RAID data problem....Don't even know where to begin

  • Thread starter Thread starter moch68
  • Start date Start date
M

moch68

Hi Guys -

Pretty glad I found this group because reading the posts it seems that
there are many tech-savvy people hanging around in here. I would first
like to thank anyone who responds and helps me with my problem. It is
greatly appreciated! This is gonna be long-winded and I apologise.
Anyway...

Got my pc a few years ago from a friend who knows alot more about this
stuff than me. He didnt have any documentation for me on the RAID
stuff and I never learned how to use it. Had a HD crash a month ago.
Busted HD was SATA on a RAID 1 with a scuzzy drive. There was also
another scuzzy attached to the array cable but it was used strictly
for other data. I installed a new HD and OS - XP home, so obviously I
didnt have drivers for my RAID card which is an Adaptec 2120s. I
fooled with the busted HD for awhile trying to retrieve the data off
it but its belly up. So I figured I would pull out the RAIDed drives,
throw them in an external case, and that would be that. Pulled the
drives, pulled the card because i was planning on using externals for
backup now because it seemed so much easier than this RAID stuff.
Thats when I learned they were scsi drives and that I can't get a scsi
external enclosure near where i live... So I just spent the last day
downloading all the docs for the card and its just too beyond my skill
set. I am wondering what kind of damage I will do to the drives if I
put them and the card back in behind the new HD and OS and download
the drivers. Will they be erased? They were still in there when I
swapped out the new HD but they werent seen I guess because I didnt
have the drivers. All I want is the data from the 2 drives and then
turn my back on RAID, but I am stuck on how to proceed. I havent
reinstalled the card or any drivers yet because there are like 4 or 5
drivers and I am unsure on which one/s I need. Don't even know if it
matters what order to put the drives on the cable. i did figure out
that one is set to ID2 and the other to ID4 by looking at the jumpers.
Any ideas on how to get the data from these 2 drives? I'm getting
ready to start looking around my house for a rafter that will hold my
weight....Huge thanks to anyone who can help out! - Mochs
 
Previously moch68 said:
Hi Guys -
Click to expand...
Pretty glad I found this group because reading the posts it seems that
there are many tech-savvy people hanging around in here. I would first
like to thank anyone who responds and helps me with my problem. It is
greatly appreciated! This is gonna be long-winded and I apologise.
Anyway...
Click to expand...
Got my pc a few years ago from a friend who knows alot more about this
stuff than me. He didnt have any documentation for me on the RAID
stuff and I never learned how to use it. Had a HD crash a month ago.
Busted HD was SATA on a RAID 1 with a scuzzy drive. There was also
another scuzzy attached to the array cable but it was used strictly
for other data. I installed a new HD and OS - XP home, so obviously I
didnt have drivers for my RAID card which is an Adaptec 2120s. I
fooled with the busted HD for awhile trying to retrieve the data off
it but its belly up. So I figured I would pull out the RAIDed drives,
throw them in an external case, and that would be that. Pulled the
drives, pulled the card because i was planning on using externals for
backup now because it seemed so much easier than this RAID stuff.
Thats when I learned they were scsi drives and that I can't get a scsi
external enclosure near where i live... So I just spent the last day
downloading all the docs for the card and its just too beyond my skill
set. I am wondering what kind of damage I will do to the drives if I
put them and the card back in behind the new HD and OS and download
the drivers. Will they be erased? They were still in there when I
swapped out the new HD but they werent seen I guess because I didnt
have the drivers. All I want is the data from the 2 drives and then
turn my back on RAID, but I am stuck on how to proceed. I havent
reinstalled the card or any drivers yet because there are like 4 or 5
drivers and I am unsure on which one/s I need. Don't even know if it
matters what order to put the drives on the cable. i did figure out
that one is set to ID2 and the other to ID4 by looking at the jumpers.
Any ideas on how to get the data from these 2 drives? I'm getting
ready to start looking around my house for a rafter that will hold my
weight....Huge thanks to anyone who can help out! - Mochs
Click to expand...

Id your RAID1 llost one disk, the data on the array should still
be visible. If it is not, then you have some additional problem.
Best get somebody with more knowledge to look at it.

Arno
 
Thanks for the reply Arno...

What is "llost one disk"? I hope that was a typo because if not I am
more of an idiot than I already think I am.

Thanks again man!
 
moch68 said:
Thanks for the reply Arno...

What is "llost one disk"? I hope that was a typo because if not I am
more of an idiot than I already think I am.

Thanks again man!
Click to expand...

RAID1 has a copy on another drive. So losing one copy should not be a problem.
 
Previously moch68 said:
Thanks for the reply Arno...
Click to expand...
What is "llost one disk"? I hope that was a typo because if not I am
more of an idiot than I already think I am.
Click to expand...

"lost" ;-)

Means your RAID1 (which can tolerate 1/2 disks failing)
is down one disk. It should still work! If not, then you have
a different or additional problem.

Arno
 
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