[TriLUG] hard drive error/meltdown imminent

[Douglas Kojetin]

Hi All-

I just upgraded to RedHat 9, used yum to update all packages, and was 
moving files from my 'backup drive' to the regular drive -- and noticed 
errors similar to the following (they are not exactly the following, 
because I did not write down the exact output, but searched google for 
help):

hdb: read_intr: status=0x59 {DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error}
hdb: read_intr: error=0x40 {UnCorrectable Error}, LBAsect= 1577352, 
sector= 1577352
end_request: I/O error, dev 03:31 (hdb), sector 1577352

Basically, as I was copying some data over to my /home directory, >10 
of these were output before I attempted to restart the system.  I 
thought maybe it was a kernel issue ... or perhaps an IDE cable issue 
... so I replace the cable, and tried booting into the old and new 
kernels, but both had errors.

I ran FSCK (fsck -ncv /dev/hdb1) to check, and under the new kernel I 
got some of the same errors (i think around sector 1569824 and above).  
I restarted and a notice popped up saying that "SMART" detected the 
hard drive was likely to fail ... please back up .... yadda yadda ...

... and just ran it on the older kernel, and the same errors are 
popping out ...

Luckily, there are absolutely no important files on that drive that are 
not backed up ... but I'd hate to lose an 80GB drive!

Will running FSCK to flag the errors 'fix' the drive?  Or is it best to 
throw out?  Can it be replaced?  I think it's a Western Digital 80GB 
drive ... < 2 yrs old ....

Thanks for the input,
Doug