lf5 kernel: [   34.516541] blk_update_request: I/O error, dev sda, sector 1669071536

This is an error I got, on my server, a week or so ago. Every time I got the error, IO on the computer completely stopped. I search around the Internet, and there wasn't much that was helpful, so I'm writing this to maybe help someone with the same issue.

After I started having this issue, I started having filesystem corruption on my disk. I'd recommend backing up everything as soon as possible, before attempting to debug, It never hurts.

For a quick background on the error, a blk_update_request: I/O error is an issue with interfacing with a data drive. You can see what drive my error is affecting (/dev/sda), and that it failed while trying to access sector 1669071536.

Turns out, in my case, I had a bad SATA cable. In addition to that, it seems like my motherboard doesn't support specific combinations of SATA port uses. When using ports #1 and #2, for example, only the first would be accessible. When using ports #1 and #3, it would freeze on boot. When using some other combinations, it would work.

Update

Turns out it was only a temporary fix. I had to replace the motherboard and drive. If you get blk_update_request: I/O error, check to make sure your backups still function properly.