HOW TO ACCESS DATA STORED IN LINUX RAID 1 FROM WINDOW XP?

ykt

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Mar 11, 2010
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Background:
5 PC AND Laptops runing Window XP and Vista.
Data (mainly JPEG photos, FI files and some documents) are stored on
Linksys NAS200 runing Raid 1 mirroring

Problem:
Raid disk #1 failed
Raid disk #2 is working properly, still can access data on it.
Finally, NAS200 have some problem and cannot use.

Question:
How can i access or copy those data stored on the Raid disk #2 from
my laptop which is running windows xp ?


Things I have tried:
I pull out the Raid disk #2 from the NAS200 and put it in a USB hdd case and connect to the usb port of my laptop. Since Raid disk #2 is EXT3 file system, Windows XP cannot recognise the hdd.

I have tried to instal the EXTIFS, this program can recognise the Raid
disk #2 with 3 volume.
1. Linux Raid volume 1
2 Linux Raid Volume 2
3. Linux swap volume

Also tried "Diskinternal Linux reader", i can see the 3 volume but
when i click the drive, it prompt me the drive is not formatted and ask
me if i want to format.

Any expert here can help.








 

ykt

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Mar 11, 2010
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thanks for your reply, sub mesa.
it is the fist time i heard about ubuntu. just checked it out from internet and seems
ubuntu is an os.
i don't want to install another os on my laptop. any other suggestions?
 

sub mesa

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Ubuntu is THE most popular Linux OS yes, next to Mac OSX and Windows.

Since you want to recover data stored by Linux, using Linux to do that is kind of... logical? Have you tried booting the Ubuntu cd and accessing the RAID?
 

ykt

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I think this solution you suggested is a bit difficult for me to try because
1. i don't have a spare machine to install Ubuntu
2. i have no experience on Ubuntu, that means i have to learn how to use it first. Is it as simple as i am using the file manager on windows to access a file?
3. Can i install Ubuntu on my laptop which is now using window XP without affecting my current data on the laptop. (something like dual boot OS)

Now i have a question comes up in my mind which may help me to figure out if it is worth to try your suggestion.
Let say I have a Raid 1 running on NTFS instead of EXT3, if I take 1 of the raid disks (say raid disk #2) and plug it to a PC through a USB harddisk case. Is the data stored on this raid disk #2 can be accessed directly by the window file manager?

The key of this question is whether Raid disk data can be accessed by Windows file manager directly or need some tools in order to access data on raid disk.
 

Starges

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If you are worried about having to install another os on your laptop, you can look for Ubuntu LiveCd. Just put it in your cd rom and boot from it.

The data you want to recover can only be easily accessed by linux os which was used to store it in the first place.
 

sub mesa

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1) You don't need to install Ubuntu, you boot Ubuntu from the Ubuntu cd

2) either you pay with time to resolve this problem, or with money. The money option can be in excess of $1000.

3) Try the suggestions posted first, if they don't work, you can report back here with your findings. The Ubuntu method would not harm your data as its a read-only operation. So its safe and easy to try this IMO.