Is my USB drive dying?

[poma]

On 30.11.2014 17:06, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
> 
> On 11/30/2014 08:36 AM, poma wrote:
>> On 30.11.2014 14:10, Robert Moskowitz wrote:
>>> Logwatch says:
>>>
>>> --------------------- Kernel Begin ------------------------
>>>
>>>    WARNING:  Kernel Errors Present
>>>       EXT4-fs error (device sdc1): e ...:  80 Time(s)
>>>       sd 7:0:0:0: [sdc] Sense Key : Recovered Error [current] [descr ...:  14 Time(s)
>>>    
>>>    ---------------------- Kernel End -------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>> And in /var/log/messages I see:
>>>
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: sd 7:0:0:0: [sdc] Sense Key : Recovered
>>> Error [current] [descriptor]
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: Descriptor sense data with sense
>>> descriptors (in hex):
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel:        72 01 04 1d 00 00 00 0e 09 0c 00
>>> 00 00 00 3a a6
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel:        00 32 00 06 40 50
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: sd 7:0:0:0: [sdc] ASC=0x4 ASCQ=0x1d
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: sd 7:0:0:0: [sdc] Sense Key : Recovered
>>> Error [current] [descriptor]
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: Descriptor sense data with sense
>>> descriptors (in hex):
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel:        72 01 04 1d 00 00 00 0e 09 0c 00
>>> 00 00 00 3a 00
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel:        00 4f 00 c2 00 50
>>> Nov 30 07:41:11 homebase kernel: sd 7:0:0:0: [sdc] ASC=0x4 ASCQ=0x1d
>>>
>>> This is both my backup drive and where my repos are located.  So given
>>> this is the time of the 'big sales' is this drive failing and it is time
>>> to buy a replacement?
>>>
>>>
>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/drivers/usb/storage/transport.c?id=e16da02
>> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/usb/storage/transport.c
>> /* Driver for USB Mass Storage compliant devices
>>   *
>>   * Current development and maintenance by:
>>   *   (c) 1999-2002 Matthew Dharm (mdharm-usb at one-eyed-alien.net)
>>   *
>>   * Developed with the assistance of:
>>   *   (c) 2000 David L. Brown, Jr. (usb-storage at davidb.org)
>>   *   (c) 2000 Stephen J. Gowdy (SGowdy at lbl.gov)
>>   *   (c) 2002 Alan Stern <stern at rowland.org>
>>   *
>>   * Initial work by:
>>   *   (c) 1999 Michael Gee (michael at linuxspecific.com)
>>
>> http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html#linux-usb
>> http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html#linux-scsi
> 
> Poma,
> 
> You post all these seemingly great things to install, but not why to 
> install them.
> 
> Is this a better driver for USB devices?  Does it give better reporting 
> to know what the condition of the drive is?
> 
> Is the drive even failing or is the current driver reporting too much 
> already?  That these are really fairly normal errors that are handled by 
> the drive.
> 
> 

Under the Linux there is no genuine "USB" drive, all is "SCSI" emulated.
Because this is probably not a problem with the media per se, but probably with the device controller on device and or host, ask Alan & Co. @linux-usb/scsi.
But before you do that, you can try this:
- shake the drive
- replace all cables, data and power
- switch it to another USB bus, another host/machine