Raid 0 Error

[michodell]

I don't know a whole lot about computers so bear with me lol.

My husband's friend built a computer using Western Digital Hard Drives. The computer was working fine up until today. I haven't used the computer in a few months since we've been in the process of moving so I'm not sure what would have caused this.

Anyway, I tried to boot up the computer today and one of the Hard Drives has an error under Vol ID in BIOS. I am able to enter Safe Mode or boot up the computer normally, but it doesn't show any of the icons on the desktop and Safe Mode obviously is very limited. I understand that because it is Raid 0 (as listed in BIOS), the hard drives split the information, but I'm still not sure how that allows me to enter Safe Mode or get to the desktop.

What could have caused this and is there any way I can fix it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ubrales]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware!

In RAID 0 if one disk is bad, ALL data is lost! It is likely that during the move, the SATA connector to one of the RAID 0 disks got unseated. Check this first. This may be what is preventing the computer from booting up.

After checking the connections, if one HDD still shows up as bad, then you will need to replace the bad HDD and re-install the OS (that is if the OS is loaded on the RAID 0 disks).

I suggest installing the OS on one non-RAID disk and setting up a RAID 1 (if you insist on RAID) for data. More info on RAID here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

 

[michodell]

I did check all of the connections multiple times and various ways so I don't think that's the problem.. If the HD is bad, can I simply convert to Non-Raid and use the HD that is good? I really don't care about Raid, that's just how it was set up by the friend who built it.

Oh and there is one Non-Raid disk already. It shows up as Non-Raid in BIOS. I know there's a certain name for it, but I can't remember. Would I have to use that HD if I convert to Non-Raid? I'm sorry, I'm just really lost with all of this.

 

[Ubrales]

The non-RAID disk will show up as 'non-member' disk in the BIOS - no problem with this. It is ok to have RAID as well as non-RAID HDDs in the same computer.

Here is how my computer is set up:

Operating System - Win 7 64-bit ---> 750 GB non-RAID HDD (overkill, but I had it laying around)

Data - Files, music, video ---> 1 TB RAID 1 (two 1 TB HDDs = 1 TB in RAID 1)

Misc. data - files, temp stuff, etc. ---> 1 TB (non-RAID)

Before you delete the RAID setup, transfer all data to an external HDD. If your OS is on the RAID setup, then you have the choice of either 1) cloning the disks, OR 2) re-installing Windows. If you re-install Windows, you will lose all programs that reside on that disk(s) and you will have to re-install your programs one by one. Yes, a lot of work!

If you are adventurous and you want to clone the disk(s) containing the OS and other programs, you may use Apricorn's Drivewire to do so: http://www.apricorn.com/product_detail.php?type=family&id=39

I have used Drivewire very successfully. Easy to use and works well. Just follow the instructions meticulously.

In your case, in order to revert the RAID into non-RAID, during startup, you need to repeatedly press the appropriate key ('Control + I' in my computer) and enter the RAID setup. From here, you must delete the RAID. Follow the prompts, and Exit saving changes. Now the HDDs will become non-RAID HDDs.

You must also make the appropriate changes in the BIOS - see your User Manual for details.

 

[michodell]

I don't think we had too many programs on the computer that wouldn't be difficult to re-install so I'm not really concerned with that.

What I'm getting from this is...

I can delete the Raid Volume (Or do I choose option 4 and reset disks to Non-Raid?), and then reinstall Windows and all will be good to go?

 

[Ubrales]

Yes, you can reset the disks to non-RAID. Just make sure that both disks are fine (not defective) before you use them for other purposes.

Backup everything to an external HDD before you make changes.

 

[michodell]

Ok thank you!

One more question lol

If I'm unsure of the safety of the second Hard Drive, can I just choose to not use it (unplug it)?

 

[Ubrales]

Ok thank you!

One more question lol

If I'm unsure of the safety of the second Hard Drive, can I just choose to not use it (unplug it)?

Yes - And at a later convenient time, you can run a "chkdsk" and you can check the 'SMART' status of the disk. After recovering all data from the disk in question, you can perform an NTFS format on the disk. Hearing clicking sounds from any HDD are early warning signs of impending failure.