RAID Failure Question...
One of my machines just had a RAID failure, im getting this screen (see screenshot) ... what would be the best course of action to get this box back to being bootable, please be detailed as i dont deal with repairing RAID configs often... This machine was running Windows Server 2003 Standard.
Thanks
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Thanks
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In theory, the state should be Degraded - if this was a 3 disk RAID 5, then ONE disk failure should be survivable. The other two drives note they are in good condition, so it shouldn't be "failed" it should be "degraded". If time is of the essence, you might want to start a phone call to the server manufacturer. Keep looking here for more assistance, but who knows if you'll find someone with the appropriate experience (most people use Dell, HP, IBM servers so that they have one point of contact in the event of a failure like this - it may be a LITTLE cheaper in the short term to build your own server, but when you have a problem like this, it's costing you money being down... and that's when the support you paid a little extra for shows value!).
Checking the drives and cables would be a good start. You will need to note how many drives are connected. Somtimes it can be a bit tricky to determine which "port" a given physical drive is in. Once you determine which drives are port 2 and 4 (the working ones). You will need to replace the other connected drive, and note which port it is set to use.
As leew says, if you have had more than one drive fail, you will need to restore from backup.
RAID 5 can only recover 1 failed drive, so it's important to have software on the server to alert you if this has happened(usually be email). The fact that the screen says FAILED, and not DEGRADED looks like bad news.
If only 1 drive failed, replace it physically, then go back into the RAID bios. You should then be given the option to "rebuild" the array.
When you open the system, keep in mind, not every HD needs to be on the raid controller. Dont remove somthing you need :)
As leew says, if you have had more than one drive fail, you will need to restore from backup.
RAID 5 can only recover 1 failed drive, so it's important to have software on the server to alert you if this has happened(usually be email). The fact that the screen says FAILED, and not DEGRADED looks like bad news.
If only 1 drive failed, replace it physically, then go back into the RAID bios. You should then be given the option to "rebuild" the array.
When you open the system, keep in mind, not every HD needs to be on the raid controller. Dont remove somthing you need :)
One of your drives failed. You need to remove the failed drive and replace it. At that point you will need to rebuild the array using the disk utility.
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