RAID5 status normal, but Windows shows "uninitialized"

[VERTIGGO]

I have a Highpoint Rocketraid 2300 and four WDEADS 2TB drives in a RAID5. I accidentally booted without their housing unit powered, and then powered it on, but upon rebooting, Windows shows an uninitialized disk. The raid controller shows normal status on the stripe.

Is it safe to use a windows util to find the lost partition as if it was a single drive? The RAID seems perfectly intact, it's just the data I can't see...

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

that certainly don't sound good to me. I believe initialize will create a new partition table, which means the old one will be gone. If you have data on that partition, I would start looking at partition recovery solutions.

 

[VERTIGGO]

Yeah, that's my question. If I use partition recovery (I have Paragon Partition manager 8), will it be a safe way to recovery what's there?

 

[Nothinman]

It all depends on what the RAID controller/driver did when you booted it up the second time. If it decided to reinitialize them the old partiton table might not be there any more.

 

[railman]

You might try this - open Control Panel, click on Disk Management, click on the raid partition, now right click on that partition and from the drop down menu look for Mark partition as Active, if you can choose that do so, this should resync the filesystem metadata in the filesystem log and enable Windows to see your drive data again.

 

[Nothinman]

You might try this - open Control Panel, click on Disk Management, click on the raid partition, now right click on that partition and from the drop down menu look for Mark partition as Active, if you can choose that do so, this should resync the filesystem metadata in the filesystem log and enable Windows to see your drive data again.

None of that makes any sense at all. Mainly because Windows is showing the disk as uninitialized which means Windows doesn't see a partition table so there's no partitions to click on and set active. Secondly, marking a partition only tells the default MBR code which partition to boot from, it has no affect on whether Windows sees or assigns a drive letter to a partition.

 

[VERTIGGO]

I'll check it out and see at least what recovery software shows is remaining. Regardless, It was only powered for a minute before I shut it down again, so there's no way it removed 8TB of bits, so there has to be a way to rebuild from what's there. I just thought that since it still shows the same raid stripe that was there before, it would find the data as well.

EDIT: Paragon's "undelete partition" says "no free blocks", so there seems to be no way to do that. The odd thing is that under view volumes it shows the correct size (about 5.4TB) but under the disk properties in Paragon 8.5 it says the disk size is 1492.8GB which is close to the amount of free space on the partition before it was "lost".

 

[Nothinman]

I'll check it out and see at least what recovery software shows is remaining. Regardless, It was only powered for a minute before I shut it down again, so there's no way it removed 8TB of bits, so there has to be a way to rebuild from what's there. I just thought that since it still shows the same raid stripe that was there before, it would find the data as well.

It is possible, hell if there was only one partition, or if you know the exact sizes of the partitions, you could just boot a Linux LiveCD and recreate it/them at the same start/end points and you might be good. Also there's a tool called gpart (not to be confused with gparted) that can scan a disk for known filesystem signatures and create a partition table from what it finds. But if the filesystem contained files with other filesystems in them (like VM disk files) it can get confused.

 

[VERTIGGO]

It was one partition, about 5.4TB I think, with about 300 large files, not really anything else.

 

[Emulex]

time to bust out hiren's boot cd and take a look around in read only mode

 

[RebateMonger]

Have you called HighPoint Tech Support? The last time I called, they did answer the phone. Who knows? They might have some useful advice.

 

[VERTIGGO]

I am attempting to contact them, and they do have good support, but it's the weekend after Christmas! Heh, only fools like us are available! (I jest of course)

 

[VERTIGGO]

Well Highpoint says this:

Yes, you would need to use some sort of partition tool to recover this (it seems to be software related).

You may want to try partition-recovery.com.

I say phooey on paying for some lousy commercial ware, and I'm scanning with "Partition find and mount" from Softpedia or somewhere. So far it's found nothing with the basic scan, so I'm using a deep scan.

 

[VERTIGGO]

Have you called HighPoint Tech Support? The last time I called, they did answer the phone. Who knows? They might have some useful advice.

