Thanks Jon. I sorted it in the end by clearing the foreign config on two disks from a redundant server in the BIOS configuration utility and created a mirror whilst preserving the Raid5 array. However in future I will bear in mind that Dell support is free!
Cheers From: Jon Harris [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 15 June 2011 00:07 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Dell Powerdge Disk Failure Dell PowerEdge systems keep the RAID config for any one disk or set of disks on the disk as well as on a CMOS(?) chip. I had one a couple of years ago complaining about the RAID configuration of a reconfigured server finding multiple copies of configs and was getting confused as to which one to use. I had forgotten to clear the on-disk one in my haste to get a working server up and running. Dell walked me through the processing as soon as they heard the error. The server was about 15 years old at that point and way way out of support. It took them a bit to even find the documentation to walk me through the fix but they did. Jon On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 10:56 AM, Shauna Hensala <[email protected]> wrote: http://www.freeraidrecovery.com/ Shauna Hensala ________________________________ Subject: Dell Powerdge Disk Failure Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:45:33 +0100 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Hi all, I'm looking for some advice with a Dell PowerEdge server at one of my clients. I am a HP man predominantly so my knowledge of Dell disk configurations is minimal. Issue: The Dell server in question is reporting a fault on the LED display "The following virtual disks are missing: (0) If you proceed (or load the configuration utility), these virtual disks will be removed from your configuration. If you wish to use them at a later time, they will have to be imported. If you believe these virtual disks should be present, please power off your system and check your cables to ensure all disks are present. Press any key to continue, or 'C' to load the configuration utility." The disks have been re-seated and cables have been checked yet the error still persists. The server has only four hard disks split into two virtual disks. Unfortunately I cannot simply hot-swap the hard disk with the fault as there is only a single system disk - there is no mirroring. However the second virtual disk and subsequent 'Data' partition uses a RAID5 configuration split over the three remaining HDDs. I am not so fussed about the system disk as I have spares and I can rebuild the system partition but this time with a mirrored configuration over two disks. What I am worried about is the data on the disks split over the RAID5 partition. It is imperative that I retrieve the data on this partition. I am looking for advice on how best to go about this please. If I remove the faulty disk, insert two blank spares, create a virtual disk, mirror them and then build the OS, will the second, existing virtual disk in the RAID5 partition be available to the OS? Should I try and retrieve the data from the disks in the RAID5 partition before attempting to so anything (if so, what would be the best method for this?)? I would greatly appreciate any help on this. Many thanks, Mark IMPORTANT INFORMATION Internet communications are not secure and therefore CIPS does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of any e-mail message sent via this medium. The content of any e-mail communication is the view of the individual and CIPS does not accept legal liability for the contents. Although this message and any attachments are believed to be free of virus or other defect that might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by CIPS for any loss or damage in any way arising from its use. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin -- Scanned by iCritical. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin -- Scanned by iCritical. ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
