Groups > comp.os.linux.hardware > #2660 > unrolled thread

How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

Started by	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
First post	2015-01-04 06:55 -0800
Last post	2015-01-05 14:15 +0100
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#2660 — How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

From	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
Date	2015-01-04 06:55 -0800
Subject	How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?
Message-ID	<wsednYGSWe_iyTTJnZ2dnUU7-UednZ2d@earthlink.com>

Hi!

I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am 
trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems 
reading some data. Here is an example:

$ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error

I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there 
was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that? 
It has been so many years I did this. :(

Thank you in advance. :)
-- 
"It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: what are 
we busy about?" --Henry David Thoreau
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

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#2661

From	philo <philo@privacy.net>
Date	2015-01-04 09:11 -0600
Message-ID	<m8bl5o$6km$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2660

On 01/04/2015 08:55 AM, Ant wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am
> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems
> reading some data. Here is an example:
>
> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>
> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there
> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that?
> It has been so many years I did this. :(
>
> Thank you in advance. :)

A few years ago I was working on a machine with  a SMART error HD.

I found that I could only copy data off the drive when the drive was 
within a certain temperature range.

First, it had to warm up a bit...then I started copying data off...but 
when it got too hot, it became unusable.

I had to let it cool down then start over.

Basically I needed to keep track of where I was and just keep going 
little by little.

It took me a full day but eventually I saved about 95% of the data.

I then gave the owner an extreme lecture on backing up data...
and I'll be darned he started taking my advice.

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#2662 — Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

From	Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com>
Date	2015-01-04 09:23 -0600
Subject	Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?
Message-ID	<nZidnadeyqNIxzTJnZ2dnUU7-N2dnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to	#2660

At Sun, 04 Jan 2015 06:55:59 -0800 Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:

> 
> Hi!
> 
> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am 
> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems 
> reading some data. Here is an example:
> 
> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> 
> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there 
> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that? 
> It has been so many years I did this. :(

dd can do that:

dd ... conv=noerror

man dd for full details.

Basically, you do a raw DD of the 'bad' disk's file system (eg create a copy 
of the file system either onto a new disk partition (of the proper size) or to 
an image file.  Then you can mount the partition (or image via -o loop) and 
then copy the files off.  Note: files with bad blocks will likely be 'broken' 
and may not be usable, but you should be able to retrieve other files.

> 
> Thank you in advance. :)

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
Deepwoods Software        -- Custom Software Services
http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Linux Administration Services
heller@deepsoft.com       -- Webhosting Services

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#2664

From	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
Date	2015-01-04 09:19 -0800
Message-ID	<La2dncl-EqmA6zTJnZ2dnUU7-NmdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to	#2662

On 1/4/2015 7:23 AM, Robert Heller wrote:

> dd can do that:
>
> dd ... conv=noerror
>
> man dd for full details.
>
> Basically, you do a raw DD of the 'bad' disk's file system (eg create a copy
> of the file system either onto a new disk partition (of the proper size) or to
> an image file.  Then you can mount the partition (or image via -o loop) and
> then copy the files off.  Note: files with bad blocks will likely be 'broken'
> and may not be usable, but you should be able to retrieve other files.

This is more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I can't copy files 
directly like cp command? I do NOT need everything from the old dying 
drive. I thought there was a way to do that to an existing HDD (don't 
want to mess up my destination drive).

Anyways, I tried that one of the unreadable file as a quick test:
$ cp Mac\ OS\ X.dmg ~/Downloads/test
cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
cp: failed to extend `/home/ant/Downloads/test/Mac OS X.dmg': 
Input/output error
-- 
"Where the sugar is, there will the ant be also." --Philippines
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

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#2671

From	Rich <rich@example.invalid>
Date	2015-01-04 18:27 +0000
Message-ID	<m8c0m6$p8f$2@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2664

In comp.os.linux.misc Ant <ant@zimage.comant> wrote:
> On 1/4/2015 7:23 AM, Robert Heller wrote:

> > dd can do that:
> >
> > dd ... conv=noerror
> >
> > man dd for full details.
> >
> > Basically, you do a raw DD of the 'bad' disk's file system (eg create a copy
> > of the file system either onto a new disk partition (of the proper size) or to
> > an image file.  Then you can mount the partition (or image via -o loop) and
> > then copy the files off.  Note: files with bad blocks will likely be 'broken'
> > and may not be usable, but you should be able to retrieve other files.

> This is more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I can't copy files 
> directly like cp command? I do NOT need everything from the old dying 
> drive. I thought there was a way to do that to an existing HDD (don't 
> want to mess up my destination drive).

dd in="/old/drive/Mac OS X.dmg" out="/new/drive/that/is/not/broken/Mac OS X.dmg" conv=noerror

should work to "copy" a single file.  Change "in=" and "out=" files to
point to the ones you are trying to copy.

