I have an external USB 2.0 drive WD My Book Mirror Edition, running in RAID 1 (mirroring) mode. A while ago the hard drive started to fail: it stops responding (directories are not listed returning an error after a big timeout). Sometimes it works for weeks before a failure, sometimes – few hours. Small write operations (like removing few files or editing a small file) do not harm, but when copying large files to the drive over the network, or creating the archive locally, the kernel dumps. Also interesting to note that once kernel has failed, Linux does not want to reboot normally (reboot hangs); when Linux box is shutdown with power button, WD drive does not go to sleep mode (as it usually does): leds continue to run, pressing and holding the "shutdown" button on drive's back panel does not do anything; only unplugging the power cord helps.

Here goes the boot log:

Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.514106] ehci_hcd: USB 2.0 'Enhanced' Host Controller (EHCI) Driver
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.657738] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: PCI INT A -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 23
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.673747] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: setting latency timer to 64
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.673751] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: EHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.725224] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.741647] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: using broken periodic workaround
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.761790] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: cache line size of 32 is not supported
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.761873] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: irq 23, io mem 0xfdfff000
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.796043] ehci_hcd 0000:00:1d.7: USB 2.0 started, EHCI 1.00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.879069] usb usb1: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0002
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.895446] usb usb1: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.911796] usb usb1: Product: EHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.928015] usb usb1: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.32-5-686 ehci_hcd
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.944331] usb usb1: SerialNumber: 0000:00:1d.7
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.961285] usb usb1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    1.994412] hub 1-0:1.0: USB hub found
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.010864] hub 1-0:1.0: 8 ports detected
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.085939] uhci_hcd: USB Universal Host Controller Interface driver
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.191945] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 23
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.226029] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.0: setting latency timer to 64
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.226034] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.0: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.243237] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.0: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 2
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.260390] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.0: irq 23, io base 0x0000fe00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.277517] usb usb2: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0001
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.294815] usb usb2: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.312173] usb usb2: Product: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.329534] usb usb2: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.32-5-686 uhci_hcd
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.346828] usb usb2: SerialNumber: 0000:00:1d.0
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.412989] usb usb2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.430651] usb 1-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.449046] hub 2-0:1.0: USB hub found
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.466514] hub 2-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.484639] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.1: PCI INT B -> GSI 19 (level, low) -> IRQ 19
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.537750] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.1: setting latency timer to 64
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.537756] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.1: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.555085] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.1: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.572231] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.1: irq 19, io base 0x0000fd00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.589593] usb usb3: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0001
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.606869] usb usb3: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.624134] usb usb3: Product: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.641329] usb usb3: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.32-5-686 uhci_hcd
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.658505] usb usb3: SerialNumber: 0000:00:1d.1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.675843] usb usb3: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.692864] hub 3-0:1.0: USB hub found
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.709651] hub 3-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.727378] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: PCI INT C -> GSI 18 (level, low) -> IRQ 18
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.768252] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: setting latency timer to 64
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.768258] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.806679] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 4
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.824117] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.2: irq 18, io base 0x0000fc00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.841405] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=1058, idProduct=1104
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.858448] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.875347] usb 1-2: Product: My Book
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.892113] usb 1-2: Manufacturer: Western Digital
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.908915] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: 575532553130303530353538
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.943242] usb usb4: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0001
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.960405] usb usb4: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.977615] usb usb4: Product: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    2.994687] usb usb4: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.32-5-686 uhci_hcd
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.011711] usb usb4: SerialNumber: 0000:00:1d.2
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.029589] usb usb4: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.082027] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI disk
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.103953] usb 1-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.122625] hub 4-0:1.0: USB hub found
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.140484] hub 4-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.161680] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.3: PCI INT D -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.181257] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.3: setting latency timer to 64
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.181263] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.3: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.198614] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.3: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 5
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.216012] uhci_hcd 0000:00:1d.3: irq 16, io base 0x0000fb00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.249877] Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.267765] usb usb5: New USB device found, idVendor=1d6b, idProduct=0001
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.284947] usb usb5: New USB device strings: Mfr=3, Product=2, SerialNumber=1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.302023] usb usb5: Product: UHCI Host Controller
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.319215] usb usb5: Manufacturer: Linux 2.6.32-5-686 uhci_hcd
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.336298] usb usb5: SerialNumber: 0000:00:1d.3
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.368377] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.390652] usbcore: registered new interface driver hiddev
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.408109] scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.425281] sr 0:0:1:0: Attached scsi CD-ROM sr0
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.438978] sr 0:0:1:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 5
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.456328] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.474564] usb-storage: device found at 2
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.474567] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.475320] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 0
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.492587] USB Mass Storage support registered.
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.510930] usb usb5: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.531076] hub 5-0:1.0: USB hub found
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.548399] hub 5-0:1.0: 2 ports detected
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.591743] input: Western Digital My Book as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb1/1-2/1-2:1.1/input/input2
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.609515] generic-usb 0003:1058:1104.0001: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.11 Device [Western Digital My Book] on usb-0000:00:1d.7-2/input1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    3.627466] usbcore: registered new interface driver usbhid
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.581664] usb-storage: device scan complete
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.624270] scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access     WD       My Book          1008 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.655135] scsi 4:0:0:1: Enclosure         WD       My Book Device   1008 PQ: 0 ANSI: 4
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.675393] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.698669] scsi 4:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 13
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.723370] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] 1953513472 512-byte logical blocks: (1.00 TB/931 GiB)
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.750477] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.769411] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 10 00 00 00
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.769414] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.822971] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.841978]  sdb: sdb1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.905580] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [    8.924173] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI disk
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [   11.600492] XFS mounting filesystem sdb1
Aug 16 00:32:21 kernel: [   12.222948] Ending clean XFS mount for filesystem: sdb1

