Re: Linux kernel 2.6.10 sata_nv.c stops working on my hardware

[Grzegorz Adam Hankiewicz <gradha@titanium.sabren.com>]

On 2006-06-27, Grzegorz Adam Hankiewicz <gradha@titanium.sabren.com> wrote:
> On 2006-06-26, Allen Martin <AMartin@nvidia.com> wrote:
> >  static struct ata_port_info nv_port_info = {
> >         .sht            = &nv_sht,
> >         .host_flags     = ATA_FLAG_SATA |
> > -                         ATA_FLAG_SATA_RESET |
> > +                         /* ATA_FLAG_SATA_RESET | */
> >                           ATA_FLAG_SRST |
> >                           ATA_FLAG_NO_LEGACY,
> >         .pio_mask       = NV_PIO_MASK,
> 
> Actually the change you proposed works on my system. A 2.6.10
> with the ATA_FLAG_SATA_RESET works.  I did the same to a 2.6.16
> kernel but there it didn't work. I guess something else was
> introduced between 2.6.10 and 2.6.16.  I'll start recompiling
> again everything from 2.6.10 up to 2.6.16 with that flag turned
> on to see where it stops working again.

I recompiled all kernels from 2.6.11 to 2.6.16 with the
ATA_FLAG_SATA_RESET and was able to boot up to 2.6.12.  2.6.13 would
hang mounting ext3. This is bad news though, a sata_nv.c diff between
2.6.12 and 2.6.13 shows no changes. Which I guess it means there's
nothing wrong with sata_nv.c.

I would understand now that the ATA_FLAG_SATA_RESET introduced in
2.6.10 just highlighted another bug somewhere else which affects
my machine, and I would need to look at other changes between 2.6.9
and 2.6.10. What should I do now?

Another thing I have discovered is that if I boot with a Knoppix
5 (kernel 2.6.17 I believe) and mount the sata drives read only,
there is no problem with them. I can read their whole contents,
really fast, without hiccups. It's at the point of using fdisk on
them or trying to mount them as writeable that the commands hang.