[SOLVED] Raid array recognized but Windows not bootable after BIOS update.

May 3, 2020
4
0
10
Motherboard ASUS P6T Deluxe (still rockin after all these years lol)
Recently did a free upgrade from windows 7 to windows 10 after support stopped for windows 7. The build has 2 hard drives in basic raid striped configuration. After upgrading to windows 10, the hard drives seemed to be a bit sluggish, so I was going to upgrade to a SSD instead. I decided to update the BIOS to latest version to accommodate any other hardware upgrades I might do. I was running BIOS version 1303 and updated to version 2209.

One unusual thing was that many of the BIOS versions in between said to update the firmware for the marvell SAS controller to a ver 3.--- after BIOS update. (Mine is running a ver 1.-- during the boot process). Seems like that needs done in windows, not in BIOS. I can't figure out how to update the firmare which might solve the problem. The mobo has a mini OS that allows you to boot into. That mini OS recognizes all the info on my hard drives and the existing folders, pictures, etc.

The mobo was resetyto RAID configuration and it does see the volumes exist but says they are not bootable. Possibly because the MOBO was not designed to support windows 10. The only solution I can think of is to install a new raid array on new discs and install windows on that, then see if I can retrieve all the stuff from my old array. Ultamately, I want to backup about 1TB of information. (I should have done that first, I know). The mobo will also not let me reload an older bios version, its an Asus thing I guess. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this, so that 1. it will recognize the RAID array as bootable 2. how to update the firmware without going into windows.
 
Solution
There is actually 2 RAID volumes: the first partition is 500GB for the OS and programs. the second is 987.2 GB for pictures, videos, music, and document backup. That way the first 1/3 of the HDDs are being used the most to maximize their speed.
RAID 0 is the very antithesis of anything related to "backup".

You've created a quite complex and fail prone design, whose actual speed performance is easily bested by a single SATA SSD, and whose backup potential is much worse than individual drives.

My initial recommendation still stands...
Wipe this whole thing out and start from scratch, no RAID.
New SSD or still using one of the original HDD's.
May 3, 2020
4
0
10
Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe
Intel Core i7 CPU 920@2.67 GHz
2 Western Digital Hard drives in raid 0. (1 TB and 750 GB)
WDC WD1002FAEX-0
WDC WD7501AALS-0

No back up system for data in place. I went commando :) Important stuff mostly backed up on ssd cards and other random things.

On startup, it goes into the ASUS Express Gate screen which was meant to use with Linux or something for faster 5 second to startup speed and quick access to pictures, internet and skype or something. I always had it disabled, but in the express gate, If i click on pictures, it shows me the contents of my raid array files and I can look at the pictures on my hard drives from the express gate like theres nothing wrong with my system, so obviously the whole thing is still in tack.

If I leave the express gate I can easily enter BIOS no problem. When I leave BIOS to enter normal startup I get:

Intel(R) Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM V8.0.0.1038 ICH10R WRAID5
ID NAME STRIP SIZE STATUS BOOTABLE
0 Volume 1:1 RAID0(Stripe) 64KB 500.0GB FAILED NO
1 Volume 2 RAID0(Stripe) 64KB 897.2GB FAILED NO

MODEL SIZE TYPE/STATUS (VOL 10)
WDC WD1002FAEX-0 931.5GB NON-RAID DISK
WDC WD7501AALS-0 698.6GB MEMBER DISK (0,1)

After exiting that, I get this screen loading:

Marvell 88SE61xx Adapter BIOS Version 1.1.0.L72a

Then:

Reboot and select proper boot drive or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key

In the various downloads for BIOS versions is says:
*Please update Marvell 88SE6320 SAS Controller Firmware update Version 3.1.0.2300 after Bios update

There is a seperate download for this firmware update from the BIOS. It looks like an exe file that probably loads in windows and installs. I don't know if the update would help the hard drives boot or if it has to do with windows 10 not being recognized by the BIOS after the defaults were reset. The MOBO is over 10-12 years old.

When I did the free update for window with the old BIOS everything was fine. It all went to pot when I upgraded the BIOS without backing up my data. DOH!

Any help would be great! Thanks!
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
1TB + 750GB + RAID 0 = 1.5TB RAID 0 = tossing away 250GB of the 1TB drive.

Assuming you have any and all personal data backed up....
Start over.

No RAID 0.

Disconnect ALL drives except the one you want the OS on.
Whatever BIUOS things talks about RAID...disable that.

Clean Win 10 install on a single drive.
No RAID 0.
 
May 3, 2020
4
0
10
There is actually 2 RAID volumes: the first partition is 500GB for the OS and programs. the second is 987.2 GB for pictures, videos, music, and document backup. That way the first 1/3 of the HDDs are being used the most to maximize their speed.

The raid volumes still exist in there somewhere, the bios just won't recognize them as bootable. I'm trying to find an easy way to get them bootable again.

Idea 1: Find a way to install the old BIOS version back, thus restoring the original configuration that was working before the problem occurred. Unfortunately, the MOBO is programmed not to let me install a later version of BIOS. I currently don't know how without having windows up and running. There is a way on utube using the winflash program and command prompt to enable it, but other than that, I didn't find anything on the internet.

Idea 2: Disconnect the RAID array, and install a separate raid volume with a fresh windows install, similar to your recommendation above, but reattach the original raid volume and see if I can then access them as just added HDD RAID volumes. I'm feeling 95% confident that will work.

Idea 3: Ask for help for any other ideas to A. retireve the old data and/or B. get it working like nothing ever happened. C. save me the trouble of doing a full windows reinstall right now until I actually buy a new SSD Drive.

It's not the end of the world if I loose all my data, but it would be much better and easier to just recover and transfer the data and have it again.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
There is actually 2 RAID volumes: the first partition is 500GB for the OS and programs. the second is 987.2 GB for pictures, videos, music, and document backup. That way the first 1/3 of the HDDs are being used the most to maximize their speed.
RAID 0 is the very antithesis of anything related to "backup".

You've created a quite complex and fail prone design, whose actual speed performance is easily bested by a single SATA SSD, and whose backup potential is much worse than individual drives.

My initial recommendation still stands...
Wipe this whole thing out and start from scratch, no RAID.
New SSD or still using one of the original HDD's.
 
Solution
May 3, 2020
4
0
10
I realize this, but like I said, this compter has been set up and working reliably for 10 years now in this configuration. I guess backup is a bad chose of words. I guess I really ment "file storage dump in case I need it later, but probably not." Most of the pictures and videos are still on the original cards somewhere. I just buy new ones, and don't write over the old ones. Most of the important files are on flash drives. Most of the music is on CDs or accessable via web, so only a small portion of files are not backed up somewhere somehow.
The main thing is that when I built this computer 10+ years ago, SSDs just came out and were a little unreliable. I originally built it with a 300GB SSD and it crashed after 6 months, so I went back to HHD is raid and figured I would wait it out until 1TB SSDs were more stable and cheap, and here we are today, in line to by a cheap, stable 1 TB SSD to replace my failing Raid. :) Unfortunately, this mobo was mabe with SATA 2, just before SATA 3 came out.