Raid/Hdd in vista problem

kiteloopy

kiteloopy

kiteloopy

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Joined
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Notts / Reading
Ive got a bit of a problem.

My PC was working fine last night, but this morning....it wasnt having any of it.

When I turn it on, I get this error.

0xc000000f
\boot\bcd

which is basically saying..I cant find the mdr or your install drives or anything!

Ive done a bit of playing and research, and ive narrowed it down to my raid set-up. How? because when I put in the vista disc and it does its searching...my vista install doesn't appear. And when I go to CMD on the repair disc, 0 installs appear.

however, When i go into the Raid setup in bios, it says its 'normal' + when I select which drive to boot from...the Raid setup appears. but, when it displayed the Post on booting, it says:

Raid volumes: None defined.


I dont know what's happening. Please help. :rolleyes::)
 
So if you go into the intel RAID BIOS it says "none defined"?

Does it list the 2 drives at all? (If not check sata and power cables to the drives).

If it does list the drives, you could try to re-create the RAID volume from the 2 drives, but I
fear this is going to end in tears.

You also stated that \boot\bcd couldn;t be found, this would suggest that the RAID array is fine, it's just vistas' boot loader hosed. However if the recovery option from the DVD doesn't work, again I fear this is going to end in tears.

When was your last system backup?
 
Either sounds like the raid controler farted and lost the array or one of your drives is going bad.
Just two of the reasons why RAID 0 is a very very very bad idea unless you backup religiously.
 
HazardO said:
Does it list the 2 drives at all? (If not check sata and power cables to the drives).

If it does list the drives, you could try to re-create the RAID volume from the 2 drives, but I
fear this is going to end in tears.

You also stated that \boot\bcd couldn;t be found, this would suggest that the RAID array is fine, it's just vistas' boot loader hosed. However if the recovery option from the DVD doesn't work, again I fear this is going to end in tears.

When was your last system backup?
Click to expand...

Its displays both drives...however, Ill give it a physical check, as this might be a 'saved' list..rather than a 'currently present' list. problem is, i haven't been anywhere near the base unit, other than to turn it on.

ive never done a system back up, so the last one was the first install.
cant really comment on the vista disc atm, ill give it a proper check now and report in a min or 2.
 
This intel raid setup hadnt detected any previous raid...or my raid drives.

the gigabyte on the other hand had detected both the raid setup + the drives.

:confused:

everything's all plugged in fine.

If i delete the array then recreate it with the same settings + name, will it screw up?
 
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My sata drives and/or cables are always giving me problems. For no reason the PC will not boot giving errors to with MBR etc. Other than turning it on it is never messed with but if I unplug and plug in the cables everything usually returns to normal. The sata cables seem very loose compared to IDE cables.
 
You use the Gigabyte controller for RAID? Unusual, the intel one is renound for it's performance.

If you delete the array and recreate it, it might clear all the data. Sorry.

As for vista restore, I happen to know that vista (unlike XP) has a native driver for the intel matrix controller, but it might not have one for the Gigabyte controller. If this is the case, you will need to have a floppy with the RAID driver on it, so you can get the vista install/repair to see the raid array (Assuming the F6 trick works in Vista). If this works, you should then be able to repair your boot sector problem. (And not lose all of your data).

A word to the wise though, if you intend to continue using RAID0, BACKUP FREQUENTLY!.
 
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HazardO said:
You use the Gigabyte controller for RAID? Unusual, the intel one is renound for it's performance.

If you delete the array and recreate it, it might clear all the data. Sorry.

As for vista restore, I happen to know that vista (unlike XP) has a native driver for the intel matrix controller, but it might not have one for the Gigabyte controller. If this is the case, you will need to have a floppy with the RAID driver on it, so you can get the vista install/repair to see the raid array (Assuming the F6 trick works in Vista). If this works, you should then be able to repair your boot sector problem. (And not lose all of your data).

A word to the wise though, if you intend to continue using RAID0, BACKUP FREQUENTLY!.
Click to expand...

yea, well, untill today, i didnt actually know that it came with 2. :rolleyes: I thought that, as I was using a intel board it used the intel controller by default. similar to graphics....you might use a gainward OC program...but its still using nvidia/ati controller. you could use the intel or gigabyte front end...but its still using the intel backend...if you get me.

well...i unplugged each raid drive 1 by 1...and just rebooted, its saying..."bootmgr is missing" rather than the original 0xc000000f problem. mybe there's light a the end of the tunnel....but i still think its a rude word + 'ed'.
 
:(
kiteloopy said:
yea, well, untill today, i didnt actually know that it came with 2. :rolleyes: I thought that, as I was using a intel board it used the intel controller by default. similar to graphics....you might use a gainward OC program...but its still using nvidia/ati controller. you could use the intel or gigabyte front end...but its still using the intel backend...if you get me.

well...i unplugged each raid drive 1 by 1...and just rebooted, its saying..."bootmgr is missing" rather than the original 0xc000000f problem. mybe there's light a the end of the tunnel....but i still think its a rude word + 'ed'.
Click to expand...

Unplugging them is a bad plan (unless you don't mind losing all your data). Plug them back in, go into the gigabyte RAID BIOS, check the volume is still listed (If not you may have plugged the sata cables in the wrong way round, so swap them and try again).

If you can get the RAID volume listed in the Gigabyte BIOS again (without re-creating it), then find a copy of the Gigabyte driver, put it on a floppy or USB stick, boot the vista disk and try to repair your install (Vista will probably need this driver to be able to recognise the RAID volume).

If you can't get the BIOS to show the RAID array, or vista to see the RAID array for reparing, I believe you may be stuffed. :(
 
panic over....PHEW! what a pain in the &&&

it was what my self and everyone said, the raid setup.

Vista the ****; had slept with the devil last night, but left her thong at his place. I just had to copy her a new one. (thanks hazard0)

i backup my files onto other drives so loss of data wouldn't have been too much of a problem, just hassle of installing everything again.

thanks All....Ecookies + ebeer and Ewomen all around. :)
cheers.
 
A lucky escape this time. Good. :)

You really should get some proper backup sorted though, many games use Securom or alike these days, reinstalling is not always a viable option.
 
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