After a while the following appears in a log:

Aug 16 09:30:56 kernel: [32359.112029] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
Aug 16 09:31:59 kernel: [32422.112035] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2
Aug 16 09:33:00 kernel: [32483.112029] usb 1-2: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2

And then it is followed by few kernel dumps, which I think, are not good:

Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.428027] INFO: task xfssyncd:1002 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.462689] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.497422] xfssyncd      D c3d84a60     0  1002      2 0x00000000
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.532117]  f6c9aa80 00000046 c1132742 c3d84a60 00000286 c1418100 c1418100 00000000
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.566867]  f6c9ac3c c2808100 00000000 f653b18b 00001d76 00000001 f6c9aa80 c3c3f0e0
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.601343]  08e59242 f6c9ac3c 2e41392b 00000000 08e59242 00000000 c3f7fb48 0067385a
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.635533] Call Trace:
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.668991]  [<c1132742>] ? cfq_set_request+0x0/0x290
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.702804]  [<c126b532>] ? io_schedule+0x5f/0x98
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.736555]  [<c1128be0>] ? get_request_wait+0xcb/0x146
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.770360]  [<c10437ba>] ? autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2d
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.804110]  [<c112907c>] ? __make_request+0x2cc/0x3d9
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.837713]  [<c1128230>] ? blk_peek_request+0x135/0x143
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.871265]  [<f8582987>] ? scsi_dispatch_cmd+0x185/0x1e5 [scsi_mod]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.904407]  [<c1127cf1>] ? generic_make_request+0x266/0x2b4
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.937007]  [<c10cf821>] ? bvec_alloc_bs+0x95/0xaf
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32520.969033]  [<c1127dfb>] ? submit_bio+0xbc/0xd6
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.000485]  [<c10cffd1>] ? bio_add_page+0x28/0x2e
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.031403]  [<f8918d38>] ? _xfs_buf_ioapply+0x206/0x22b [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.061888]  [<f89197bd>] ? xfs_buf_iorequest+0x38/0x60 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.091845]  [<f8907230>] ? xlog_bdstrat_cb+0x16/0x3d [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.121222]  [<f8905781>] ? XFS_bwrite+0x32/0x64 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.150007]  [<f89059be>] ? xlog_sync+0x20b/0x311 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.178214]  [<f89112fc>] ? xfs_trans_ail_tail+0x12/0x27 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.205914]  [<f8906261>] ? xlog_state_sync_all+0xa2/0x141 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.233074]  [<f8906611>] ? _xfs_log_force+0x51/0x68 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.259664]  [<c103abaf>] ? process_timeout+0x0/0x5
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.285662]  [<f8906636>] ? xfs_log_force+0xe/0x27 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.311171]  [<f89202df>] ? xfs_sync_worker+0x17/0x5c [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.336117]  [<f891fbb7>] ? xfssyncd+0x134/0x17d [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.360498]  [<f891fa83>] ? xfssyncd+0x0/0x17d [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.384211]  [<c1043588>] ? kthread+0x61/0x66
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.407890]  [<c1043527>] ? kthread+0x0/0x66
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.430876]  [<c1003d47>] ? kernel_thread_helper+0x7/0x10
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.453394] INFO: task flush-8:16:12945 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.476116] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.498579] flush-8:16    D 00000000     0 12945      2 0x00000000
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.520649]  f4e4d540 00000046 e412e940 00000000 00000002 c1418100 c1418100 c14136ac
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.542426]  f4e4d6fc c2808100 00000000 00000000 000008b4 00000001 f4e4d540 c3c3f0e0
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.563745]  02e905a8 f4e4d6fc 007a5399 00000000 02e905a8 00000000 f4e2db48 00670b98
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.585077] Call Trace:
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.605790]  [<c126b532>] ? io_schedule+0x5f/0x98
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.626184]  [<c1128be0>] ? get_request_wait+0xcb/0x146
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.646133]  [<c10437ba>] ? autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2d
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.665659]  [<c112907c>] ? __make_request+0x2cc/0x3d9
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.684716]  [<f891796e>] ? xfs_convert_page+0x30a/0x331 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.703366]  [<c1127cf1>] ? generic_make_request+0x266/0x2b4
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.721644]  [<c10cf821>] ? bvec_alloc_bs+0x95/0xaf
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.739465]  [<c1127dfb>] ? submit_bio+0xbc/0xd6
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.756896]  [<c10cfa45>] ? bio_alloc_bioset+0x7b/0xba
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.774046]  [<f8917af0>] ? xfs_submit_ioend_bio+0x3b/0x44 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.790694]  [<f8917ba3>] ? xfs_submit_ioend+0xaa/0xc4 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.806736]  [<f891817d>] ? xfs_page_state_convert+0x5c0/0x61c [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.822859]  [<c113705b>] ? __lookup_tag+0x8e/0xee
