Current kernel / scripts can damage your harddisk

[jongkind]

Some posts on this can be found elsewhere, but I think the subject is important enough to make a summary of it, since it can prevent hardware damage. The point is that the current Ubuntu Kernel (or scripts?) can damage your harddisk. When I power off my laptop I hear a loud click from the hd, in the same way as if I powered it off using the switch. That is what is called emergency parking of heads, and could damage hardware in the long run.

Methods for diagnoses are given here (Christian Schlauer said on 2007-07-18 )
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.17/+bug/67810

That emergency parking really is not good for your harddisk is described here:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/85CC1FF9F3F11FE187256C4F0052E6B6/$file/80GNSpec2.0.pdf

"Use of emergency unload reduces the start/stop life of the drive at a rate at least 100 times faster than that of normal unload and may damage the drive."

A workaround and details are given here (same link as above, but a workaround from Martin Koßler who said on 2007-04-09):
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-source-2.6.17/+bug/67810

This problem is not unique for Ubuntu, some Googling will tell you that other distro's have the same issue. This will be fixed in the 2.6.22 kernel.

[heimo]

I did not find posts that described this issue.

Here, found by searching:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=417047
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=309185

[jongkind]

Here, found by searching:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=417047
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=309185

Good, I'll edit my previous post and remove the description, thanks.

[heimo]

Good, I'll edit my previous post and remove the description, thanks.

Argh... No no... That was a good post summarizing it. It's a very valid point and serious problem and deserves some attention. You could have kept it as is.

[jongkind]

Argh... No no... That was a good post summarizing it. It's a very valid point and serious problem and deserves some attention. You could have kept it as is.

Hm, probably you're right. OK, I re-edited the post again with more or less the original text.

[maniacmusician]

hmm, do you just mean the kernel in Feisty? Because Gutsy is already using the 26.22-8 kernel...

[bapoumba]

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=508576
There is already a very long thread in the "Hardware & Laptop" section. I'm closing here (not merge) for a redirect :)

Please contribute to the pre-existing thread, thanks.