[smartmontools-support] Issues with 'smartctl -d test' in Windows

[Arun Anbalagan]

Hi there,

I'm trying to query the SMART metrics (-A / -a) in my Windows server. But,
using 'smartctl -A /dev/sda' doesn't help, as I received the following
error:

*# smartctl -A /dev/sda*
*Read Device Identity failed: Input/output Error*
*A mandatory Smart command failed: exiting. To continue, add one or more
'-T permissive' option.*

Hence, I tried finding the correct 'device' type, using 'smartctl -d test'.

*# smartctl -d test /dev/sda*
*/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] detected*
*/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] opened*

I assumed that the right option to use should be '-d ata', and issued the
command as follows:
*# smartctl -A -d ata /dev/sda*

Unfortunately, it failed with the same error message shown above (noticed
with 'smartctl -A /dev/sda').

After some research, I decided to use *'# smartrctl -A -d sat /dev/sda'*,
and smartctl behaved correctly and displayed the metrics.

I'm just wondering, why 'smartctl -d test' doesn't display 'sat'. Isn't the
output of 'smartctl -d test' misleading? Please correct me if I have
misunderstood something here. I'm using Windows 7, with the hard disks
being 'Samsung MZMLN256HCHP-000' SSD disks.

Since I'm not quite aware of the disk types before running 'smartctl -A', I
rely on 'smartctl -d test' to decide them. Is there any known issue with
'-d test' in Windows? If so, is there any other method to get the device
type? Thanks for your inputs.

Regards,
Arun.

[Arun Anbalagan]

Hi,
Just a reminder. Could you share your thoughts on my below request?

Thanks,
Arun.

Post by Arun Anbalagan
Hi there,
# smartctl -A /dev/sda
Read Device Identity failed: Input/output Error
A mandatory Smart command failed: exiting. To continue, add one or more '-T permissive' option.
Hence, I tried finding the correct 'device' type, using 'smartctl -d test'.
# smartctl -d test /dev/sda
/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] detected
/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] opened
# smartctl -A -d ata /dev/sda
Unfortunately, it failed with the same error message shown above (noticed with 'smartctl -A /dev/sda').
After some research, I decided to use '# smartrctl -A -d sat /dev/sda', and smartctl behaved correctly and displayed the metrics.
I'm just wondering, why 'smartctl -d test' doesn't display 'sat'. Isn't the output of 'smartctl -d test' misleading? Please correct me if I have misunderstood something here. I'm using Windows 7, with the hard disks being 'Samsung MZMLN256HCHP-000' SSD disks.
Since I'm not quite aware of the disk types before running 'smartctl -A', I rely on 'smartctl -d test' to decide them. Is there any known issue with '-d test' in Windows? If so, is there any other method to get the device type? Thanks for your inputs.
Regards,
Arun.

[Christian Franke]

Post by Arun Anbalagan
Hi there,
I'm trying to query the SMART metrics (-A / -a) in my Windows server.
But, using 'smartctl -A /dev/sda' doesn't help, as I received the
# smartctl -A /dev/sda
Read Device Identity failed: Input/output Error
A mandatory Smart command failed: exiting. To continue, add one or
more '-T permissive' option.

Please always include the first line in sample outputs as it reports the
version of smartmontools and OS.

Post by Arun Anbalagan
Hence, I tried finding the correct 'device' type, using 'smartctl -d test'.
# smartctl -d test /dev/sda
/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] detected
/dev/sda: Device of type 'ata' [ATA] opened
I assumed that the right option to use should be '-d ata', and issued
# smartctl -A -d ata /dev/sda
Unfortunately, it failed with the same error message shown above
(noticed with 'smartctl -A /dev/sda').
After some research, I decided to use '# smartrctl -A -d sat
/dev/sda', and smartctl behaved correctly and displayed the metrics.

Which SATA controller and driver is used?

Post by Arun Anbalagan
I'm just wondering, why 'smartctl -d test' doesn't display 'sat'.
Isn't the output of 'smartctl -d test' misleading?

SAT is auto detected if
- the OS reports the device protocol as SCSI, and
- the SCSI INQUIRY result conforms to SAT (VENDOR: "ATA ").

For further diagnostics, please provide the output of the following
commands as plain/text attachments:

smartctl -r ioctl,2 -i /dev/sda
smartctl -r ioctl,2 -d scsi -i /dev/sda
smartctl -r ioctl,2 -d sat -i /dev/sda


Thanks,
Christian


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