:
[enormous snip]

This next part may not be relevant but here goes anyway. I usually have
no problem if the booting up occurs after there has been a shut down for
a while like an hour or more. If I try to boot up right after the
problem has occurred then chances are it won't boot properly and most of
the file system will be missing. There are a total of 8 drives one of
which is the DVD/CD rw and the rest are hard drives with most of them
NTFS formatted but one is "ext3" and a partiion in another is also
"ext3" for "/". The power supply was sized for all these drives. In
addition, the system is dual boot, Ubuntu and XP. This probably means
that there is a large capacitance that would hold power maybe enough
power so that the charge does not melt off for a while. This is bad
power design and could cause a problem when turning on the machine. Or,
maybe the power design is good but the component that should drain
residual power has failed -- still a bad design.

This information is actually extremely helpful and is, in my opinion,
quite relevant. Having such a large number of drives, and having
strange problems after doing cold boots screams PSU issue to me. If you
could please:

1. What kind of PSU do you have? (make/model/Watts)
2. What other hardware do you have installed in your PC aside from
the drives (i.e. stuff in the expansion slots... extra sound
card/graphics card etc.)?
3. What processor do you have(make/model)?
4. How much RAM are you using?

It's entirely possible that your PSU could be powerful enough to run all
the drives once they're up, but afaik hard drives draw the largest
ammount of energy when they are spinning up. I've certainly seen
problems before where a large number of disks was causing prower
issues... although those problems manifested as crashes during 3D apps.

Also be sure to take into account the fact that your PSU isn't 100%
efficient... 80% is pushing it (only if you get an 80+ certified drive),
and 50-60% is usually safe, and allows for some breathing room.

If you are fully confident that the PSU should be able to handle all
that hardware, you could also check your BIOS for settings related to
bootstepping (I think that's what it's called). Basically what this is
supposed to do is allow you to delay the power-up/spin-up of some of
your disks, so you can power them up slowly, or one/two at a time,
rather than throwing that huge load on the PSU all at once.

hope that helps.


--
Andrew
_____________________________
Registered Linux User: 473690
Registered Ubuntu User: 22747


--
ubuntu-users mailing list
ubuntu-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Misc low power server questions.
    ... router but whilst it's extremely quiet and low power it isn't 'nice'. ... 'Green' drives would probably be sufficient. ... have a matching low power '80 Plus' PSU? ... in it and it sucks about 45 watts. ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: Computer resets several times while booting
    ... IME disk problems show as odd errors during the boot, very slow booting or a total failure to boot. ... I'd take a careful look at the connections on both sides of the PSU. ... Check the power switch too if its mechanical rather than a "soft" switch. ... Check that none of the connectors are loose or dirty and also look at the mains cord. ...
    (comp.os.linux.hardware)
  • Re: Power supply fried, replaced it, computer wont start
    ... Attached the power cord only, started it, everything worked (hard drives ... Plugged the computer in, turned on the PSU, and nothing. ... I'm not an electrician or electrical ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: Misc low power server questions.
    ... router but whilst it's extremely quiet and low power it isn't 'nice'. ... have a matching low power '80 Plus' PSU? ... the 3 x 500G Samsung SATA drives I already have show: ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: PC has died overnight
    ... Now when I came to the PC this morning, and tried to bring the monitor back to life it stayed black and I heard clicking noises coming from the PC case, with the power led coming on and off. ... I first thought the PSU, ann was going to try another one I had but the main plug is only 20 pins and the board socket is 24 pins as well as another socket being different. ... Disconnect power from all hard drives, CD/DVD drives, ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)