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.838958]  [<f891840d>] ? xfs_vm_writepage+0x91/0xc4 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.855039]  [<c108bbcc>] ? __writepage+0x8/0x22
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.871067]  [<c108c17b>] ? write_cache_pages+0x1af/0x29f
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.886616]  [<c108bbc4>] ? __writepage+0x0/0x22
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.901593]  [<c108c285>] ? generic_writepages+0x1a/0x21
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.916455]  [<f8918338>] ? xfs_vm_writepages+0x0/0x38 [xfs]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.931484]  [<c108c2a5>] ? do_writepages+0x19/0x25
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.946648]  [<c10c80d9>] ? writeback_single_inode+0xc7/0x273
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.961675]  [<c10c8c44>] ? writeback_inodes_wb+0x3dd/0x49c
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.976831]  [<c10c8e18>] ? wb_writeback+0x115/0x178
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32521.991778]  [<c10c901f>] ? wb_do_writeback+0x121/0x131
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.006538]  [<c103abaf>] ? process_timeout+0x0/0x5
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.021091]  [<c10c9050>] ? bdi_writeback_task+0x21/0x89
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.035493]  [<c10979e5>] ? bdi_start_fn+0x59/0xa4
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.049765]  [<c109798c>] ? bdi_start_fn+0x0/0xa4
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.063792]  [<c1043588>] ? kthread+0x61/0x66
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.077612]  [<c1043527>] ? kthread+0x0/0x66
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.091260]  [<c1003d47>] ? kernel_thread_helper+0x7/0x10
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.104966] INFO: task smartctl:13098 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.118883] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message.
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.133012] smartctl      D 00000020     0 13098  13097 0x00000000
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.147221]  e50b9540 00000086 c11d28a8 00000020 00000770 c1418100 c1418100 c14136ac
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.161720]  e50b96fc c2808100 00000000 e53e8800 00000000 00000020 c3cec000 c13886c0
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.176217]  f99dab68 e50b96fc 007a4f1e 00000001 c4082f24 c4082ed8 00000001 c3c3f0e0
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.190737] Call Trace:
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.205038]  [<c11d28a8>] ? __netdev_alloc_skb+0x14/0x2d
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.219605]  [<c126b799>] ? schedule_timeout+0x20/0xb0
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.234144]  [<c112820d>] ? blk_peek_request+0x112/0x143
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.248649]  [<f85873b6>] ? scsi_request_fn+0x3c1/0x47a [scsi_mod]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.263233]  [<c103aba8>] ? del_timer+0x55/0x5c
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.277773]  [<c126b6a2>] ? wait_for_common+0xa4/0x100
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.292342]  [<c102cd8d>] ? default_wake_function+0x0/0x8
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.306958]  [<c112b3d1>] ? blk_execute_rq+0x8b/0xb2
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.321569]  [<c112b2ac>] ? blk_end_sync_rq+0x0/0x23
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.336070]  [<c112b58b>] ? blk_recount_segments+0x13/0x20
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.350583]  [<c1127307>] ? blk_rq_bio_prep+0x44/0x74
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.365059]  [<c112b0b2>] ? blk_rq_map_kern+0xc5/0xee
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.379439]  [<c112e2a5>] ? sg_scsi_ioctl+0x221/0x2aa
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.393801]  [<c112e672>] ? scsi_cmd_ioctl+0x344/0x39a
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.408140]  [<c1024c87>] ? update_curr+0x106/0x1b3
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.422566]  [<c1024c87>] ? update_curr+0x106/0x1b3
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.436832]  [<f87676aa>] ? sd_ioctl+0x90/0xb5 [sd_mod]
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.451228]  [<c112c35f>] ? __blkdev_driver_ioctl+0x53/0x63
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.465689]  [<c112cbbf>] ? blkdev_ioctl+0x850/0x891
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.479982]  [<c1020474>] ? __wake_up_common+0x34/0x59
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.494138]  [<c10244cd>] ? complete+0x28/0x36
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.507986]  [<c1086c64>] ? find_get_page+0x1f/0x81
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.521671]  [<c10abed5>] ? add_partial+0xe/0x40
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.535285]  [<c1086e68>] ? lock_page+0x8/0x1d
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.548797]  [<c1087432>] ? filemap_fault+0xb5/0x2e6
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.562141]  [<c109941c>] ? __do_fault+0x381/0x3b1
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.575441]  [<c10d0c30>] ? block_ioctl+0x27/0x2c
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.588708]  [<c10d0c09>] ? block_ioctl+0x0/0x2c
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.601858]  [<c10bcd78>] ? vfs_ioctl+0x1c/0x5f
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.614917]  [<c10bd30c>] ? do_vfs_ioctl+0x4aa/0x4e5
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.627961]  [<c10350db>] ? __do_softirq+0x115/0x151
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.640901]  [<c126e270>] ? do_page_fault+0x2f1/0x307
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.653803]  [<c10bd388>] ? sys_ioctl+0x41/0x58
Aug 16 09:33:40 kernel: [32522.666674]  [<c10030fb>] ? sysenter_do_call+0x12/0x28

