Linux Command line disk test

[limestone]

I cannot for the life of me get the command line version configured properly to perform a disk test. Configuration is set as follows:

<Disk>
<Test>
Device /dev/sda <- no partition present and we'd like to keep it that way
TestMode Cyclic
FileSize 1
SeekCount 100
</Test>
</Disk>

The device is present, just not testing

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160040803840 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

[Tim (PassMark)]

Writing to devices without a partition isn't currently supported in the Linux version of BurnInTest (however it's being looked at for the Windows version at the moment).

[limestone]

We currently have just 8 licenses but are seriously contemplating upgrading that to a site license. Not being able to test the HDDs without a partition could be a deal breaker on that. Could your developers be persuaded to look into this or do you have any alternate suggestions as far as testing the HDDs?

[David (PassMark)]

We'll make a note of your request. Depending on how hard it is technically, customer demand, and other priorities it might be implemented in a future release.

If it is important for your project, then we would be happy to talk to you about doing it as a custom development project.

[limestone]

Is a formatted partition required or just a partition? Does the partition type matter?

[Tim (PassMark)]

Partition type should be one of vfat/reiserfs/xfs/ext2/ext3, a file system is expected and should be present but i'm yet to attempt a test on a partitioned but unformatted drive so i can't confirm that it won't work (as expected).

[limestone]

argh

We've partitioned and formated drives before beginning the test and we still cannot test HDDs. Disk section of cmdline_config.txt is as follows:



#Disk section - Have a <Test> section for each device to test

<Disk>
<Test>
Device dev/sda1
TestMode Cyclic
FileSize 15
SeekCount 100
</Test>
</Disk>


##<Disk>
#Test a device
##<Test>
#The device/partition to be tested
#Device dev/sda
#The test mode - Cyclic, Sequential, HighLow, Binary1, Binary2, Zeros, Ones, Ra$
#TestMode Cyclic
#File size as % of disk space 1-15%
#FileSize 1
#Duty cycle override, 0 - 100
##DutyCycleOverride 0
#Seek count
#SeekCount 100
##</Test>
##</Disk>


Could you please enlighten me on what it is I'm doing wrong?

[Tim (PassMark)]

The command line version finds partitions to test much like the GUI version, they should be mounted and listed in the fstab or mtab, this is explained in more detail on the FAQ page http://www.passmark.com/support/bitlinux_faq.htm.

[slaxlax]

I have BurnInTest running on a Slax live CD and I want to be able to test the hardrive of a new computer too.. Any suggestions on how to get around partitioning the drive or the possibility of a newer version supporting this?
Thanks

[Tim (PassMark)]

It seems Slax (and some other live cd’s now) effectively hides the CD mount point, so instead of /mnt/hdc as it appears in the fstab it is really /mnt/live.

However you can also just remount the cd drive and it will mount at its correct mount point, so BurnInTest will be able to access the CD drive correctly.

You can also boot with the “Slax copy to RAM” option so the cd drive is freed up and then once it has booted cycle the cd tray or manually remount the cd drive.

[Tim (PassMark)]

We’ve made some good progress this week while investigating the possibility of testing disks without partitions and it looks like it should be possible, we should have a beta build with the new test soon, possibly as early as next week.