/dev/sda: Input/Output error & the zorin installer very slow

Installing Zorin OS
1

I'm trying to install Zorin core 16.3, after selecting 'Try & Install Zorin Os' I got this issue:

IMG_20231216_210338277
IMG_20231216_2103382771920×1446 205 KB

For VMX and SGX - I entered the bios and enabled them. Now those 2 errors are gone but others errors are still showing and keeps repeating. I pressed and hold down the esc button and it booted into Zorin's Live environment.

Then I opened the installer but it's very slow when I click on continue on every step, I couldn't get past the screen where it asks for 'Download updates during installation'. It just keeps loading and not going to the next step. Tried 2 times by closing the installer but same thing is happening again and again.

Output of uname -a

Linux zorin 5.15.0-78-generic #85~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Mon Jul 17 09:42:39 UTC 2023 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Output of lshw

WARNING: you should run this program as super-user.
zorin                       
    description: Computer
    width: 64 bits
    capabilities: smp vsyscall32
  *-core
       description: Motherboard
       physical id: 0
     *-memory
          description: System memory
          physical id: 0
          size: 15GiB
     *-cpu
          product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7400 CPU @ 3.00GHz
          vendor: Intel Corp.
          physical id: 1
          bus info: cpu@0
          size: 3378MHz
          capacity: 3500MHz
          width: 64 bits
          capabilities: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp x86-64 constant_tsc art arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm 3dnowprefetch cpuid_fault epb invpcid_single pti ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid ept_ad fsgsbase tsc_adjust sgx bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid mpx rdseed adx smap clflushopt intel_pt xsaveopt xsavec xgetbv1 xsaves dtherm ida arat pln pts hwp hwp_notify hwp_act_window hwp_epp md_clear flush_l1d arch_capabilities cpufreq
     *-pci
          description: Host bridge
          product: Xeon E3-1200 v6/7th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers
          vendor: Intel Corporation
          physical id: 100
          bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
          version: 05
          width: 32 bits
          clock: 33MHz
          configuration: driver=skl_uncore
          resources: irq:0
        *-display
             description: VGA compatible controller
             product: HD Graphics 630
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
             version: 04
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
             configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
             resources: irq:124 memory:f6000000-f6ffffff memory:e0000000-efffffff ioport:f000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff
        *-usb
             description: USB controller
             product: 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: xhci bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
             resources: irq:122 memory:f7110000-f711ffff
        *-generic UNCLAIMED
             description: Signal processing controller
             product: 200 Series PCH Thermal Subsystem
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 14.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:14.2
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: cap_list
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:f712e000-f712efff
        *-communication
             description: Communication controller
             product: 200 Series PCH CSME HECI #1
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 16
             bus info: pci@0000:00:16.0
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=mei_me latency=0
             resources: irq:125 memory:f712d000-f712dfff
        *-sata
             description: SATA controller
             product: 200 Series PCH SATA controller [AHCI mode]
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 17
             bus info: pci@0000:00:17.0
             version: 00
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 66MHz
             capabilities: sata ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=ahci latency=0
             resources: irq:121 memory:f7128000-f7129fff memory:f712c000-f712c0ff ioport:f090(size=8) ioport:f080(size=4) ioport:f060(size=32) memory:f712b000-f712b7ff
        *-pci
             description: PCI bridge
             product: 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port #5
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1c
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
             version: f0
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: pci normal_decode bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=pcieport
             resources: irq:120 ioport:e000(size=4096) memory:f7000000-f70fffff ioport:f0000000(size=1048576)
           *-network
                description: Ethernet interface
                product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
                vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
                physical id: 0
                bus info: pci@0000:01:00.0
                logical name: enp1s0
                version: 0c
                serial: 6c:4b:90:25:77:9c
                capacity: 1Gbit/s
                width: 64 bits
                clock: 33MHz
                capabilities: bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
                configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=5.15.0-78-generic firmware=rtl8168g-2_0.0.1 02/06/13 latency=0 link=no multicast=yes port=twisted pair
                resources: irq:16 ioport:e000(size=256) memory:f7000000-f7000fff memory:f0000000-f0003fff
        *-isa
             description: ISA bridge
             product: 200 Series PCH LPC Controller (B250)
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
             version: 00
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: isa bus_master
             configuration: latency=0
        *-memory UNCLAIMED
             description: Memory controller
             product: 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family Power Management Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.2
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.2
             version: 00
             width: 32 bits
             clock: 33MHz (30.3ns)
             configuration: latency=0
             resources: memory:f7124000-f7127fff
        *-multimedia
             description: Audio device
             product: 200 Series PCH HD Audio
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.3
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             capabilities: bus_master cap_list
             configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=32
             resources: irq:126 memory:f7120000-f7123fff memory:f7100000-f710ffff
        *-serial
             description: SMBus
             product: 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family SMBus Controller
             vendor: Intel Corporation
             physical id: 1f.4
             bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.4
             version: 00
             width: 64 bits
             clock: 33MHz
             configuration: driver=i801_smbus latency=0
             resources: irq:16 memory:f712a000-f712a0ff ioport:f040(size=32)
     *-pnp00:00
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 2
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:01
          product: PnP device PNP0400
          physical id: 3
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=parport_pc
     *-pnp00:02
          product: PnP device PNP0501
          physical id: 4
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=serial
     *-pnp00:03
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 5
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:04
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 6
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:05
          product: PnP device PNP0b00
          physical id: 7
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=rtc_cmos
     *-pnp00:06
          product: PnP device INT3f0d
          physical id: 8
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:07
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: 9
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:08
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: a
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:09
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: b
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
     *-pnp00:0a
          product: PnP device PNP0c02
          physical id: c
          capabilities: pnp
          configuration: driver=system
  *-scsi:0
       physical id: 1
       bus info: scsi@6
       logical name: scsi6
       capabilities: scsi-host
       configuration: driver=usb-storage
  *-scsi:1
       physical id: 2
       bus info: scsi@7
       logical name: scsi7
       capabilities: scsi-host
       configuration: driver=usb-storage
  *-network
       description: Ethernet interface
       physical id: 3
       bus info: usb@1:4
       logical name: enx00a0c6000000
       serial: 00:a0:c6:00:00:00
       capabilities: ethernet physical
       configuration: autonegotiation=off broadcast=yes driver=rndis_host driverversion=5.15.0-78-generic duplex=half firmware=RNDIS device ip=192.168.1.101 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair
WARNING: output may be incomplete or inaccurate, you should run this program as super-user.

