Bad Hard Drive in RAID 5 array.

[briansea]

Windows is telling me I have a failing hd. Since I'm running a raid 5 array, windows sees the array as a single drive. How can I identify the bad drive?
Windows 7 Pro running 1TB x 3 RAID 5 array

 

[kanewolf]

Use the software that came with the RAID controller. It should help you identify the failed disk.

 

[briansea]

I'm not using a separate raid card. It is a feature of the motherboard. (Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1) and there doesn't seem to be a utility related to hd health except SMART but that says all discs are fine. Windows and the sluggishness of the performance disagree w/SMART. Anyway, I'm not adverse to the idea of a dedicated raid controller, but I would like to be sure that it contains a utility to determine a failed drive as indicated by drive errors in windows. Does that functionality exist? If so, how do i know if a specific raid card has that ability without having to contact the manufacturer? Product descriptions on vendor sites aren't very helpful.

 

[kanewolf]

Crystal disk info, should be able to read the SMART info from your disks and tell you which one (maybe only by serial number) is failing. I would recommend backing up any critical data from that array. Finding the failing drive is one thing, but successfully rebuilding the array is another. The rebuild is a common place to have a problem and end up with no data.

 

[indsup]

I would assume that your using the Intel rapid storage software. If you are it will tell you what drive is bad and on what port. You can remove the drive and replace it and the software will automatically rebuild the drive array. This will take a bit of time to do so expect it to be very slow while it is completing. The best time to let it do this is over night. That way it doesn't have to contend with you using the drives during rebuild. Turn off any automatic backups and virus scans during also. Make sure you back up what you have on the array before you do this just in case if you can. The good thing about raid 5 is it is fault tolerant and can easily be rebuilt when one drive fails.

 

[briansea]

I see an on/off selection for Intel Rapid Storage Software in BIOS but no info on how to access or use said IRS software. Looked online for answers, even the Intel site, but still don't know how to find out which drive is bad and on which port it resides. (Motherboard is Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 - Windows 7 Pro-64 bit)

 

[freeskier93]

How did you set up the RAID array in the first place? Whatever softeware/RAID bios you used for that will also allow you to identify and rebuild the array.

 

[kanewolf]

From what I have read (haven't done it) <Crtl>+I is supposed to get you into the Intel rapid storage screens at boot.

 

[GhislainG]

I see an on/off selection for Intel Rapid Storage Software in BIOS but no info on how to access or use said IRS software. Looked online for answers, even the Intel site, but still don't know how to find out which drive is bad and on which port it resides. (Motherboard is Asus Sabertooth Z97 Mark 1 - Windows 7 Pro-64 bit)

Did you install Intel RST and then use it in Windows? https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=intel%C2%AE+rapid+storage+technology+(intel%C2%AE+rst) It will show the degraded HDD and identify which SATA port number (0-5) it's connected to.

 

[Paperdoc]

Check the CD of utilities that came with your motherboard. It may have a document file on it that is the manual for the Intel Rapid Storage system, including how to access and use the RAID management utility system. Read it to learn how to use its menus for this type of problem.

 

[GhislainG]

Check the CD of utilities that came with your motherboard. It may have a document file on it that is the manual for the Intel Rapid Storage system, including how to access and use the RAID management utility system. Read it to learn how to use its menus for this type of problem.

You don't need to read about it; it clearly indicates which drive is degraded. Check it on your system and you'll see what I mean. Even in thye BIOS Ctrl-I should display which hard disk is degraded. HP explain it here: http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c04474148&sp4ts.oid=5225039

 

[indsup]

If you haven't installed the software yet you will need to download and install. If not here's the link to get the software. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=intel%C2%AE+rapid+storage+technology+%28intel%C2%AE+rst%29 Once you install open the application and it will show you which one is bad and on what port. You may have to click on the drive for it to show you which port the drive is on but it will show you exactly which one.