Troubleshooting disk drive problems

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This information tells how to diagnose and fix disk drive problems.

If you suspect a disk drive is mechanically failing or has failed, run diagnostics on the disk use the following procedure:

  1. With root authority, type the following SMIT fast path on the command line: 
    smit diag
  2. Select Current Shell Diagnostics to enter the AIX® Diagnostics tool.
  3. After you read the Diagnostics Operating Instructions screen, press Enter.
  4. Select Diagnostics Routines.
  5. Select System Verification.
  6. Scroll down through the list to find and select the drive you want to test.
  7. Select Commit.
Based on the diagnostics results, you should be able to determine the condition of the disk:
  • If you detect the disk drive is failing or has failed, of primary importance is recovering the data from that disk. Migration is the preferred way to recover data from a failing disk. The following procedures describe how to recover or restore data in logical volumes if migration cannot complete successfully.
  • If your drive is failing and you can repair the drive without reformatting it, no data will be lost.
  • If the disk drive must be reformatted or replaced, make a backup, if possible, and remove the disk drive from its volume group and system configuration before replacing it. Some data from single-copy file systems might be lost.