P4C800D Raid 0 SATA WD Drive Failure Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Art Mosher
  • Start date Start date
A

Art Mosher

I have an ASUS P4C800 Deluxe with 4 WD 120 SATA drives in it. 2 are
on the Promise onboard controller set up as Raid 0. My main Data is
stored here. I also run the two others as C & E in my Windows XP-P
system.

Recently while installing a fan(!), one of the Promise raid cables
either completed or was jarred to the extent that the WD connector
lost its retaining plastic SATA cable socket clip with the result that
the SATA cable plug just hangs loosely & makes poor connection.

I have jammed a bent roll of tape under it to hold connector tight to
WD pins & believe it is making connection OK.

The REAL problem is now my Promise bootup controller shows one drive
as 'Free' and the other as 'Assigned to Array 1'. I have not let it
go further to boot as I'm worried (!) So I have one drive that appears
to have 'dropped out' of the array.

I believe the connection is OK - or it wouldn't even show up as
'free'; and both disks are inherently OK as a Windows Disk Check
completed OK just before the incident.

My question. I have seen it stated on the Promise site that a drive
that drops out of a Raid 0 Array might be put back in by 1) deleting
the array & 2) re-creating it with identical parameters to the
original = same disk size & stripe factor.

Before I experiment with my main un-backed up data, has anyone ever
had this 'drop out' happen AND recovered from it through this Deletion
& re-Creation technique??

- Art
 
Art Mosher said:
I have an ASUS P4C800 Deluxe with 4 WD 120 SATA drives in it. 2 are
on the Promise onboard controller set up as Raid 0. My main Data is
stored here. I also run the two others as C & E in my Windows XP-P
system.

Recently while installing a fan(!), one of the Promise raid cables
either completed or was jarred to the extent that the WD connector
lost its retaining plastic SATA cable socket clip with the result that
the SATA cable plug just hangs loosely & makes poor connection.

I have jammed a bent roll of tape under it to hold connector tight to
WD pins & believe it is making connection OK.

The REAL problem is now my Promise bootup controller shows one drive
as 'Free' and the other as 'Assigned to Array 1'. I have not let it
go further to boot as I'm worried (!) So I have one drive that appears
to have 'dropped out' of the array.

I believe the connection is OK - or it wouldn't even show up as
'free'; and both disks are inherently OK as a Windows Disk Check
completed OK just before the incident.

My question. I have seen it stated on the Promise site that a drive
that drops out of a Raid 0 Array might be put back in by 1) deleting
the array & 2) re-creating it with identical parameters to the
original = same disk size & stripe factor.

Before I experiment with my main un-backed up data, has anyone ever
had this 'drop out' happen AND recovered from it through this Deletion
& re-Creation technique??

- Art
Click to expand...

I've had the same problem and have deleted and recreated
arrays using that technique with no problems.
Just be sure to NOT delete the boot sector or initialize
the array.

Jim M
 
Unfortunately, a RAID 0 is an unsecured (not mirrored) configuration.

Promise adds an Array ID onto each disk as part of the original
initialization. That fact that the Promise driver can't now
read that Array ID, and know that it is part of your previous
Array 1, is indeed cause for great concern. It might just be
the sad fact, that if the Array ID can't be read, your data
is gone too.

If Promise controller could read the Array ID, it would just
put the array (and its data) back together itself.

BTW, I would make 100% that your "taped" connection is solid
so that this doesn't happen again. With HD drives so cheap,
I would buy a new one if there is _any_ chance that the "taped"
connection might loosen up again.

Good luck.
 
Hi,

Let us know how you get on as this is a bit of a worry for you...

From a common sense perspective, one *should* be able to put the array back
together and it *should* go 'oh well, it disappeared and now its back: disc
time stamps haven't changed so I don't care...'. but obviously not.

I would try emailing Promise on this *and* expect an answer.

Personally, I would epoxy the connector back on.

- Tim
 
Many thanks for the comments.

Yes - this is currently a major pain! My main computer with
significant unrecoverable data is DOWN! Has been for several days.

The comments here & other comments I have gleaned off the net led me
to try the technique outlined below. I.E., Delete Array & AUTO setup
again - Performance/Raid 0.

Tried it. The drives now show back 'functional' online part of array.