Note, that given the "errors" when reading the files, and the fact that
the example you gave is a mac dmg file, the result you get from the
"copy" process will likely be useless anyway.

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#2673

From	Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com>
Date	2015-01-04 13:54 -0600
Message-ID	<BtednS378fbxBzTJnZ2dnUU7-bmdnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to	#2671

At Sun, 4 Jan 2015 18:27:18 +0000 (UTC) Rich <rich@example.invalid> wrote:

> 
> In comp.os.linux.misc Ant <ant@zimage.comant> wrote:
> > On 1/4/2015 7:23 AM, Robert Heller wrote:
> 
> > > dd can do that:
> > >
> > > dd ... conv=noerror
> > >
> > > man dd for full details.
> > >
> > > Basically, you do a raw DD of the 'bad' disk's file system (eg create a copy
> > > of the file system either onto a new disk partition (of the proper size) or to
> > > an image file.  Then you can mount the partition (or image via -o loop) and
> > > then copy the files off.  Note: files with bad blocks will likely be 'broken'
> > > and may not be usable, but you should be able to retrieve other files.
> 
> > This is more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I can't copy files 
> > directly like cp command? I do NOT need everything from the old dying 
> > drive. I thought there was a way to do that to an existing HDD (don't 
> > want to mess up my destination drive).
> 
> dd in="/old/drive/Mac OS X.dmg" out="/new/drive/that/is/not/broken/Mac OS X.dmg" conv=noerror
> 
> should work to "copy" a single file.  Change "in=" and "out=" files to
> point to the ones you are trying to copy.
> 
> Note, that given the "errors" when reading the files, and the fact that
> the example you gave is a mac dmg file, the result you get from the
> "copy" process will likely be useless anyway.

Yes indeed. The 'best' option is to copy the whole file system (using dd
conv=noerror) to a scratch disk or to a file image. Then go though the copy to
pick out the files that are still usable. The OP seemed to want to copy
everything still usable.  Doing dd on each file is very tedious, since dd does 
not work with wildcards or multiple files.

>            

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
Deepwoods Software        -- Custom Software Services
http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Linux Administration Services
heller@deepsoft.com       -- Webhosting Services

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#2733

From	ebenZEROONE@verizon.net (Hactar)
Date	2015-02-19 19:00 -0500
Message-ID	<n1airb-lnv.ln1@pc.home>
In reply to	#2673

In article <BtednS378fbxBzTJnZ2dnUU7-bmdnZ2d@giganews.com>,
Robert Heller  <heller@deepsoft.com> wrote:
> At Sun, 4 Jan 2015 18:27:18 +0000 (UTC) Rich <rich@example.invalid> wrote:
> 
> > 
> > In comp.os.linux.misc Ant <ant@zimage.comant> wrote:
> > > On 1/4/2015 7:23 AM, Robert Heller wrote:
> > 
> > > > dd can do that:
> > > >
> > > > dd ... conv=noerror
> > > >
> > > > man dd for full details.
> > > >
> > > > Basically, you do a raw DD of the 'bad' disk's file system (eg
> create a copy
> > > > of the file system either onto a new disk partition (of the proper
> size) or to
> > > > an image file.  Then you can mount the partition (or image via -o
> loop) and
> > > > then copy the files off.  Note: files with bad blocks will likely
> be 'broken'
> > > > and may not be usable, but you should be able to retrieve other files.
> > 
> > > This is more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I can't copy files 
> > > directly like cp command? I do NOT need everything from the old dying 
> > > drive. I thought there was a way to do that to an existing HDD (don't 
> > > want to mess up my destination drive).
> > 
> > dd in="/old/drive/Mac OS X.dmg" out="/new/drive/that/is/not/broken/Mac
> OS X.dmg" conv=noerror
> > 
> > should work to "copy" a single file.  Change "in=" and "out=" files to
> > point to the ones you are trying to copy.
> > 
> > Note, that given the "errors" when reading the files, and the fact that
> > the example you gave is a mac dmg file, the result you get from the
> > "copy" process will likely be useless anyway.
> 
> Yes indeed. The 'best' option is to copy the whole file system (using dd
> conv=noerror) to a scratch disk or to a file image. Then go though the copy to
> pick out the files that are still usable. The OP seemed to want to copy
> everything still usable.  Doing dd on each file is very tedious, since dd does 
> not work with wildcards or multiple files.