Also I checked my HDD though disk utility

IMG_20231216_205240295
IMG_20231216_2052402951920×1446 222 KB

The overall assessment shows "Disk is Ok, 7313 bad sectors"

Don't know what's causing the issue to the installer being very slow.

2

See if this askubuntu thread helps:

1 Like
3

I have already done that.

And the big issue is the installer is very slow for unknown reasons.

Any info about this please

4

For many, it can help to uncheck the box for downloading updates as you install.

Once Zorin OS is installed, you can then run your updates.

This can happen when the installation process interrupts the activity of the network drivers.

5

I have also tried that way still it keeps loading for a long time.

Every step of the installer from the beginning is very slow. I mean 1st it asks for to choose language it did quickly go to the next step to choose keyboard layout, here after clicking on continue it takes around 5 mins to reach the next step where the option for downloading updates appears. Here clicking on continue just keeps loading and doesn't get to the next step.

6

Make sure the net is not connected.
Then try.

Is it set to AHCI or RAID in EFI settings of the motherboard?

Is there a currently installed OS?

7

There used to be windows but from last week getting "Error 1962: no operating system found" hence cannot boot into it. Solution found on different forums couldn't to fix that so I decided to install Zorin.

I think it's set to AHCI but I need to check it again.

Also I found this old post in the forum Help - Extremelly slow Installer - #6 by greyhound
Where the user had facing same exact issue.

They solved it by removing their HDD which had some bad sectors. I also have some bad sectors:

Is there any way to fix this bad sectors without replacing to a new HDD?

8

No, sadly. It is the sign of a failing drive.

9

I did wonder about that. I didn't mention a failing drive because the screenshot of Disks seemed to indicate it was OK.

10

This is something about the SMART test that irks me.
It can read bad sectors and bad blocks, but still call something OK.

1 Like
11

Just done some searching and found this nuggett. (Glad I moved away from Seagate!)

https://www.naturalborncoder.com/hardware/2023/05/04/checking-hard-drives-from-the-linux-command-line/

12

I'm trying to run this command in terminal from Zorin's live environment

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M count=1

~

the problem is (don't know why) when I'm entering a sudo command it's not working properly.

I don't have the screenshot but here is an example:
if I run sudo lshw , in the next line it just print usb and then overwrite it with scsi and then do nothing. the cursor stays there and the command don't stop until I press ctrl+c . Same happening with the dd command I mentioned above it doesn't print anything, the cursor just stay on the next empty line and doing nothing. this is mainly happening when i try to run fdisk , lsblk , dd with sudo.

But then I tried sudo badblocks -svnf /dev/sda , this is the only command worked with sudo. I left it running for the whole night but:

IMG-20231218-WA0002
IMG-20231218-WA00021152×864 64.4 KB

it's still running. 10hr and still no end results.

Now the SMART test is stuck at 10% only and not moving forward.

13

IMG_20231218_211230980
IMG_20231218_2112309801920×1446 306 KB

sudo commands are not working

14

I feel your pain. While working on the unofficial manual I was getting warnings I could not save to any disk, not even USB. Why? Because I have a failing drive. It is yet another indication when things don't work as they should it means the drive is failing and when this happens, any OS that is installed won't be able to work as it should. You should seriously consider purchasing a new hard drive and if possible backup any critical data you may have.

1 Like
15

I just wanted to try formatting the disk & see if it works or not as in some other forums and blogs they mentioned they fixed the bad sectors by formatting the disk. But now I'm 100% sure that it's a failing drive as it keeps showing "/dev/sda: Input/Output error" and the bad sectors have increased to 23k from 7k.

Now I'm planning to buy an SSD and replace the failing one.

Thank you @swarfendor437 & @Aravisian for adding valuable informations to this topic. I have edited the title to a suitable ones according to the issue but I'm not sure to which one to mark as solution or just left it uncheck so I leave it to the Moderators.

1 Like
16

I just marked the first post that says it is a failing drive.
It... happened to be my post... So, if anyone disagrees, we can move the solution marking. It's not like I am short on solution marks...

Failing drives can, at times, cascade in their failure. If it is due to an electronic component, they usually just fail outright.
If it is due to a stuck armature, the disk will not show bad sectors or blocks so much - as be unable to read and appear frozen (I usually vacuum seal the drive in a Freezer bag and freeze it overnight. Then in the morning, give the long side of the HDD a bap with the palm of my hand and the armature usually frees up).
If it is due to disk damage: This is the worst. Little pieces of metal will get flung all over the place inside the casing as the high speed disk spins. They fly, bounce, get thrown on contact with the spinning disk and keep slamming into the disk. This usually cascades as the disk keeps taking damage.

2 Likes
17

My only other advice is that when choosing a SSD I would advise SATA over nVME. Whilst cascading has disappeared (apparently) I think SATA is a better option.

2 Likes
18

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