Need help with RAID

[Sammy1719]

Here is the setup I have on my computer.

It is running XP Home.
I have one hard drive dedicated to the Operating System.
Another two (2 x 80gig) on which a RAID was set up by my friend who build the computer for me.

I am not sure what type of RAID he set up. I remember he would say striping, which I guess is RAID 0, but not 100% sure if that is the correct set up.

Anyways, I need to reinstall my operating system and format the OS hard drive, but I am afraid it will somehow ruin the RAIDed harddrives. I have very very important files on these disks and cannot loose them.

I have tried to pull the hard drives out and stick them into an external hard drive case. I was only able to back up the stuff from the OS hard drive but the Raid hard drives would not open. I guess after the RAID they are sort of 1 now. This leaves me to believe that it is RAID 0, otherwise they would work externally on their own, but they don't.

Also, I have a lot of video files, which are very large, and if it was "mirroring" they would fill up very quickly.

So I guess my question is how should I reinstall my OS and not loose the files that are on the RAIDed hard drives. The stuff on OS hard drive has been backed up.

****It will not boot the computer and I can't start in Safe Mode. When I try to login into my account, it will log me off after 5 seconds and say it is saving something.

Thank You

 

[RebateMonger]

If the files are that important, then back them all up onto your backup drive. If you don't have a backup drive, then get one. But you can only do that backup from inside Windows. Hopefully Windows is still working well enough to back up the data files.

Then, you should be able to disconnect the RAID array, re-install Windows on the boot drive, install the RAID drivers into Windows, and then re-connect the RAID array. But I wouldn't do that without backups of your important data, first.

Carefully label everything (cables and drives) before disconnecting them.

 

[mpilchfamily]

The HDD need to stay in the system to maintian the raid. First thing you need to do is back all of that data up. So go out and buy a 160Gb or larger external drive and copy everything over to it. Now you can safly put the install disk in. It will show you all the parttions for the system. Select the one that has the old windows install and tell it to install windows there. The information on the raid shouldn't be affected but in case the raid is lost from the install you have the info backed up. Which you should have a backup maintained anyway if the info is that important.

 

[Sammy1719]

Originally posted by: mpilchfamily
The HDD need to stay in the system to maintian the raid. First thing you need to do is back all of that data up. So go out and buy a 160Gb or larger external drive and copy everything over to it. Now you can safly put the install disk in. It will show you all the parttions for the system. Select the one that has the old windows install and tell it to install windows there. The information on the raid shouldn't be affected but in case the raid is lost from the install you have the info backed up. Which you should have a backup maintained anyway if the info is that important.

Thank you. I do have a large external hard drive. But how can I back up (copy) data to it if my computer will not let me log into my account in normal or safe mode? Do I use MS-DOS commands?

When I am installing the OS, should I install the RAID drivers?

thanks

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Sammy1719
Thank you. I do have a large external hard drive. But how can I back up (copy) data to it if my computer will not let me log into my account in normal or safe mode? Do I use MS-DOS commands?

When I am installing the OS, should I install the RAID drivers?

You can check if the RAID chipset maker offers a DOS-level (or Linux equivalent) driver.

Otherwise, you'll have to forget about the backup, disconnect the RAID array, and install Windows (or perform a "Repair Install" of Windows). After Windows is up, make sure the driver for the RAID controller is installed and re-connect the RAID array. As long as Windows itself isn't installed on one of the RAID-ed disks, then you can install the RAID drivers into Windows after Windows is up and running.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Sammy1719
****It will not boot the computer and I can't start in Safe Mode. When I try to login into my account, it will log me off after 5 seconds and say it is saving something.

That behavior can indicate a malware infection that's messed up the Registry entry and files needed for login. If that's the case, it can be repaired from the Recovery Console in XP and by using a CD-based malware scanner. Type your symptoms into google and you'll see references to the repair procedure.

 

[Sammy1719]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: Sammy1719
Thank you. I do have a large external hard drive. But how can I back up (copy) data to it if my computer will not let me log into my account in normal or safe mode? Do I use MS-DOS commands?

When I am installing the OS, should I install the RAID drivers?

You can check if the RAID chipset maker offers a DOS-level (or Linux equivalent) driver.