Then again few messages reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 2.

I have browsed and read similar error reports here and there and I tried:

• I have upgraded the kernel from v2.6.26-2 to 2.6.32-5, which has not solved the problem.
• They say, this might a cable problem. I have tried to replace the USB-to-miniUSB cable (that connects external drive with computer) with another one. No changes.
• Somebody suggests to try another USB port. I have only 4 external USB ports, tried another one with no success.
• They say to try uhci_hcd. I have unmounted the device, unloaded ehci_hcd and mounted again. The difference was that now in log I get reset full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 2 and similar kernel dumps after a while.
• They say to echo 128 > /sys/block/sdb/device/max_sectors. I tried it with ehci_hcd with no success (note: I have issued this command after the drive was mounted but before using it actively).
• I have lauched smartmond and checking periodically the output of smartctl: drive temperature is OK, number of bad sectors and uncorrectable errors is 0.

Nothing suspicious is reported by S.M.A.R.T. except maybe the following:

Aug 16 12:40:12 kernel: [43715.314566] program smartctl is using a deprecated SCSI ioctl, please convert it to SG_IO
Aug 16 12:40:13 kernel: [43715.705622] program smartctl is using a deprecated SCSI ioctl, please convert it to SG_IO  

Of course, I have not tried all combinations of above. But unfortunately, I am run out of cardinal ideas. If anybody can advice something specific about the problem, you are very welcome.