The long road to data recovery! Help!

Django x2 · 22 Dec 2014 at 12:46

Hi all,

In another thread, you'll see that the software raid S100 PERC controller failed in the Dell T110 2 server.

This was a simple RAID 1 of two 500gb disks.

I would have simply thought I could take one disk, mount it in another Windows machine and pull the data off. Apparently not.

At the risk of spending £200 on RAID RECOVER, which is unlikely to work, what else can I attempt to read this disk? Recuva doesn't even see it

Well, it says it can't determine the file type, so not very helpful

Thanks

KIA · 22 Dec 2014 at 13:11

https://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

Mynight · 22 Dec 2014 at 14:11

I would suggest trying to clone the disk first(if possible). It's weird as afaik raid 1 is just a mirror image so it should be readable as you said. Unless somthing more sinister has happened.

Where's this other thread I can't find it.

Are the controllers identical in the new machine?

Django x2 · 22 Dec 2014 at 16:13

Here matey
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18644362

edscdk · 22 Dec 2014 at 16:31

have you tried just running a chkdsk, NTFS is pretty hard to totally screw up, controller probably jsut wrote some junk to the disk...

Caged · 22 Dec 2014 at 16:45

Hook it up using something like this to ensure you aren't accidentally destroying your chances of recovery:

http://www.cru-inc.com/products/wiebetech/wiebetech_forensic_combodock_v5/

Mynight · 22 Dec 2014 at 17:17

If you need to modify contents of a suspect drive, switch the Forensic ComboDock into temporary read/write mode.

Well that's a suspicious part of the sales pitch

.

Wouldn't mirroring/cloning the drive do the same thing? It only reads not writes on the target disk doesn't it?

I wonder if it's due to the original controller being software based. Iirc software raid is rather finicky about being operated on anything other than an identical model. Ie another s100 perc controller.

Django x2 · 22 Dec 2014 at 17:33

The 2 new 1TB disks that are now in the server are performing beautifully.

There's an H300 PERC on order too and he's backing up to the cloud for now, but I really need this data off somehow...

I wonder if I could clone it to VHD / VMDK to mess about with it in a VM at some point.

Mynight · 22 Dec 2014 at 17:43

I would double check with dell if it is a known issue but there are second hand s100s on the bay for £14inc. Not much for a trial run if needbe.

(As far as I can find there's only 1 s100 no revisions.)

Django x2 · 22 Dec 2014 at 17:44

The S100 is an onboard controller ie, part of the motherboard....

Mynight · 22 Dec 2014 at 17:58

Argh right my bad sorry. Googling came up with a raid card

.