XPost: uk.comp.os.linux   
   From: theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk   
      
   In uk.comp.os.linux Java Jive  wrote:   
   > On 2025-05-06 15:07, Theo wrote:   
   > >   
   > > ~ # /zyxel/sbin/fw_setenv bootdelay 120   
   > >   
   > > The difference is that this is prior to the kernel booting so the SATA   
   > > driver does not fire up.  However, if spinup only happens when the driver   
   > > begins talking to the drive then this won't help.   
   >   
   > Yes, I tried 20 seconds, so now the message ...   
   >   
   >      Hit any key to stop autoboot:   
   >   
   > ... displays for 20 seconds instead of the 3 seconds previously, but   
   > this did not help because the HDs didn't spin up upon power on, only   
   > when the driver loaded.   
   >   
   > > I suppose another option if that happens is to try to talk to the SATA   
   drive   
   > > in uboot, which might commence spinup. Docs:   
   > > https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot/blob/master/doc/README.sata   
   > >   
   > > maybe the 'sata info' command is enough to wake the HDD, and even if it   
   > > fails you can then 'sleep 30' or something while the drive spins up, and   
   > > then boot Linux.   
   > >   
   > > (I'm assuming the Zyxel firmware will let you edit the u-boot command   
   > > script, not just the u-boot environment variables)   
   >   
   > I may look into this, though I think the best solution would be to fix   
   > the short delay in the SATA driver module, and I'm trying to find a   
   > suitable place in the source files to do that.  Meanwhile, a simpler   
   > possibility would be to write the autoreboot flag into the UBoot   
   > environment, because that doesn't need the HDs to be found to provide   
   > storage, and would survive a reboot.  I may try this as a temporary fix,   
   > until and if I can investigate a better solution.   
      
   Are you sure this delay isn't just the drive set to spin down when not used?   
   Perhaps they boot in the spun-down state.  When you try to access a drive   
   that's spun down, the system will often hang waiting for it to spin up.   
   Since the kernel wants to read the partition table stored on the disc I'm   
   not surprised if it hangs if the drive isn't spinning, and maybe times out.   
      
   The simplest way to adjust it with a Windows tool like SeaTools - there's   
   now a version for Linux and a bootable USB version too.   
      
   It's also worth checking if there's updated drive firmware, which may also   
   address the problem.   
      
   Theo   
      
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