cfgchiran
asked on
RAID 5 server not recognizing OS - How to access the data?
I was contacted by someone who has an IBM Win 2003 server with RAID 5 across 6 SCSI drives. Evidently for some reason the server was not booting properly and they reseated the RAID controller card. But now the server does not recongize that it has an OS, but does recognize a drive to install the OS on to.
His backup is also corrupted. So that's of no use. Right now all he needs is to get the databases he has stored on that server?
Is there some way to connect to those drives (or the one virtual drive) to backup the stuff? Can they be seen through Bart PE or something like that?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
His backup is also corrupted. So that's of no use. Right now all he needs is to get the databases he has stored on that server?
Is there some way to connect to those drives (or the one virtual drive) to backup the stuff? Can they be seen through Bart PE or something like that?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
PUNKY
Please see here: http://www.runtime.org/raid.htm
depends on how the RAID was set up.
if it was a mirrored RAID then disconnect all of them except one and try and connect (try all drives one by one and se if they work)
However, I can't see 6 drives simply being used for mirrors (overkill or what)
try going into the RAID BIOS and rebuilding the RAID array. (be careful not to destroy the data though)
if it was a mirrored RAID then disconnect all of them except one and try and connect (try all drives one by one and se if they work)
However, I can't see 6 drives simply being used for mirrors (overkill or what)
try going into the RAID BIOS and rebuilding the RAID array. (be careful not to destroy the data though)
BartPE or the UBCD4WIN should be able to see the array if you have included the drivers for the controller and if the array is still functional.
ASKER
Thanks for the feedback. Tried BartPE with the drivers, but it does not see the array. Might try the RAID Reconstructor, if no other ideas come up.
If everything was set up in a mirrored format (which I know is an overkill, but am not quite sure how it was done) is it possible to simply pull one of the drives and plug it into another server and try to access it as a slave drive, without RAID?
If everything was set up in a mirrored format (which I know is an overkill, but am not quite sure how it was done) is it possible to simply pull one of the drives and plug it into another server and try to access it as a slave drive, without RAID?
yes - I did this the other day for a clent
each drive is a copy - so take one at a time and see whcih one works
you should be able to get the data off it.
each drive is a copy - so take one at a time and see whcih one works
you should be able to get the data off it.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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I'm not sure if the raid reconstructor will work with more than 3 drives. As far as I know it's limit is at 3 drives. Maybe all that is necessary is to again check the seating of the controller, the cables, and the drives to get the array running again. Also check the array setup utility, it may be necessary to activate the array again or put it "online".
ASKER
The guy is going to bring the server to me - so I will reseat the drives and also check the BIOS to make sure it's booting from the Array.
Raid Reconstructor is supposed to work from 3-14 drives on RAID 5 - so we'll see if that option will work as well.
The card is an Adaptec, but I don't know the model yet, since i have not see the server. Will get back to you guys soon.
Thanks again for all the info and let me know if anyone has any other suggestions.
Raid Reconstructor is supposed to work from 3-14 drives on RAID 5 - so we'll see if that option will work as well.
The card is an Adaptec, but I don't know the model yet, since i have not see the server. Will get back to you guys soon.
Thanks again for all the info and let me know if anyone has any other suggestions.
For raid reconstructor, you'll need to start each disk separately and the software creates an image file of that disk, then it tries to merge the images together. So you'll need a PC where those disks run inside (it shouldn't be running in raid), and you will require plenty of free space to where those images will be stored on. This means you'll need at least enough free disk space to hold the 6 images of those disks. Be prepared.
ASKER
While I was not able to resolve the issue completely, it looks like this server ended up having two faulty drives and the RAID was corrupted. It is been turned over to someone who has a more experience in data recovery. While I was unable to find a solution, thank you for taking the time to respond.