SSD read errors; should I be worried?

Question

An SSD just over a month old is producing read errors in my syslog whenever rsync backs it up:

[276877.360221] ata1.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x1 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
[276877.360226] ata1.00: irq_stat 0x40000008
[276877.360229] ata1.00: failed command: READ FPDMA QUEUED
[276877.360234] ata1.00: cmd 60/10:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 tag 0 ncq 8192 in
[276877.360234]          res 41/40:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 Emask 0x409 (media error) <F>
[276877.360238] ata1.00: status: { DRDY ERR }
[276877.360240] ata1.00: error: { UNC }
[276877.360686] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
[276877.360697] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled sense code
[276877.360699] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.360701] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE
[276877.360703] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.360705] Sense Key : Medium Error [current] [descriptor]
[276877.360708] Descriptor sense data with sense descriptors (in hex):
[276877.360709]         72 03 11 04 00 00 00 0c 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 00 
[276877.360717]         07 27 a2 78 
[276877.360721] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.360724] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error - auto reallocate failed
[276877.360727] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] CDB: 
[276877.360728] Read(10): 28 00 07 27 a2 78 00 00 10 00
[276877.360735] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 120038008
[276877.360750] ata1: EH complete
[276877.361389] ata1.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x1 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
[276877.361392] ata1.00: irq_stat 0x40000008
[276877.361395] ata1.00: failed command: READ FPDMA QUEUED
[276877.361400] ata1.00: cmd 60/08:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 tag 0 ncq 4096 in
[276877.361400]          res 41/40:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 Emask 0x409 (media error) <F>
[276877.361403] ata1.00: status: { DRDY ERR }
[276877.361405] ata1.00: error: { UNC }
[276877.361841] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
[276877.361847] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled sense code
[276877.361850] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.361851] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE
[276877.361853] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.361855] Sense Key : Medium Error [current] [descriptor]
[276877.361857] Descriptor sense data with sense descriptors (in hex):
[276877.361858]         72 03 11 04 00 00 00 0c 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 00 
[276877.361867]         07 27 a2 78 
[276877.361871] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276877.361873] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error - auto reallocate failed
[276877.361875] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] CDB: 
[276877.361876] Read(10): 28 00 07 27 a2 78 00 00 08 00
[276877.361883] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 120038008
[276877.361893] ata1: EH complete
[276880.336132] ata1.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x1 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
[276880.336140] ata1.00: irq_stat 0x40000008
[276880.336147] ata1.00: failed command: READ FPDMA QUEUED
[276880.336157] ata1.00: cmd 60/08:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 tag 0 ncq 4096 in
[276880.336157]          res 41/40:00:78:a2:27/00:00:07:00:00/40 Emask 0x409 (media error) <F>
[276880.336163] ata1.00: status: { DRDY ERR }
[276880.336167] ata1.00: error: { UNC }
[276880.336660] ata1.00: configured for UDMA/100
[276880.336670] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Unhandled sense code
[276880.336672] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276880.336674] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE
[276880.336675] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276880.336677] Sense Key : Medium Error [current] [descriptor]
[276880.336679] Descriptor sense data with sense descriptors (in hex):
[276880.336680]         72 03 11 04 00 00 00 0c 00 0a 80 00 00 00 00 00 
[276880.336687]         07 27 a2 78 
[276880.336690] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda]  
[276880.336692] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error - auto reallocate failed
[276880.336694] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] CDB: 
[276880.336695] Read(10): 28 00 07 27 a2 78 00 00 08 00
[276880.336701] end_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 120038008
[276880.336709] ata1: EH complete

Other than this, the disk seems to be working fine. Is this a sign of a failing disk, or just harmless debugging information?

Answer 1

It's dead, Jim.

Replace the offending hardware.

Of course, since you're using a low-end desktop motherboard (DEAR GOD WHY?) you might spend a moment testing whether the drive controller or cable has failed.

Answer 2

On the one hand, I'd probably try to dig into the drive's documentation first. On the other hand, I'd probably consider an error message that said "Unrecovered read error - auto reallocate failed" as indicating the drive should be considered guilty until proven innocent. And I'd get the data off it immediately.

Now, at only a month old, it should still be under warranty. The quickest way forward might be to just try to return it for either replacement or refund using these unrecovered read errors as the justification.

The manufacturer might replace the drive regardless of whether the errors are significant--keep the customers happy. But if it's a common error, and it's not significant, they'll probably tell you. Otherwise, they risk just cycling inventory to every buyer on the market. (Every buyer who's a sysadmin, anyway.)

It could be that the problem is related to using a consumer-grade drive in a server. (According to the Adata web site, your drive isn't a server-grade drive.) I'd say you have at least three small projects in the immediate future.

1. Get the data off that drive.
2. Get a refund or replacement, preferably a refund.
3. Develop a policy that makes it easier to make better decisions about buying server hardware.

Answer 3

The drive lost your data, you could ofcourse replace it but if you just want to continue using the drive (at risk of future data loss again) you can try to write zeros in that location. This is what a RAID setup would do for you, it would find it can't read, zero out the place and recover the data from the RAID structure and then rewrite it back into the bad place.

If you use the device on its own, the above recommendations to replace it with or without warranty are very sensible though. If it lost you data once, it will most likely do it again.