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bill2013

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Problems with SBS 2008 server since replacing faulty RAID 1 drive

I had to replace a faulty SATA300 drive in a RAID 1 mirror configuration on an SBS 2008 server on Wednesday.

I had to take the server offsite as the drive took 25 hours to rebuild, a long time for 500GB.

Since then I have rebooted 3 times, each time taking 2.5 hrs to complete. It is stuck on "applying computer settings" for 70 minutes and the same time on "applying user settings."

Once into Windows I can open the menu from the START button but nothing responds from the meny using either the mouse or keyboard, The desktop icons do respond, but I wanted to get into services to check if anything had stopped.

Any ideas please.

Many thanks,


Tom
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David Atkin
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What is the make and model of the server?

Are both drives running at the same RPM?

Did you replace just the drive or do a restore as Olaf suggested in your previous question?
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bill2013

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It's a Fujitsu TX100 S1 and both drives are 7200rpm.

As I went with one of the Fujitsu recommended drives, I simply replaced the drive.
Can you get into event viewer at all when booted?
Try repair from Windows boot DVD.
Maybe worth doing a consistency check on the RAID as well.  It maybe that the other original drive also has an issue.
I can create a shortcut on the desktop. Trying to find a command line to open Event viewer??
OK, found it, "eventvwr", but it just sticks on hourglass.
It uses an LSI controller and a consistency check looks like another 24 hour routine, so I have replaced the second original drive and it is currently rebuilding the new drive.

As you say there could be an issue with the other original drive, so no point in leaving it in, when I have the chance to replace it.

Fujitsu says it can take 10 hours to do a rebuild, so I am checking to see if it gets to 1% within 6 minutes. Nope 10 minutes and still on 0%.

I have several backups on Symantec System Recovery 2011 for SBS and may need to revert these tomorrow. I have one backup a few hours before the problem.
Leave it for an hour and check the rebuild then.

Are you doing the rebuild whilst online and booted to windows or with it offline?
As long as you're going through this, wanted to make sure you are aware of AF drives.  May not fix problem, but thought you'd like to know since you're using 2008 and putting in new drives.  Previous discussion on EE regarding mirror problems...
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28270595/win-7-disk-software-mirror-error-all-disks-holding-extents-for-a-given-volume-must-have-the-same-sector-size.html

And here is a description of the fix ...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2618914/en-us
I had to pick up 3 XP PCs that need to be upgraded to WIndows 7 - back now and checking David's and Chris's replies.

Three hours and the new drive is 4% into the rebuild, so looks like it could be the cheap and nasty LSI controller?

David, I am going into the RAID bios (Ctrl+M) and letting the RAID 1 rebuild itself - before I do anything else, is this method wrong?

Chris, I will go through the links you provided thoroughly now and come back as soon as I taken it all in.
Chris, the problem in the ee thread could well have applied to me initially as the size/sectors etc would have been different. However, I am now using two identical drives ordered together and yet it took three hours to get to 5% in the rebuild. With the non-identical drives I would be at 12%.

My gut feeling is a faulty RAID controller.
I only have the original new drive connected to test on it's own and save the rebuilding time.

It took two and a half hours to go into Windows and is fully responsive to goes to the SBS console as if I have to set everything up again.

Not sure on how I progress from here. I had the same SBS console with the mirrored drives and by bypassing it, I had an unresponsive system.
I would reseat and check RAM elsewhere, then reinstall.  Or at least check it during POST if it gets that far.

Apparently drives are not hot pluggable for that server, so if that happened your controller gut feeling might end up right.

Fujitsu wants you to use their ServerView software that allows wizard config of RAID and install of OS as described in manual.  It seems like it would be worth trying.  PDF manual attached.  See page 43-45.

Here is the Fujitsu download link and navigate page using left margin...
http://download.ts.fujitsu.com/prim_supportcd/SVSSoftware/html/index_e.htm


and it looks like this...
User generated image

Please let us know which way you decide to go, and how it goes.
FujitsuServertx100s1-ba-en.pdf
Thanks Chris,

I will try your suggestion, but even with the RAID sorted, I will still hit the problem I am having at the moment.

When Windows loads and the icons finally appear after 3 hours, the SBS console appears and IS responsive. If I go to Start > .Admin Tools > Services (to check if any have stopped), it does NOT respond,

I will try running the basics on the console, connect to the Internet, etc., and see if that helps, but I might whack in another blank drive and do a recovery from the last backup.

Then I can backtrack and follow your suggestions,
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I've switched the memory around now and reconnected the two identical new drives.

I did try to get it into Windows to do the rebuild later, but it wants to do it within the bios.

So far it's reached 2% after 20 minutes, so it's 50% faster than before but still taking too long and I am really tempted to reinstall from the last backup to a new SATA drive and live with one drive for a week, just to have it ready for Monday morning.
RAID 1 rebuilt and nearly finished a recovery of last backup using SSR 2011.
That's good.

Sorry I didn't see the notification for your other comment.

Let us know how it recovers.
Thanks David,  it took about 4 hours and 2 attempts to recover the system partition. I'll move over the data partition within Windows now that everything is working well.

Just need to check it works well onsite before I close the thread.
Good to hear.

These types of situations are always a pain. It just proves though that a good backup system is always a life saver.
Damn, spoke too soon.

All going well then system stopped responding.

Also, doesn't see drives if USB drive connected?

So, apart from the USB issue, the system starts up normally, slow like all servers but 5 minutes better than 3 hours, but the system fails to respond. Click an icon or select a program and nothing happens!

Hardware or software?
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Unfortunately, task manager's a non-starter.

4 x 2GB memory and I imagine they work in pairs. Not sure how well 4GB will work woth 2008, but worth testing. It does sound a memory type issue, now you mention it.

I will do in the morning and let you know, need to get the third of three PCs upgraded from xp to 7 before getting some sleep and I;m only 30% there.
Hello,

Just wondering if there is an update on this one?  Has the server been taken back to site?  Any RAM modules found to be causing an issue?
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Hi, plugged it in onsite and all worked perfectly.

I suppose the moral is, don't take a server offsite.

Many thanks for all you ideas.
Glad it is running ok now.

Dave