Otherwise, you'll have to forget about the backup, disconnect the RAID array, and install Windows (or perform a "Repair Install" of Windows). After Windows is up, make sure the driver for the RAID controller is installed and re-connect the RAID array. As long as Windows itself isn't installed on one of the RAID-ed disks, then you can install the RAID drivers into Windows after Windows is up and running.

I tried to repair but I couldn't get past the password part as my friend build it for me and he doesn't remember what password he put in. Just to make sure I understand you right, these are the steps that I need to do for a clean reinstall.
1) Disconnect the two Raid-ed hard drives, and possibly the other non-OS hard drive.
2) Format the OS hard drive and install the OS, WITHOUT installing the RAID drivers (the ones that you have to press F6 or something in the beginning)
3) Once, OS is installed, install the RAID drivers.
4) Connect the RAID-ed hard drives to finish the job.

Is that right?

 

[Sammy1719]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Originally posted by: Sammy1719
****It will not boot the computer and I can't start in Safe Mode. When I try to login into my account, it will log me off after 5 seconds and say it is saving something.

That behavior can indicate a malware infection that's messed up the Registry entry and files needed for login. If that's the case, it can be repaired from the Recovery Console in XP and by using a CD-based malware scanner. Type your symptoms into google and you'll see references to the repair procedure.

Spybot I think messed something up. As with Repair I do not know the password and I won't be able to use the Repair Console. I found this guide online that many people had used successfully. You had to burn two CD's (OSI files) and copy the files from these CD's. The computer got past the 1st CD, but would not get passed the 2nd where you would actually get the files from. It would open in command mode, and when I tried to access the CD, it would say "CD is not accessible" or corrupted.

Anyways, I am at point where I think it would be smart to reinstall OS. Get it running. Back up the stuff properly. Get rid of the junk software that I have installed.

Thanks and I will wait for you reply.

 

[Paperdoc]

As much as I am reluctant to do a complete re-install of the OS, because it take a lot of time and work to restore everything the way you had it, that may be your best option. You appear to have at least one malware item fouling up your machine, and a fresh install should remove that.

The fact you cannot read the RAID drives in another machine does not tell you how they were set up. A pair of drives in a RAID0 can't be read that way, you are right. But a pair in a RAID1 also usually can't be used in another machine because the new machine won't recognize some of the Partition Table information, even though the data may be readable. But if it's a choice of those two RAID types (very likely), you can tell from your own memory (no, not RAM). Two 80 GB drives in RAID0 will act as a 160 GB drive. Two in RAID1 will act as an 80 GB drive. Do you remember what your drive capacity was?

How was the RAID set up? If it was done within Windows using its RAID software, then re-installing that after Windows itself is re-installed should get you back in business. However, lots of machines implement RAID with software "controllers" built into the mobo chipsets, and these you set up through the BIOS. Similar to the way you enter BIOS Setup and adjust parameters, there is a keystroke and menu system to enter the RAID setup system during boot-up. This is completely independent of Windows, so you can get into it and examine and change things (be VERY careful about changing anything!) even though Windows is not working. If that is how yours was created, find the documentation for the RAID system from the chipset manufacturer, and/or the mobo maker. For example, the system I use on one machine has RAID built into a mobo chipset by nVidia. The CD that came with the mobo has lots of stuff about the RAID system including a manual. And I downloaded a complete RAID manual from nVidia, too. If you read through that you will find two things you could use. For one, I'm sure that the RAID Setup screens will make it very clear what type of RAID you have. If it's RAID0, there are a bunch of settings you will need to know so they can be re-checked after Windows is installed. (I don't expect they will change, but copy them down, anyway).

On the other hand, if you have RAID1, there may be a way to un-create the RAID1 array. What that does is re-mark the drives as individual "normal" drives, and at least one of them will have ALL your information on it accessible in any machine because this is now a "normal" drive! If that is the case, this may be a way for you to get access to your data on a separate machine so you can make a backup before doing anything else.

The best path is certainly to find a simple way to make a data backup from your RAID drives just as they are, before doing anything else. IF you can't do that, AND IF they are RAID1 managed by built-in RAID in your mobo's chipset, you could follow the path of "breaking" (or un-creating) the RAID1 array into valid separate "normal" drives and moving them to a second machine to make the backup. But, if the RAID array is being managed by Windows' own RAID software, follow the other posters' advice - remove the drives, re-install Windows, install Windows' RAID system, then re-connect the RAID drives and see if they are accessible.