No, but you can do something like this:

find "$srcdir" -type f | while read filename ; do
  dd if="$filename" of="$dest/$filename" conv=noerror
done

But I think you'd be better off using dd_rescue.

-- 
-eben    QebWenE01R@vTerYizUonI.nOetP    ebmanda.redirectme.net:81
LIBRA:  A big promotion is just around the corner for someone
much more talented than you.  Laughter is the very best medicine,
remember that when your appendix bursts next week.  -- Weird Al

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#2688

From	Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam1118@zugschl.us>
Date	2015-01-05 14:10 +0100
Message-ID	<m8e2gg$kb2$1@news1.tnib.de>
In reply to	#2664

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
>This is more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I can't copy files 
>directly like cp command?

If that fails, the file system is likely damaged in a way that would
make it hard to recover the file in the first place. Your chances are
a bit higher with an image since an image tool can try to read a bad
sector repeatedly which _might_ eventually succeed.

> I do NOT need everything from the old dying 
>drive. I thought there was a way to do that to an existing HDD (don't 
>want to mess up my destination drive).

You don't need to mess up the destination drive if you copy to an
image file and mount it loopback.

>Anyways, I tried that one of the unreadable file as a quick test:
>$ cp Mac\ OS\ X.dmg ~/Downloads/test
>cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>cp: failed to extend `/home/ant/Downloads/test/Mac OS X.dmg': 
>Input/output error

.dmg is a disk image? Those files are notoriously huge and therefore
extremely likely to be affected by the drive damage. With your level
of knowlegde, your best chance is having a backup.

Another probably unhelpful nitpick, your drive is not dying of SMART
errors, the SMART errors are the result of drive damage that probably
happened due to the drive's old age. SMART is only the reporter of the
bad news, and makes it possible to pull off the remains of your data
before the drive goes south for good.

Greetings
Marc
-- 
-------------------------------------- !! No courtesy copies, please !! -----
Marc Haber         |   " Questions are the         | Mailadresse im Header
Mannheim, Germany  |     Beginning of Wisdom "     | http://www.zugschlus.de/
Nordisch by Nature | Lt. Worf, TNG "Rightful Heir" | Fon: *49 621 72739834

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#2663

From	Lusotec <nomail@nomail.not>
Date	2015-01-04 15:39 +0000
Message-ID	<m8bmr9$chl$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2660

Ant wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am
> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems
> reading some data. Here is an example:
> 
> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> 
> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there
> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that?
> It has been so many years I did this. :(
> 
> Thank you in advance. :)

https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/
https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html

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#2665

From	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
Date	2015-01-04 09:25 -0800
Message-ID	<vOudnV92u-I-6jTJnZ2dnUU7-fWdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to	#2663

On 1/4/2015 7:39 AM, Lusotec wrote:

> https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html

"If you use a device or a partition as destination, any data stored 
there will be overwritten." I don't want to erase anything on my 
destinated drive (/dev/sdb*) though. I just wanted to copy a few 
unreadable files. I do NOT want to copy everything from the very old 
dying HDD. This is a lot more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I 
can't copy files directly like cp command? I thought there was a way to 
do that to an existing HDD (don't want to mess up my destination drive). :(
-- 
"God is a mean kid sitting on an ant-hill with a magnifying glass, and 
I'm the ant." --Bruce Nolan (Bruce Almighty movie)
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

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#2666

From	Lusotec <nomail@nomail.not>
Date	2015-01-04 17:49 +0000
Message-ID	<m8bufc$ffs$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2665

Ant wrote:
> Lusotec wrote:
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html
> 
> "If you use a device or a partition as destination, any data stored
> there will be overwritten." I don't want to erase anything on my
> destinated drive (/dev/sdb*) though.

Then just use a plain file instead of a device or a partition as 
destination.

> I just wanted to copy a few
> unreadable files. I do NOT want to copy everything from the very old
> dying HDD. This is a lot more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I
> can't copy files directly like cp command? I thought there was a way to
> do that to an existing HDD (don't want to mess up my destination drive).
> :(

There is a GUI for it. May be easier to use.
https://launchpad.net/ddrescue-gui

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#2668

From	William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca>
Date	2015-01-04 18:12 +0000
Message-ID	<m8bvqi$h4v$4@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2665

On 2015-01-04, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> On 1/4/2015 7:39 AM, Lusotec wrote:
>
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html
>
> "If you use a device or a partition as destination, any data stored 
> there will be overwritten." I don't want to erase anything on my 
> destinated drive (/dev/sdb*) though. I just wanted to copy a few 
> unreadable files. I do NOT want to copy everything from the very old 
> dying HDD. This is a lot more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I 
> can't copy files directly like cp command? I thought there was a way to 
> do that to an existing HDD (don't want to mess up my destination drive). :(

If the data is important to you, go out and buy a new drive and use dd
from that broken drive to the new one (nothing there to erase). Then
afterwards reformat/partion the new drive and use it as spare storage
space (eg backups!).

