vsllc
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Need to Troubleshoot Swap of Failed RAID?
I've been asked to help replace a failed HD in a RAID setup and know very little about them. The machine is a DELL XPS with XP Media on it. DELL sent a replacement drive of the same model. When swapped, the system will not recognize the new drive. What could be the cause? The system boots OK, but the drive is not found. I'm not in front of the machine but would like any pointers or advice to look for once I get it.
Also, what type of setup needs to be done to configure the drive so the one disk will mirror the other?
Thanks.
Also, what type of setup needs to be done to configure the drive so the one disk will mirror the other?
Thanks.
wfcraven12
during the boot you should get some sort of prompt to enter the RAID configuration manager/utility (this will be before the Windows logo shows up). you can then have your system discover the new drive & rebuild it.
ASKER
Thanks for the fast response.
OK so something like a ctrl+A or a function key message will appear during boot? If I were to go back to the beginning of the process, is it as simple (in theory) as removing the failed drive, then inserting the new drive, then starting the machine and entering the RAID configuration manager/utility and selecting a simple menu option? I'm wondering is there are drivers that need to be installed and software configured (within the OS) or if this should be a rather quick and painless process.
OK so something like a ctrl+A or a function key message will appear during boot? If I were to go back to the beginning of the process, is it as simple (in theory) as removing the failed drive, then inserting the new drive, then starting the machine and entering the RAID configuration manager/utility and selecting a simple menu option? I'm wondering is there are drivers that need to be installed and software configured (within the OS) or if this should be a rather quick and painless process.
nah. once you pop in the new drive & have the config util see the new drive it should (in theory) just replicate everything to the new drive from the working drive. i'm assuming you're using a RAID-1, so it'll just mirror disk 0 to disk 1.
ASKER
Great! Based on the functionality described to me, it sounds like RAID-1 but the user was unsure if it was or if it was RAID-0. How can I identify 100% what the setup is when I get the machine? I assume that if they removed one drive in a RAID-0 setup that they would have issues running the machine, no?
Unfortunately, I will not be getting the system with the failed drive in it. There has been some work done already to install the new drive and fix the issue. As long as the new HD is good, what would cause the system not to recognize it? Is it just that it wasn't configured through the RAID utility manager or could the jumpers/cable setup be causing problems?
How can I make sure that the drive that was removed was in fact the failing drive and not the good one?
Unfortunately, I will not be getting the system with the failed drive in it. There has been some work done already to install the new drive and fix the issue. As long as the new HD is good, what would cause the system not to recognize it? Is it just that it wasn't configured through the RAID utility manager or could the jumpers/cable setup be causing problems?
How can I make sure that the drive that was removed was in fact the failing drive and not the good one?
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ASKER
Great help. Thanks.