Nice, Ubuntu just wiped out my RAID array...

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 16:55

So, I decided I'd have a play with Ubuntu and grabbed the iso image, burned it and threw it in my main pc, it then went on to destroy my RAID0 array. First I knew of it was when it listed the individual drives in the partitioning section during setup, goodbye everything...

Glad I keep 99% of my junk on a backup drive

Be warned.

Hate · 3 Feb 2008 at 17:04

It wasn't a software RAID array, was it ?

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 17:06

Onboard Jmicron controller on my DS3.

Fanatic · 3 Feb 2008 at 17:18

You need a spare disk outside the RAID array to install Ubuntu on.

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 17:20

Fanatic said:
You need a spare disk outside the RAID array to install Ubuntu on.

Which is exactly what I was going to do, it was in there ready to be used, Ubuntu destroyed the array before I got that far.

Fanatic · 3 Feb 2008 at 17:31

When you installed Ubuntu how did you do it? Manually partitioning and telling it to install to the disk outside the RAID?

.walls · 3 Feb 2008 at 18:07

I doubt that it destroyed the array before it got that far.

human error.

GarethDW · 3 Feb 2008 at 18:12

Fanatic said:
When you installed Ubuntu how did you do it? Manually partitioning and telling it to install to the disk outside the RAID?

Yep, that's what should've been done... judging by the end result, this wasn't what was selected.

Fanatic · 3 Feb 2008 at 18:21

Well I made the point because it might be that he just lost the bootloader and not the RAID array itself. In which case it can be recovered by booting from the Vista install disc, opening up a cmd prompt, and then Bootrec/fixboot and Bootrec/fixmbr commands.

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 19:05

Fanatic said:
When you installed Ubuntu how did you do it? Manually partitioning and telling it to install to the disk outside the RAID?

This was what I was atttempting, it got as far as displaying the list of drives and had both my raided drives showing, at which point I became concerned and exitied the installer to find it had destroyed the array.

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 19:06

Fanatic said:
Well I made the point because it might be that he just lost the bootloader and not the RAID array itself. In which case it can be recovered by booting from the Vista install disc, opening up a cmd prompt, and then Bootrec/fixboot and Bootrec/fixmbr commands.

No, the array is gone.

bigredshark · 3 Feb 2008 at 22:38

OK, to confirm, the install does not destroy arrays. Whatever happened, you did something. Be more careful!

RobH · 3 Feb 2008 at 23:10

The Ubuntu installer doesn't touch the disks until you proceed to setup which you do on the screen after the disk partition tool (the screen that lists everything you have chosen to do).

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 23:26

Oh look a working array...

I'll select the dvd-rom that the Ubuntu disc is in to boot from...

Install in text mode sounds good to me...

English please...

yup, I'm in the UK...

Nah, I'll choose that...

Yes, I have a US Keyboard...

Yes, it's US English...

Loading modules and DHCP and stuff...

Dano · 3 Feb 2008 at 23:26

Ubuntu sounds good to me...

Manual please...

Ho hum... what's this, the 80GB drive I want to install Ubuntu on and those two 164.7GB drives sure look like the two that should be in my array...

Hmmm... yes that one there... think I'll quit out of this...

Yup, abort please...

Yes please...

What was that you say? it doesn't touch the array?

oooops... lets try a reboot...

Nope, it's destroyed the array...

.walls · 4 Feb 2008 at 08:52

and you don't think at this stage you should have selected "undo changes to partitions"?

Different partitioning tools work differently (oddly enough). If you compare this to the Windows installer - you don't get a "undo changes" option - once you select the option, it gives you a warning saying that the changes are irreversible and that's it.

Personally, if I had noticed that my raid array looked screwed, I would have clicked every "undo" button until it was fixed.

Also, I would have backups.

Dano · 4 Feb 2008 at 10:45

.walls said:
and you don't think at this stage you should have selected "undo changes to partitions"?

What changes? it hasn't been asked to make any changes at this point, all it's done is show the list of available drives and partitions and in fact jumped past that menu option to the <Go Back> option as there was nothing to undo.

Different partitioning tools work differently (oddly enough). If you compare this to the Windows installer - you don't get a "undo changes" option - once you select the option, it gives you a warning saying that the changes are irreversible and that's it.

True, but windows at least warns you...

Personally, if I had noticed that my raid array looked screwed, I would have clicked every "undo" button until it was fixed.

Also, I would have backups.

From my very first post...

Glad I keep 99% of my junk on a backup drive

.walls · 4 Feb 2008 at 10:54

I'm effectively defending a distro that I have never used and likely never will use.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience with it, but almost always when things like this crop up, it's user error.

brummie · 4 Feb 2008 at 11:10

Ive tried replicating it with silicon ATA software RAID array 2x200GB drives and it changed nothing :confused:

Instead of just moaning about it, report the problem to help improve support or go search the ubuntu help to see if anyone else as had it.

RAID 0 is very intolerant anyway and shouldnt be relied upon, no doubt why you have back ups.

Dano · 4 Feb 2008 at 11:14

brummie said:
Ive tried replicating it with silicon ATA software RAID array 2x200GB drives and it changed nothing

Different hardware = different issues.

Instead of just moaning about it, report the problem to help improve support or go search the ubuntu help to see if anyone else as had it.

Who's moaning?

RAID 0 is very intolerant anyway and shouldnt be relied upon, no doubt why you have back ups.

Doesn't matter wether it's RAID 0, 1, 5 or JBOD, backups are essential period.