When a hard disk fails, it fails. The recording medium is scratched, the
rust (iron oxide or ferrite) flakes off, etc. It is IMPOSSIBLE to
recover the data there. dd can be told to ignore errors, on blocks, and
just go on to the next one. cp cannot.

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#2670 — Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

From	Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com>
Date	2015-01-04 12:26 -0600
Subject	Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?
Message-ID	<7sKdnTXDfehKGDTJnZ2dnUU7-fmdnZ2d@giganews.com>
In reply to	#2668

At Sun, 4 Jan 2015 18:12:34 +0000 (UTC) William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca> wrote:

> 
> On 2015-01-04, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> > On 1/4/2015 7:39 AM, Lusotec wrote:
> >
> >> https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html
> >
> > "If you use a device or a partition as destination, any data stored 
> > there will be overwritten." I don't want to erase anything on my 
> > destinated drive (/dev/sdb*) though. I just wanted to copy a few 
> > unreadable files. I do NOT want to copy everything from the very old 
> > dying HDD. This is a lot more complex than I expected as a newbie. So, I 
> > can't copy files directly like cp command? I thought there was a way to 
> > do that to an existing HDD (don't want to mess up my destination drive). :(
> 
> If the data is important to you, go out and buy a new drive and use dd
> from that broken drive to the new one (nothing there to erase). Then
> afterwards reformat/partion the new drive and use it as spare storage
> space (eg backups!).
> 
> When a hard disk fails, it fails. The recording medium is scratched, the
> rust (iron oxide or ferrite) flakes off, etc. It is IMPOSSIBLE to
> recover the data there. dd can be told to ignore errors, on blocks, and
> just go on to the next one. cp cannot. 

Right.  Using 'dd conf=noerrors ...' lets you copy what you can to 'clean' 
media (or an image file).  Then you can mount the clean media (or an image 
file) and then recover what you can.

The *best* option is to *always* make regular backups in the first place. Then
when the drive fails (and it will, sooner or later), all of the data is on the
backup media (and it is best to make multiple backup copies on multiple
instantances of backup media of all of your important data).

> 
>                 

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
Deepwoods Software        -- Custom Software Services
http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Linux Administration Services
heller@deepsoft.com       -- Webhosting Services

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#2682

From	The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid>
Date	2015-01-04 23:23 +0000
Message-ID	<m8ci1o$3q5$2@news.albasani.net>
In reply to	#2665

On 04/01/15 17:25, Ant wrote:
> I just wanted to copy a few unreadable files

Good luck with that one...

-- 
Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except for the 
rare story of which you happen to have first-hand knowledge. – Erwin Knoll

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#2689

From	Marc Haber <mh+usenetspam1118@zugschl.us>
Date	2015-01-05 14:11 +0100
Message-ID	<m8e2i9$kct$1@news1.tnib.de>
In reply to	#2665

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
>On 1/4/2015 7:39 AM, Lusotec wrote:
>> https://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/manual/ddrescue_manual.html
>
>"If you use a device or a partition as destination, any data stored 
>there will be overwritten." I don't want to erase anything on my 
>destinated drive (/dev/sdb*) though.

Then don't use a device or a partition as destination.

>I just wanted to copy a few unreadable files.

If they're unreadable, how do you want to read them?

Greetings
Marc
-- 
-------------------------------------- !! No courtesy copies, please !! -----
Marc Haber         |   " Questions are the         | Mailadresse im Header
Mannheim, Germany  |     Beginning of Wisdom "     | http://www.zugschlus.de/
Nordisch by Nature | Lt. Worf, TNG "Rightful Heir" | Fon: *49 621 72739834

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#2667

From	William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca>
Date	2015-01-04 18:07 +0000
Message-ID	<m8bvg9$h4v$3@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2660

On 2015-01-04, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am 
> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems 
> reading some data. Here is an example:
>
> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>
> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there 
> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that? 
> It has been so many years I did this. :(

If the rust has flaked off the drive, there is nothing to copy, no
matter how many times you try. 

>
> Thank you in advance. :)

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#2675

From	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
Date	2015-01-04 13:10 -0800
Message-ID	<8J6dnYfNS9L-MTTJnZ2dnUU7-T2dnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to	#2667

On 1/4/2015 10:07 AM, William Unruh wrote:
>>
>> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am
>> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems
>> reading some data. Here is an example:
>>
>> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
>> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
>> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>>
>> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there
>> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that?
>> It has been so many years I did this. :(
>
> If the rust has flaked off the drive, there is nothing to copy, no
> matter how many times you try.