BUT - still no data access. And now I'm into can't boot mode! It
just gets better!! One possibility is that the drive connection is
still not made correctly. (Whoever engineered the SATA connector on
this WD drive should have this problem! They made the plastic plug
retainer the same thickness as the Parrallel connector - but its
narrow - and subject to more strain per unit of width - thus breaks
much more easily.)

Am now into considering data retrieval options !!

The snippets below are what suggested the technique to me:

===========================

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/14070


Re: RAID 0, Offline drive
OK, I just had the same problem. After worrying about my data for
three days, here's how I fixed it:

Do a control-f on startup to get into the RAID utility
Select DELETE RAID (4) - don't worry, deleting the RAID does not
delete the data - this sets both drives to Free
Now, select Auto COnfigure RAID (1)
AFter the RAID is rebuilt, you should be able to reboot.

I was EXTREMELY happy when I figured this out.

P.S. Make sure your SATA cables are connected to the RAID ports the
same as they were at the beginning.



http://www.promise.com/support/faq/faq2_eng.asp?product_id=88&pname=FastTrak TX2000

567 My RAID 0 array went offline. How can I recover my data?


If one of the RAID 0 hard drives has failed, it is not possible to
recover your data. If all of the members of the array are still
functioning, it may be possible to recover your data. In the FastBuild
BIOS utility, delete the array and re-create it [ IMPORTANT: Make sure
that when you recreate the array you use exactly the same array
settings (RAID level, drive assignments, and stripe size) of the
original array ]. Going offline may indicate trouble with a hard
drive, so it is recommended to perform a data backup and then perform
a disk diagnostic on the hard drives.


=============================================

- Art
 
Hey thanks! This worked for me.

My mb crashed and I couldn't get an exact replacement. I got a
replacement from a different mfgr, but with the same Promise RAID
controller. Deleted and recreated the array and all my data appears
intact! I'll be more careful about backups in the future.

Best regards,
David
 
The Wrap-Up !!

OK. I'm back online. With all my data.

I kept jigging with the connection, jamming this & that under it to
make contact & re-testing by re-booting (forcing BIOS entry with DEL)
& watching if the Array came up in the Promise controller boot
sequence with both drives up online & array 'Functional'.

Then deleted Array & AUTO'ed it over again - no Init or Boot.

I then changed the BIOS to boot from floppy & tried a NTFS boot disk
from http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm to confirm my data on all
drives existed. The standard IDE drives showed OK, but boot disk is
not really geared to RAID Promise controller - BUT, using the 'Search'
mode - it showed my folders were present. Figured if real bad
problems it would never put enough bits together to show even that!
So I was delighted!

Then disconnected all drives & reconnected a small IDE drive &
re-installed WinXPP on it. Plugged spare 120GB drive onto Pri IDE &
formatted & confirmed functional - readying for my backup of my lost
data - confident eh! Then re-plugged the old drives - my old Program
(C) & Etc.(E) in one by one - forcing the right order in BIOS &
confirming drive data present OK.

Then loaded RAID Promise driver from ASUS site onto the new WinXPP &
finally plugged in SATA Data(D) drive & Bingo - all data showed up OK.

Quick like a bunny backed data up to spare 120GB.

Disconnected bum connector SATA drive & connected single good old
drive onto Promise. Then brought old C & E drives back up in WinXPP.
Loaded Promise IDE ATA driver onto Promise SCSI/RAID adaptor. Note
you can run the Promise in RAID or IDE mode - setting in BIOS. But you
need different drivers. Formatted (Partition Commander) old RAID
arary drive NTFS; brought up & copied backed up data onto it.

Removed all temp-recovery drives & ensured all 3 old drives in right
order & brought system back up - just like it looked a week ago!

End of story!

Wrote Promise in middle. They said any HW controller check program
had to come from ASUS; but suggested I use a data recovery program
R-Studio from http://www.r-tt.com

Didn't need it.

And that's my story. 8 days in my retired life!!

- Art
 
Art, I feel you pain because I'm still trying to set up a WD SATA as a
Standard IDE boot Drive on a Asus p5GDC deluxe MB and WD and Asus techs
just get me more confused. Your old IDE approach might shave a few days
off my ongoing saga with sata. enjoy your retirement.
 
Back
Top