For about two weeks ago, I had two of these incidents (13 days apart between them):

hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x61
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hda: DMA disabled
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success
hdb: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x41
hdb: DMA timeout error
hdb: dma timeout error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete
DataRequest } ide: failed opcode was: unknown
hdb: DMA disabled
ide0: reset: success

Thats normally just a bad cable. And since the problem is seen with
more than one hard drive, its almost certainly just a bad cable.

Can be a bad hard drive controller on the motherboard etc but thats much less likely.

From this, my old Linux/Debian system became slow and
unresponsive due to high CPU usage (e.g., 7.xx in top).

Because its turned the DMA off, as it says.

I wonder if I can re-enable DMA without rebooting. I think hdparm
controls that?


I had to shutdown (shutdown -r now) Linux/Debian,
reboot, and things are back to normal speed.

Because its turned the DMA on again.

So why did my DMA go off? As a precaution?



I doubt it is temperature related because the room is in the 60s and 70s
degrees(F) and computer wasn't working intensely (e.g., surfing the Web).

Yeah, most likely just a bad cable.

Also, I recalled before these problems started, my motherboard (CMOS
and BIOS) didn't see both of my primary master drives (both HDDs: hda
and hdb), but can see my secondary master (DVD-ROM drive = hdc).

More evidence of a bad cable to the hard drives.

I had to open the case, but didn't see anything wrong.
I wiggled the cable ends for the HDDs.

And that likely got it going again. Those cable piercing connectors
can bend one of the things that bite the cable when the cable is made
and can get loose if you reef the cable off the drive or motherboard
end by pulling on the ribbon etc.

Hmm, I have those old fashion flat cables. I guess I will go replace it.
I assume replacing the whole ribbon cable is enough? I didn't see how
many there were in my mini-tower case (hard to see and it's crowded). I
assume two are in total for primary and secondary drives.


If its a round cable, its ****ed by design.

Yeah, I don't have those. My other PC has a SATA cable that are round.



I booted my machine up and it seemed fine for a few days/a
week and then these errors came up (not disconnections).

I ran smartctl utility on both of my HDDs for information and results:
http://pastebin.ca/930776 ...

My full system specifications can be found he
http://alpha.zimage.com/~ant/antfarm.../computers.txt
(secondary/backup machine). Does that mean my decade old Quantum
6.4 GB HDD (already made a backup just in case) is finally dying?

Nope, just the cable.

Hmm, OK! I will go try the cable first then!


Or is it something else?

Yep, the cable.


--
"All the best work is done the way that ants do things -- by tiny but
untiring and regular additions." --Lafcadio Hearn
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Ant @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )