IBM 6826 Hardware Maintenance Manual

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Contents

– Random Verifyv Surface Scan Tests: - checks the drive media for defects.– Surface Scan (Linear)– Surface Scan (Aggressive) - this is disabled for normal customer use.– Surface Scan (Random)v SMART: - checks the SMART functionality for drives that support SMART.– Start SMART Self-Test– Get SMART test resultsOther Test Features:v Write-Splice Repair - detects and corrects Error Correction Code errors duringVerify tests.v Auto Spin Down - a gradual spin down of the drive platters to avoid damagingthe media.v Manufacturer Log - an in-depth manufacturer supported log of errors on thedrive.Multitasking:To allow simultaneous testing of multiple hard drives whenever possible, theFDAT module is written as a set of multitasking functions. Each drive under testcan run the same test or run a different test at the same time. Each subtest iswritten to handle a single test pass and all test variables are kept track of in astructure unique for each drive . However, when testing IDE drives, FDAT will notperform simultaneous testing of IDE drives that are attached to the same IDEcable. For example, if FDAT is testing four IDE drives on a PC, it will performsimultaneous testing on drives 1 and 3 first (master drives), then perform tests on2 and 4 (slave drives). FDAT will also perform simultaneous testing on a masterand slave that are on separate IDE cables, but will not perform simultaneous testson a master and slave on the same IDE cable. This generally increases the amountof time needed to test multiple IDE drives. Another limitation of FDAT’Smultitasking capability is the use of Ultra DMA (UDMA). Only one drive at a timecan access the UDMA channel and the UDMA channel buffer must be kept high inorder to maintain a speed advantage over other data transfer modes. In order touse the UDMA channel during testing, users must disable the multitasking feature.Destructive vs non-destructive testing:Most of the tests found in FDAT are non-destructive. This means that PCDR willpreserve any data that is present on the tested media prior to beginning anydestructive operations (i.e. write operations). However, users can run certain testsin destructive mode (i.e. surface scan tests). Destructive tests will speed up testingbecause FDAT does not preserve the data on the media prior to the test beginning.Unlike non-destructive tests, any data present on the media prior to the testbeginning is lost. FDAT allows for enabling or disabling destructive tests, as wellas specifying a range of destructive and non-destructive sectors on the tested drive.This is done through the configuration of the FDAT.INI .If destructive andnon-destructive ranges somehow overlap, then the overlapped area is considerednon-destructive. For example, if users specify both destructive and non-destructiveranges as the same, then the entire drive is tested as non-destructive.14 Hardware Maintenance Manual