SMASHED! Win2k Spanned Volume Error, how can I restore?

[Sensor]

I busted my Win2k Spanned Volume today. I checked the disk manager, and it said there was an error. Next time I rebooted, Disk1 was missing. Shut it off, turn it back on and Disk1 is back, the Spanned Volume is there, but it's unformatted.

Tried a program called "Recover98" with no luck (didn't find anything). Most data recovery programs won't work on a NTFS drive, let alone a Spanned NTFS drive. Currently running EasyRecovery (ontrack.com) on the drive, and it looks like it's finding stuff, but it's 10 minutes in and 5 percent done -- and even if it does find the important files, the software costs $500 to run.

Looking for an easy (and cheap) way out. No way can I afford $500 -- that's like 1/4 my semester tuition!

Any and all advice appreciated,
--Ed

 

[Need4Speed]

Well, I hate to be the one to break the news, but as far as I know there is no way to recover from a fubar'ed spanned volume. once one of the disk craps out, thts it....all the drives that shared the volume will be hosed as well. I could be wrong, but I'm 99% sure that its unrecoverable.

Good luck

 

[DanceMonkey]

You could recover this drive, perhaps, with the use of DskProbe and FTedit from the Resource Kit. However, it's not a trivial process, and not one I can lead you through in the forum.

Try starting with Q131658.

Unfortunately, the information you need to successfully recover your data is not easy to find, and the expertise needed to do it is also in short supply.

If the data is VERY valuable to you, your best bet is probably to ship the drives to a data recovery shop.

Sorry. 🙁