Re: Interpreting IDE error code from hdreg.h

Rogier Wolff (R.E.Wolff@BitWizard.nl)
Wed, 8 Jul 1998 08:48:17 +0200 (MET DST)

B. James Phillippe wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm hoping an IDE wizard (Mark Lord or Gadi Oxman, hint hint :) can
> illuminate something for me. I have a small IDE flashRAM card which,
> although apparently working fine for reads and writes (of files), generates
> an ABRT_ERR (from hd_reg.h) on certain accesses, such as mounting, mkfs and
> partitioning. I have other such flashRAM cards which do not exhibit these
> errors. Can someone help me understand what physical conditions might
> trigger an aborted command?
>
> #define ABRT_ERR 0x04 /* Command aborted */

This sounds to me as if the driver is trying a command before the card
is ready for it: It is still working on getting the previous command
into flash. The reception of a new command causes the card to drop
what it's doing (abort).

I would think that this is a problem with the card: it probably
signals that it's ready for the next command even before it actually
is. Linux wouldn't start a new command before the flag bits indicate
that it is ready for it. (Hmmm.... Mark, could it be that you blindly
assume the drive is ready for the next command if it interrupts for
"previous one finished"?)

This happens from time to time. W95 is soooo slow that it never
triggers these, and that's what these things are tested against....
Even Linux seems to be too slow to trigger it reliably all the time.

Roger. 

-- 
Actor asks a collegue: "To what do you owe your success in acting?"
Answer: "Honesty. Once you've learned how to fake that, you've got it made."
-------- Custom Linux device drivers for sale! Call for a quote. ----------
Email: R.E.Wolff@BitWizard.nl || Tel: +31-15-2137555 || FAX: +31-15-2138217


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