My RAID appears screwed

jmc41 · 21-07-2008, 06:32

So I booted this morning and got some breakfast, came back and found my computer saying one of my two raid1 drives was screwed. Odd given I put them in about 3-4 months ago.

Rebooted and checked the status and it said degraded, came back into windows which took about 5 minutes of waiting (gave up the first time but just waited the 2nd) - after ages to boot down too and now I have two 320gb drives which aren't raided any more.

Is there any way I can get the raid back without a format? And test the drives to see if one is really dieing already.

[Edit] I actually have two new HDs, both of them are showing as partitioned.

Zirax · 21-07-2008, 11:14

snap, had the same thing. If you can get into Windows it will normally say which hdd is buggered. One of mine lasted about 3 months <- not happy. The other option is to pull one of the drives. If it boots, you know you have pulled the buggered one, if not try the other one.

To rebuild you should just be able to drop a new drive of the same size in and it will automatically be rebuilt. Just turn the machine on and if you are using the intel raid it'll just start. Leave the machine on for a while without using it.

Mark · 21-07-2008, 12:30

I guess these things must come in threes then as I have just found a degraded drive in my RAID 1 array as well. Going to be fun finding out which drive that is as I have a choice of four (two arrays on the same controller). I suspect I'll probably end up degrading the second array before I'm done.

Means I'm going to have to buy another cold spare when I can least afford it too. :/

Chuckles · 21-07-2008, 12:40

I don't know consumer stuff so well but normally you can tell the controller the flash the light on the drive which is dodgy if you can't identify it another way. When you replace it, the array should just rebuild automatically.

jmc41 · 21-07-2008, 13:00

Hmm, is it definitely dead? It seems odd I can access both drives just as seperate ones through Windows.

Don't these things come with a warranty? Could do without spending another £40 myself

Mark · 21-07-2008, 13:17

Most likely it has some unrecoverable bad sectors. RAID arrays tend to not like those because they cause the two drives to get out of sync.

Anyway, fortunately last time I rebuilt my system I 'tagged' both ends of each drive cable, so as long as I tagged both ends the same, I think I know which one is the dud in my system. We'll soon find out when I power it back on to check.

jmc41 · 21-07-2008, 18:57

Windows doesn't say either is dead. I can boot from both though it takes about 1.5 minutes to get to the login screen, but get a 1 drive red flashing degraded error for both.

So no idea which one is dead, might have to try a re-build and then if that fails get a new drive and try building it with each of mine in turn?! Unfortunately my external is also making quiet clonking noises worrying me now too. Time to break out some DVDs I guess.

Mark · 21-07-2008, 19:04

Fetch out the tools to read S.M.A.R.T sensors (e.g. Speedfan). Not a foolproof method for sure (disks can fail even if S.M.A.R.T says they're good), but better than nothing.

Taken the failed disk out of my own system and I'm currently testing the replacement (which seems, oddly, to be an older batch even though I ordered it at the same time as the one it's replacing). Meanwhile, the 'failed' disk is powered up and being tested on another system. Nothing to report so far.

In both your and my case the drive may simply have encountered a failing sector and recovered (RAID arrays like mine may fail the disk simply because it took too long to read the data). The disk itself still works afterwards because all modern drives have a few hundred redundant sectors for such cases.

jmc41 · 21-07-2008, 19:42

Speedfan can't actually see either drive and doesn't do more than see the external, when I select it no long list appears as I'd expect. Going to try a re-build in windows now.

jmc41 · 21-07-2008, 22:12

Mine seems fine again (so-far...) after letting windows rebuild it for a couple of hours.

Time will tell, good luck with your's too Mark

21-07-2008, 06:32	#1
jmc41 Absinthe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,070	My RAID appears screwed So I booted this morning and got some breakfast, came back and found my computer saying one of my two raid1 drives was screwed. Odd given I put them in about 3-4 months ago. Rebooted and checked the status and it said degraded, came back into windows which took about 5 minutes of waiting (gave up the first time but just waited the 2nd) - after ages to boot down too and now I have two 320gb drives which aren't raided any more. Is there any way I can get the raid back without a format? And test the drives to see if one is really dieing already. [Edit] I actually have two new HDs, both of them are showing as partitioned.

21-07-2008, 12:40	#4
Chuckles '09 sexual conquests: 4.5 Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,075	I don't know consumer stuff so well but normally you can tell the controller the flash the light on the drive which is dodgy if you can't identify it another way. When you replace it, the array should just rebuild automatically. __________________

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21-07-2008, 11:14	#2
Zirax Goes up to 11! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,577	snap, had the same thing. If you can get into Windows it will normally say which hdd is buggered. One of mine lasted about 3 months <- not happy. The other option is to pull one of the drives. If it boots, you know you have pulled the buggered one, if not try the other one. To rebuild you should just be able to drop a new drive of the same size in and it will automatically be rebuilt. Just turn the machine on and if you are using the intel raid it'll just start. Leave the machine on for a while without using it.

21-07-2008, 12:30	#3
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	I guess these things must come in threes then as I have just found a degraded drive in my RAID 1 array as well. Going to be fun finding out which drive that is as I have a choice of four (two arrays on the same controller). I suspect I'll probably end up degrading the second array before I'm done. Means I'm going to have to buy another cold spare when I can least afford it too. :/

21-07-2008, 13:00	#5
jmc41 Absinthe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,070	Hmm, is it definitely dead? It seems odd I can access both drives just as seperate ones through Windows. Don't these things come with a warranty? Could do without spending another £40 myself

21-07-2008, 13:17	#6
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Most likely it has some unrecoverable bad sectors. RAID arrays tend to not like those because they cause the two drives to get out of sync. Anyway, fortunately last time I rebuilt my system I 'tagged' both ends of each drive cable, so as long as I tagged both ends the same, I think I know which one is the dud in my system. We'll soon find out when I power it back on to check.

21-07-2008, 18:57	#7
jmc41 Absinthe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,070	Windows doesn't say either is dead. I can boot from both though it takes about 1.5 minutes to get to the login screen, but get a 1 drive red flashing degraded error for both. So no idea which one is dead, might have to try a re-build and then if that fails get a new drive and try building it with each of mine in turn?! Unfortunately my external is also making quiet clonking noises worrying me now too. Time to break out some DVDs I guess.

21-07-2008, 19:04	#8
Mark Screaming Orgasm Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newbury Posts: 15,194	Fetch out the tools to read S.M.A.R.T sensors (e.g. Speedfan). Not a foolproof method for sure (disks can fail even if S.M.A.R.T says they're good), but better than nothing. Taken the failed disk out of my own system and I'm currently testing the replacement (which seems, oddly, to be an older batch even though I ordered it at the same time as the one it's replacing). Meanwhile, the 'failed' disk is powered up and being tested on another system. Nothing to report so far. In both your and my case the drive may simply have encountered a failing sector and recovered (RAID arrays like mine may fail the disk simply because it took too long to read the data). The disk itself still works afterwards because all modern drives have a few hundred redundant sectors for such cases.

21-07-2008, 19:42	#9
jmc41 Absinthe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,070	Speedfan can't actually see either drive and doesn't do more than see the external, when I select it no long list appears as I'd expect. Going to try a re-build in windows now.

21-07-2008, 22:12	#10
jmc41 Absinthe Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1,070	Mine seems fine again (so-far...) after letting windows rebuild it for a couple of hours. Time will tell, good luck with your's too Mark