RobPayne
asked on
Recover data on RAID 5 data drive with failed RAID 0 boot drive
I have a Compaq Proliant 6500 server with Compaq Smart Array 3200 Controller with six physical SCSI drives configured as follows:
> Drives 0-1 (4.3gig) RAID0 comprises “C:” logical drive which has OS (WinServer 2003);
> Drives 2-5 (9.1 gig) RAID5 comprises “D:” logical drive which has the data that I want to recover.
When I power up the server, POST returns error 1789 – Slot 4 Drive Array SCSI driver(s) Not Responding. Check cables or replace the following SCSI drive: SCSI 1 Port 1: SCSI ID 1.
When I initially configured the server’ storage I was thinking Drives 0-1 are so small that I’ll configure them as RAID0 and then I’ll at least be able to host the OS and page files on it and I can always reinstall the OS if I have to. The stuff that I can’t reinstall, I’ll put on the D: logical drive configured with RAID5 fault tolerance. Since I’m an infrastructure person only by necessity, I didn’t have the foresight to see the problem that I was creating for myself. Specifically, since Drive 1 failed, the server is not bootable so I can’t get to really important stuff on the D: drive which should be perfectly intact.
I have two new 18.2 drives to replace the 4.3 gig drives in slots 0-1. I would like to replace both drives and create a RAID1 logical drive, C: (so I won’t find myself in this position in the future) and then reload the OS. Experts, do I need to do anything prior to replacing the existing Drives 0-1? Are there any special precautions that I should take to ensure that the data on the RAID5 D: drive is not lost? Can you offer any other suggestions or guidance to help me make the server bootable again while ensuring that the integrity of the logical D: drive isn’t compromised?
> Drives 0-1 (4.3gig) RAID0 comprises “C:” logical drive which has OS (WinServer 2003);
> Drives 2-5 (9.1 gig) RAID5 comprises “D:” logical drive which has the data that I want to recover.
When I power up the server, POST returns error 1789 – Slot 4 Drive Array SCSI driver(s) Not Responding. Check cables or replace the following SCSI drive: SCSI 1 Port 1: SCSI ID 1.
When I initially configured the server’ storage I was thinking Drives 0-1 are so small that I’ll configure them as RAID0 and then I’ll at least be able to host the OS and page files on it and I can always reinstall the OS if I have to. The stuff that I can’t reinstall, I’ll put on the D: logical drive configured with RAID5 fault tolerance. Since I’m an infrastructure person only by necessity, I didn’t have the foresight to see the problem that I was creating for myself. Specifically, since Drive 1 failed, the server is not bootable so I can’t get to really important stuff on the D: drive which should be perfectly intact.
I have two new 18.2 drives to replace the 4.3 gig drives in slots 0-1. I would like to replace both drives and create a RAID1 logical drive, C: (so I won’t find myself in this position in the future) and then reload the OS. Experts, do I need to do anything prior to replacing the existing Drives 0-1? Are there any special precautions that I should take to ensure that the data on the RAID5 D: drive is not lost? Can you offer any other suggestions or guidance to help me make the server bootable again while ensuring that the integrity of the logical D: drive isn’t compromised?
ASKER
I should have backups, right.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Technically, since this was a hardware RAID, you SHOULD be able to get away with putting two drives in and mirroring them. Most Dell hardware RAID controllers I've worked with allow multiple and multiple types of RAID sets on a single controller. So as long as you're not touching the existing RAID 5 disk info in the controller's BIOS, I expect the Compaq cards to work similarly.