User manual
Using S.M.A.R.T. Disk Monitor 79
SANTOOLS® is registered in US Patent and Trademark Office No 3,107,854 All rights reserved.
using either the -mpimport or -B commands.
As always, never make changes to mode pages unless you know what you are doing. We suggest that if you want to
disable S.M.A.R.T., use the new -p command described in this section. If you want to disable S.M.A.R.T., so it stays
disabled, even after power cycles, then use the -pp command.
You should also look at the Mode Page 1C settings which provide more information on these and related topics.
1.25 Mode Page Editor
This is one of the most valuable components of S.M.A.R.T. Disk Monitor. It allows you to change hundreds of disk
drive settings covering diverse features such as how the drive formats, power-saving settings, error-recovery
algorithms, and read-write cache settings.
First and foremost ...
If you have no concept of what a mode page editor is, or what it can do for you, then look but do not touch. In extreme
cases making incorrect changes can make your data inaccessible or result in data loss.
You should always consult with your hardware vendor to make sure any mode changes you make do not cause a
problem and would be supportable. If you purchased your disk drives as part of an integrated system (particularly
from Sun, HP, or SGI), the mode pages will typically be correct. They may, however, not be optimal for your hardware
configuration. There are over a dozen configurable cache-related settings. By tweaking these values you may improve
performance considerably.
If you purchased 3rd party disk drives, the mode pages will probably be incorrect. IBM, SUN, and HP may all
integrate the same physical disk drive, but they have very different mode page settings for the error recovery and
cache control pages.
For example, Seagate disks typically ship with write cache enabled, which will cause data loss if your system loses
power. Sun and HP disks typically ship with write cache disabled for your protection.
To view all the mode pages for a particular device, enter:
/etc/smartmon-ux -A /hw/scsi/sc0d1l0
This might report something like:
SMARTMon-ux [Release 1.04, Build 27-SEP-2001] - Copyright 2001 SANtools, Inc. http://www.SANtools.com
Discovered SEAGATE ST39175LC S/N "3AL07K7P" on /hw/scsi/sc0d1l0 (S.M.A.R.T. enabled)
Page 00h Current:
0000: 80 02 07 00 ....
Page 00h Changeable:
0000: 80 02 77 40 ..w@
Page 00h Default:
0000: 80 02 00 00 ....
Page 00h Saved:
0000: 80 02 07 00 ....
Page 01h Current:
0000: 81 0A C4 0B E8 00 00 00 0F 00 FF FF ............
Page 01h Changeable:
0000: 81 0A FF FF 00 00 00 00 FF 00 FF FF ............
Page 01h Default:
0000: 81 0A C0 0B E8 00 00 00 0F 00 FF FF ............
Page 01h Saved:
0000: 81 0A C4 0B E8 00 00 00 0F 00 FF FF ............
.
.
.
Page 1Ch Current:
0000: 9C 0A 00 04 00 00 17 70 00 00 00 00 .......p....
Page 1Ch Changeable:
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