What a coincidence, they're closed until January 1st.

At any rate, none of my scans have turned up anything. This is getting ridiculous. A simple power switch can accidentally reset out an entire 5.5TB partition in seconds? How am I supposed to trust this as even a basic storage solution? Even a simple hard drive takes hours to wipe out all the bits and actually "lose" all the data...

By the way, here's the entire log:
B 0 I 12/23/9 22:27:38 Array '6_MEDIA' rebuilding started.
B 1 I 12/24/9 11:46:58 Array '6_MEDIA' rebuilding completed.
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:15 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1291519' at Controller1-Channel2)
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00R6B0-WD-WCAVY1058982' at Controller1-Channel1)
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326597' at Controller1-Channel3)
B 1 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326627' at Controller1-Channel4)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00R6B0-WD-WCAVY1058982' at Controller1-Channel1)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1291519' at Controller1-Channel2)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326597' at Controller1-Channel3)
B 1 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326627' at Controller1-Channel4)

Not one error, just "plugging device detected".

 

[Nothinman]

What a coincidence, they're closed until January 1st.

At any rate, none of my scans have turned up anything. This is getting ridiculous. A simple power switch can accidentally reset out an entire 5.5TB partition in seconds? How am I supposed to trust this as even a basic storage solution? Even a simple hard drive takes hours to wipe out all the bits and actually "lose" all the data...

By the way, here's the entire log:
B 0 I 12/23/9 22:27:38 Array '6_MEDIA' rebuilding started.
B 1 I 12/24/9 11:46:58 Array '6_MEDIA' rebuilding completed.
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:15 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1291519' at Controller1-Channel2)
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00R6B0-WD-WCAVY1058982' at Controller1-Channel1)
B 0 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326597' at Controller1-Channel3)
B 1 W 12/25/9 23:40:17 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326627' at Controller1-Channel4)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00R6B0-WD-WCAVY1058982' at Controller1-Channel1)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1291519' at Controller1-Channel2)
B 0 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326597' at Controller1-Channel3)
B 1 W 12/31/9 03:48:58 Plugging device detected.('WDC WD20EADS-00S2B0-WD-WCAVY1326627' at Controller1-Channel4)

Not one error, just "plugging device detected".

I would still suggest the Linux LiveCD route, it's a much better environment for doing recovery/forensics type stuff.

 

[RebateMonger]

This is getting ridiculous. A simple power switch can accidentally reset out an entire 5.5TB partition in seconds? How am I supposed to trust this as even a basic storage solution?

A major pet peeve of mine is that RAID card makers provide little or no instruction on how to recover from various errors. Even when they do, they tend to assume the user is an expert on RAID technology, which many are not.

"Trusting" any single storage device, especially a RAID 5 array, is risky if the data is important. I've seen several businesses lose their RAID 5 arrays or had them corrupted for various reasons. It's definitely not a good place to go without backups.

Hopefully your problem is something simple to fix once the cause is determined.

 

[VERTIGGO]

The real annoyance is that RAID is apparently "weaker" than a simple drive, since it can be lost in an instant, so if RAID is even less reliable than HDD MTTF, why would I bother losing 25% of my storage space in a fragile RAID5 when I still have to invest in redundancy?

Since speed is almost a non issue, I'm considering going completely RAIDless again, and just use shadow copies, but then my conscience has to deal with the $300 invested in useless Highpoint equipment...

 

[Nothinman]

The real annoyance is that RAID is apparently "weaker" than a simple drive, since it can be lost in an instant, so if RAID is even less reliable than HDD MTTF, why would I bother losing 25% of my storage space in a fragile RAID5 when I still have to invest in redundancy?

Since speed is almost a non issue, I'm considering going completely RAIDless again, and just use shadow copies, but then my conscience has to deal with the $300 invested in useless Highpoint equipment...

You do add one more point that can potentially fail by using RAID, but generally the performance and redundancy benefits outweigh the risk.

