Intel-Matrix RAID problem

[matthias966]

I'm having a problem with my Intel-Matrix RAID setup. I entered the ROM setup and this is what I get (pictured above). It says that if "Rebuild" is listed on one of the drives that it must be "Rebuilt" in the OS. But my computer won't boot to the OS. It says to insert bootable media and press any key or something like that.

What should I do?
Thanks, Matt

 

[wbo]

Both your Raid 1 and Raid 0 volumes are using the same set of drives. Something (probably a drive failure) has corrupted the data on one of the drives, so the Intel controller is showing that the Raid 1 volume needs to be rebuilt. However, it is very likely that whatever effected the Raid 1 volume also effected the Raid 0 volume since the same set of drives is involved.

In your post you did not say which volume you are trying to boot off of, but if it is the Raid 0 volume then I suspect that you have lost most (if not all) of the data on the Raid 0 array. In any case, I hope you have a good backup because it looks like you will need it.

 

[matthias966]

I'm not sure which volume I'm trying to boot from. It's been so long, but I think the OS was on the striped volume and not the mirrored volume.
Anyway, does anyone know how to "rebuild" the volume that needs to be rebuilt if I can't boot to the OS?

 

[drizzt81]

It is somewhat unlikely that you can rebuild a striped volume. That is a drawback of RAID-0.

 

[matthias966]

Does anyone know how I can fix this Intel-Matrix RAID problem. I'm not a techie and would like someone to reply with some instruction on a solution and not just make non-helpful comments. Please, someone help me.

 

[tuskenraider]

Maybe with the RAID1 failure your boot priority changed and this has to be corrected? Try both to see if you can boot with either since you can't remember. Apparantly your drives seem OK if the RAID0 array is still healthy. Strange you can't rebuild the array within the BIOS because how the heck could you install on OS on a RAID1 array when it says it has to be created in the OS in the first place. Anyway, if the RAID1 was your boot drive and you can't get it to boot, with the one drive, it's probably hosed and a reinstall will need to be done. Not remembering where your install is located, is pretty sad. Good luck.

 

[drizzt81]

Does anyone know how I can fix this Intel-Matrix RAID problem. I'm not a techie and would like someone to reply with some instruction on a solution and not just make non-helpful comments. Please, someone help me.

If Tuskenraider's suggestion does not work, it is quite likely that your RAID-0 array also has faults, as wbo suggested. Unlike RAID-1, RAID-0 has no tolerance for faults. Surely you were made aware of this when you created a RAID-0 array. The lack of fault tolerance means that there is a chance that you have lost data and that some of it is irrecoverable.

You may want to look into the RAID reconstructor offered by Runtime Software, if you cannot get your OS to load. If that does not work, you could look for a company to recover the data for you, which is likely going to be costly.

If your RAID-0 is indeed corrupt, I would suggest that after you have completed your data recovery (to a third drive, of course), you run the disk manufacturer's drive diagnostic utility. Samsung uses HUTIL, which is included on the Ultimate Boot CD (google UBCD).

Strange you can't rebuild the array within the BIOS because how the heck could you install on OS on a RAID1 array when it says it has to be created in the OS in the first place.

Most likely you can create a RAID-1 array in the BIOS, but not rebuild it. What I would expect to differentiate rebuilding from creating is that the former guarantees that both drives have the ``same'' content, while creating only guarantees that the changes that were made after the creation time will be applied equivalently to both drives.

 

[wbo]

Maybe with the RAID1 failure your boot priority changed and this has to be corrected? Try both to see if you can boot with either since you can't remember. Apparantly your drives seem OK if the RAID0 array is still healthy. Strange you can't rebuild the array within the BIOS because how the heck could you install on OS on a RAID1 array when it says it has to be created in the OS in the first place. Anyway, if the RAID1 was your boot drive and you can't get it to boot, with the one drive, it's probably hosed and a reinstall will need to be done. Not remembering where your install is located, is pretty sad. Good luck.

I have a very simular setup as matthias966. In my case I have a 150Gb RAID 0 and a ~158Gb Raid 1 array using 2 250Gb drives in a Matrix Raid configuration. Over the course of a year I have had 2 drive failures. In every case, the Intel Matrix Raid setup screen showed the Raid 1 as being Degraded and the Raid 0 Array as healthy.

It appears the Intel Matrix Raid setup will show a Raid 0 array as healthy even if one of the drives have failed. The only time I have had the Intel Matrix Raid control panel show a Raid 0 array as failed was when I physically disconnected one of the drives.

Also, a Raid 1 array does *not* need to be rebuilt before you can use it. If the array has not been rebuilt yet (or a rebuild was started and later interupted), the system will simply operate off of the single drive until the array can be fully rebuilt. So, if the Raid 1 array was the boot drive then the system should be booting just fine.

If matthias966 has access to another PC with a CD burner, you my want to consider creating a Ultimate Boot CD for Windows disc. See instructions at http://www.ubcd4win.com/. The disc is essentially a stripped down version of Windows XP (created from your own install disc). This will allow you to backup any readable data on your drives and run data recovery software if necessary. The disc should already have the required drivers for the ICH Raid family.

Hope this helps,

 

[matthias966]

OK! I fixed it. And this is how I did it.

I have 2 standard IDE drives in my computer also, a 80gb and a 20gb. I moved the boot priority in the BIOS to see the 80gb drive. I then installed Windows XP to this drive. Then I installed the Intel Matrix Storage Manager and as soon as the installation was complete it automatically began to rebuild the RAID-0 volume. It took about an hour to complete. As soon as it was complete I powered down the PC and rehooked all my drives the way they were before the RAID problem. I then changed the boot priority in the BIOS to boot to the RAID-0 volume and rebooted. Voila!!! My PC is back to normal and I didn't lose any data, not one kb.