Lost Windows 7 RAID?

DemonTraitor

DemonTraitor

DemonTraitor

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Joined
12 Jan 2009
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51
I have 2 x 500GB IDE HDDs striped as 1TB using Windows 7 Disk Management...

I have just built a new computer and plugged these disks in exactly the same, as CABLE SELECT (I just pulled cable out old MOBO and plugged it in new MOBO)

The BIOS reports BAD sectors on one HDD, and Windows is not seeing any of the 2 HDDs, but if I plug them in individually, they are reported as OK in the BIOS...

I need help :(

I have lots of stuff on these, which I don't want to lose. I was not able to do a backup, and I know that it is possible to keep the the RAID setup by importing foreign disks.

Also, I have plugged the HDDs back into old server, and I am getting the same errors.

How can I retrieve my data ;(

I hope someone can help....

Demon.
 
Cable select? Are these IDE drives?

If they were set as an array in BIOS before you need to ensure that they are again paired in an array. That's not to say it will work on a different controller though.

I've had some luck with a live Linux CD before for recovering data from a RAID array. Plug both in as ACHI (no RAID options), Ubuntu *should* recognise they are member disks and glue them back together. If you get your data backed up somewhere, rue the day you were silly enough to save important stuff to a striped array ;)
 
If the old machine (if still setup as it was before you pulled the disks) doesn't like it then it sounds to me like the disks are not happy.

Why on earth are you running a striped array with important, unbacked up data in the first place? :confused:
 
Turned out the cable had decided to die during swap over. Jesus!

BIOS is now seeing the disks ok, but windows disk management is not playing ball. It's pairing them as a dynamic disk, as one volume made of the 2 disks, but not giving them a volume letter.

The disks are showing individually as failed by Windows, I get option to reactivate volume, then get message "we recommend running chkdisk after it becomes available for use". But then nothing happens :-(

Question... If I setup a Windows raid on 2 disks, on the same ide cable/port, do the disks have to be in the same order all the time? Ie cable select/master & slave, or will windows work it out. I'm just asking in case I have mixed up the order while trying to solve my problem..... :-\
 
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