Personally, I would never spend money on a RAID controller for my house. But that's mostly because Linux software RAID is much more configurable and usually performs better anyway.

 

[RebateMonger]

The real annoyance is that RAID is apparently "weaker" than a simple drive, since it can be lost in an instant, so if RAID is even less reliable than HDD MTTF, why would I bother losing 25% of my storage space in a fragile RAID5 when I still have to invest in redundancy?

I don't have a link, but there's an interesting web site by a fair size custom PC builder that discusses RAID issues. The owner said he kept careful service records and found that only a few percent of those who ordered PCs with non-RAID disks had disk-related service issues. But twenty-five percent of those who ordered PCs with RAID arrays had disk-related service issues.

RAID has its uses, but the added cost and complexity need to be weighed against its advantages.

 

[Nothinman]

I don't have a link, but there's an interesting web site by a fair size custom PC builder that discusses RAID issues. The owner said he kept careful service records and found that only a few percent of those who ordered PCs with non-RAID disks had disk-related service issues. But twenty-five percent of those who ordered PCs with RAID arrays had disk-related service issues.

RAID has its uses, but the added cost and complexity need to be weighed against its advantages.

I'd be willing to bet most, if not all, of that guy's customers were using the shitty, onboard RAID controllers on most motherboards. That's not exactly comparable to a $300 RAID controller.

 

[VERTIGGO]

Personally, I would never spend money on a RAID controller for my house. But that's mostly because Linux software RAID is much more configurable and usually performs better anyway.

Unfortunately I've never used Linux, so it's probably not an option for me.

However, suppose one was to have a few RAID controllers anyway, and decided to use them in legacy mode (this is possible right?). Is there any risk/performance hit involved with using one of these 2300s as a port multiplier (not JBOD), and just manipulating the 4 drives with Windows 7's library feature or WHS so it operates like a single volume?

 

[RebateMonger]

I own a HighPoint 2310 and, as far as I can tell, you can use disks in "Legacy" mode. The 2300 might be a bit pricey to just use it as a straight SATA controller.

Note that there's a lot of negative comments in Newegg reviews about using WD disks with this controller. They work, but several users report they can't get the disks to be recognized by any other disk controller once they've been initialized by the HighPoint 2300. This shouldn't be a problem with "Legacy" disks that haven't had the initialization.

 

[Nothinman]

Is there any risk/performance hit involved with using one of these 2300s as a port multiplier (not JBOD), and just manipulating the 4 drives with Windows 7's library feature or WHS so it operates like a single volume?

I doubt it. Maybe I'm getting my terminology mixed up but to me JBOD means individual disks not in any kind of array. And I just saw somewhere that certain SKUs of Win7 have redundant software RAID modes now, so that's an option. Although Windows software RAID always scared me too.

 

[VERTIGGO]

JBOD (as I understand the wikis) is essentially spanning a partition across all drives, so the user has no idea where the files are on the physical media. Hence, dead drive equals just as much recovery hassle as a standard RAID format.

I've always been successful with manual backups, so I could easily have an identical set of drives on my HTPC and main rig, and simply use software to keep them mirrored. Fortunately one of my 2300s is still on RMA terms with the Egg, but I have to suck up one of them (purchased 32 days ago) unless I can find someone to buy it. I'll still need to get a cheap sata controller anyway though, since my mobo slots are filling up.

 

[Nothinman]

JBOD (as I understand the wikis) is essentially spanning a partition across all drives, so the user has no idea where the files are on the physical media. Hence, dead drive equals just as much recovery hassle as a standard RAID format.

I've always been successful with manual backups, so I could easily have an identical set of drives on my HTPC and main rig, and simply use software to keep them mirrored. Fortunately one of my 2300s is still on RMA terms with the Egg, but I have to suck up one of them (purchased 32 days ago) unless I can find someone to buy it. I'll still need to get a cheap sata controller anyway though, since my mobo slots are filling up.

Yea, some places seems to have reused JBOD to mean that. IME that's a linear or spanned volume.