ata4: SError

[drpeppercan]

Hi all,

I have a HD 1 Tb drive, with 3 partitions:
1. 500 Mb with the boot files.
2. 200 Gb with Linux Mint / latest Cinnamon (EXT4)
3. 750 Gb with Windows 10

I first installed LM with rEFInd (a boot manager loader), then I installed Win10.
Before I installed Win10 it kept showing me this messages over and over:

Code: [Select]

[  1223344578] ata4: SError: { CommWake DevExch }
[1223344578] ata4: Exception Emask 0x10 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x4040000 action 0xe frozen
[1223344578] ata4: irq_stat 0x00009338, connection status changed
And now that Win10 is installed it won't really succeed loading it. It stalls with that dots animation.
Maybe the photo of the codes will tell you something.
Someone here was saying that since he was getting the same messages EXACTLY after loading the DVD drive, that would suggest that the problem was the DVD drive. So I'll try removing it.
What do you guys think?

Thanks

[patio]

I think if you wanna dual-boot you should have seperate HDD;s...just my opinion.

The ATA error i have seen  cause Win wasn't onstalled 1st...go figure

[drpeppercan]

I had been suspecting that actually!

Thanks for sharing patio

[Geek-9pm]

I agree with Patio.
Here is what I have done. I gave upon doing Dual-boot with Windows and GRUB. It can be done, but it is just too hard.

Instead, I put versions of Linux on small laptop drives that can get power from the USB port. Linux has not issue with booting from a USB device. I disable my main drive before doing a Linux install on a laptop drive using USB. GRUB never sees my main drive, so it leaves it alone. (This is only done once.)

After that, I let my BIOS see the main drive again.  From that time on,  if I want a Linux OS, I select USB device in the BIOS and it boots up Linux. No problem. No errors.

The advantage ist hat you do no ha ve to study GRUB to make it work. My Windows boot loader supports Windows XP,Windows 7 and Windows 10. Whenever I want Linux, I  just have to hit F12 early in the POST and a BIOS menu comes up and asks meto selet a boot device. I can select the HDD, the opticaldrive or whaever USB device. Somehow the BIOS knows if the USB device is bootable.

SoI have completely forgotton whateverI knew about GRUB and do not regret it. 

[drpeppercan]

That is so good Geek-9pm !!
What I had in mind was to reinstall the OSs, each on a separate drive (as suggested), but like your idea only having one drive plugged at a time while installing the OS. That way Grub would not be an issue. Then in the end once both OSs are installed, bring a Boot Manager Loader, like rEFInd.
If that doesn't work I'll have to have a closer look at your system.

Of course I'll do all that only if those "ata4: SError" error message won't keep hunting me.

Thanks a bunch guys!

[Geek-9pm]

Give it a try.
The boot manage I tried could not do it right.
There are few boot managers that do well with Linux and Windows.
Look at this:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/insider_wintp-insider_install/issues-dual-booting-windows-10-with-linux/4c09280f-1bd8-4d12-8ce0-4e8d824a02ce

Notice they did not even try to answer the question.
Next read this:
https://www.tenforums.com/installation-upgrade/109769-macrium-reflect-1803-update.html
That is a very recent post. Notice the 1803 Windows 10 presents a problem for dual-boot with Linux.
I depend on Maxcrium Reflect for backup and disk cloning. Have a non-windows system in the  boot menu creates serious problem. So I gave up trying to have Macrium Reflect rebuild the boot loader, even tho that is one of its great features.
So I don't even try to include Linux in the Windows boot loader, although MR might do it sometimes. But no tall the time.

Now you can see why I let the BIOS do it.