New SATA Controller "Root mounts waiting for CAM error" work around....I think - Kernel Debug Mode.

[jstore]

I read through all the "waiting for CAM" threads so I don't think this is redundant.

I installed a new SATA PCI Express controller to add some drives. (https://www.newegg.com/p/17Z-00AP-000D7?Item=9SIA4REEJK9260)

Drives are recognized by the BIOS but get the "Root waiting for CAM" error. I tried at least a dozen boots and it never booted. Even after hours of waiting for CAM.

As a part of troubleshooting I rebooted with Kernel Debug on (option 5) on the menu.

It boots perfectly with Kernel Debug on. It's been back up and running for several days with no issues and 4 new drives added. I have rebooted over 30 times just to see if I can get it to fail and it doesn't.

The only down fall is a bunch more detail getting dumped to the monitor but I almost never have a monitor hooked up to it so for me it's no issue.

Does any one know how to force Kernel Debug at boot? I played around with grub settings but couldn't get it to work. I would like to have this machine be able to boot unattended without a keyboard.

 

[jgreco]

Yeah, this is discussed in

Multiply your problems with SATA Port Multipliers and cheap SATA controllers

In the last year or two, we've had a resurgence of users asking about SATA Port Multipliers and cheap SATA controllers. Please, do NOT use port multipliers, and use cheap SATA controllers only after extensive research. SATA controllers and SATA...

www.truenas.com

Your best bet is to return it as it is likely a cheap knockoff of some sort. This is quite common where some Shenzhen back alley knockoff doesn't quite implement some portion of the ripoff correctly, and a strictly compliant driver may not like it. In this case it looks like the product is so bad that NewEgg has withdrawn it for sale.

Trying to force kernel debug on is not a panacea here; this is almost certain to fail again after a system upgrade or reinstall, and may have detrimental impacts on things such as system logging.

We generally do not recommend using random SATA cards because of problems like this. You are much better off getting a nice LSI HBA like a 9211-8i, usually available on eBay at a low price.

 

[jstore]

Thanks. I jumped the gun and bought it before checking. The 9211 wont work as the only slot this machine has free is a PCI-E small form factor slot. I will have to do some research and see if there is a descent HBA in PCI-E. Or it's new Motherboard time as well as an HBA.

I appreciate the quick reply and solid advice.

 

[jgreco]

It is not entirely precluded that you could purchase a high quality PCI SATA card. Just make sure you read the link I provided above first.