Whenever I boot up my linux machine, it gets stuck on the following
:
hda : irq timeout : status 0x50 { DriveReady SeekComplete }
may be a DMA problem. You could fool around with hdparm - at your own risk of course.
Well,
I'd like to add one more possibility - the one I faced. It could be because of a malfunctioning HDD connection or a HDD crash. When we connect standard IDE devices, we use an EIDE 40-pin data cable. There are different types of IDE cables as well - like ATA33, ATA66 and ATA100 compatibles. This cable tends to become loose. So, just check for this possibility as well - even though you feel that the cable is properly connected. Just remove the cable from the back of the drive, clean it with a strong air blow, and replace it back.
There is one more POSSIBILITY of HDD being shut down by the BIOS APM system. In that case, when you boot the system into linux, such problems may occur due to the delay involved in initializing HDD system - escpecially for old HDDs having long init delays. This will happen when you work for about an hr. on your primary HDD without accessing your second HDD at all. The BIOS APM, if set, will shut down the second HDD to save power. If your Linux happens to access the second HDD after some time, you MAY face problems. There was a problem with new Samsung 40GB HDDs as well sometime back. Because of faulty IDE interface/controller, they had surprisingly long init delay. Samsung had to replace them whenever asked for by a customer.
Pls. someone correct me if I'm wrong anyway.
Kunal Gangakhedkar ----------------------
Do you bury me when I'm gone Do you teach me while I'm here As soon as I belong Then it's time I disappear
Metallica - I Disappear