Even with ddrescue? I thought it retries until it finally copies.
-- 
"The great companies did not know that the line between hunger and anger 
is a thin line. And money that might have gone to wages went for gas, 
for guns, for agents and spies, for blacklists, for drilling. On the 
highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food. And 
the anger began to ferment." --John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

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#2677

From	William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca>
Date	2015-01-04 22:09 +0000
Message-ID	<m8cdm8$f9s$1@dont-email.me>
In reply to	#2675

On 2015-01-04, Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> On 1/4/2015 10:07 AM, William Unruh wrote:
>>>
>>> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am
>>> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems
>>> reading some data. Here is an example:
>>>
>>> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
>>> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
>>> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>>> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>>>
>>> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there
>>> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that?
>>> It has been so many years I did this. :(
>>
>> If the rust has flaked off the drive, there is nothing to copy, no
>> matter how many times you try.
>
> Even with ddrescue? I thought it retries until it finally copies.

ddrescue just allows you to conitue if there are errors (it essentially
retries once) . It does NOT
keep retrying until it reads it (well, you can tell it to try, but as
they say, that could damage the disk so that subsequent reads of
formerly good areas could go bad-- rust flakes between the drive head
and the platter do not do good things to the platter).
To try forever  would be stupid, because it can be
impossible to read it. As I said, data that is not there cannot be read,
no matter how hard you try.

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#2683

From	Ant <ant@zimage.comANT>
Date	2015-01-04 15:25 -0800
Message-ID	<II2dnYwyh_hlVjTJnZ2dnUU7-YGdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
In reply to	#2677

>>>> I have a very old PATA HDD that is dying due to SMART errors and I am
>>>> trying to copy my data to another working drive, but it has problems
>>>> reading some data. Here is an example:
>>>>
>>>> $ cp -R * ~/DebianPATAhddBackups/
>>>> cp: cannot stat `Files/AntsImages': Input/output error
>>>> cp: reading `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>>>> cp: failed to extend `Mac OS X.dmg': Input/output error
>>>>
>>>> I assume my Debian stable was unable to copy those files. IIRC, there
>>>> was a way to retry over and over until copied fully. How do I do that?
>>>> It has been so many years I did this. :(
>>>
>>> If the rust has flaked off the drive, there is nothing to copy, no
>>> matter how many times you try.
>>
>> Even with ddrescue? I thought it retries until it finally copies.
>
> ddrescue just allows you to conitue if there are errors (it essentially
> retries once) . It does NOT
> keep retrying until it reads it (well, you can tell it to try, but as
> they say, that could damage the disk so that subsequent reads of
> formerly good areas could go bad-- rust flakes between the drive head
> and the platter do not do good things to the platter).
> To try forever  would be stupid, because it can be
> impossible to read it. As I said, data that is not there cannot be read,
> no matter how hard you try.

Ah OK. I was reading 
http://www.kalysto.org/utilities/dd_rhelp/index.en.html , and it sounded 
interesting. I am currently running ddrescue right now from the old 
drive to another old Seagate 80 GB PATA/IDE HDD that I found in one of 
my moving boxes.
-- 
"I am afraid that I am convinced that a community of human beings is a 
far more useful thing than a community of ants, and that if the human 
being is condemned and restricted to perform the same functions over and 
over again, he will not even be a good ant, not to mention a good human 
being." --Norbert Wiener
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

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#2693

From	Chris Davies <chris-usenet@roaima.co.uk>
Date	2015-01-06 20:25 +0000
Message-ID	<pustnbxl1s.ln2@news.roaima.co.uk>
In reply to	#2677

In comp.os.linux.misc William Unruh <unruh@invalid.ca> wrote:
> ddrescue just allows you to conitue if there are errors (it essentially
> retries once) . It does NOT keep retrying until it reads it [...]

You must have a different version of ddrescue to the one that I
use. http://www.gnu.org/software/ddrescue/ddrescue.html

Synopsis: ddrescue /path/to/broken/file /path/to/saved/copy /tmp/log.tmp

Don't omit the third parameter as ddrescue uses the "log file" to record
the current state of play with the copy.

Chris

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How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

Contents

#2660 — How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

#2661

#2662 — Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

#2664

#2671

#2673

#2733

#2688

#2663

#2665

#2666

#2668

#2670 — Re: How to force copy retries until finally copied all due to a dying old HDD in Linux?

#2682

#2689

#2667

#2675

#2677

#2683

#2693