Question Salvaging data from a dead computer's RAID0 ?

[tnmack]

I think I know the answer and I am SOL but on the off chance that someone has a magic solution, here goes:

I built a new PC based on a Ryzon 7 for flight sim and my old computer, a Dell 420 XPO, must have died during the last power bump some time ago. It had become too slow so I just let it gather dust for a few years as life ensued. Well, it would not boot, and from what I was able to figure out, the motherboard, or at least the memory subsystem, must have fried because no matter what old memory modules I tried, it would not accept the memory. I had two 500GB drives in RAID0, so I salvaged them and installed them in my new computer hoping to read some of the flight related info I had on them. The two drives are recognized by the BIOS but the OS says one is unreadable and the other needs to be reformatted. Is there any hope at all? Thanks.

 

[DSzymborski]

No magic solution I can see. Hopefully there was nothing too important; something important should never be in a RAID 0 if you don't have multiple proper backups (that aren't any flavor of RAID, hopefully).

 

[tnmack]

No magic solution I can see. Hopefully there was nothing too important; something important should never be in a RAID 0 if you don't have multiple proper backups (that aren't any flavor of RAID, hopefully).

Thanks. Nothing too important, just a bit of a nasty surprise that my old computer died without me knowing... That was my first, and obviously last, experiment with RAIDs.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks. Nothing too important, just a bit of a nasty surprise that my old computer died without me knowing... That was my first, and obviously last, experiment with RAIDs.

Trust me, you'll be happier that way. RAIDs became kinda pop-trendy over the last decade, probably because tech YouTubers like playing with them and trying to spike benchmarks, but for >99% of consumers, it's pointless at best, dangerous at worst.

 

[geofelt]

There are forensic data recovery outfits that might be able to salvage something if it was irreplaceable.
But, they are EXPENSIVE !!!
Not likely worth it.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks. Nothing too important, just a bit of a nasty surprise that my old computer died without me knowing... That was my first, and obviously last, experiment with RAIDs.

RAID 0 is rarely a good idea.

It is only for "speed"
RAID 0 + HDD is easily surpassed with any SSD.
RAID 0 + SSD, the speed is only seen in artificial benchmarks. Not actual use.

And then of course, the increased potential for data loss.

 

[fzabkar]

You should be able to recover your data with DMDE. It can assemble and mount a virtual 1TB RAID. You could then clone this RAID to an image file or another drive, or you could just use DMDE to extract your desired files from the image. If you have less than 4000 files in one folder, then the free version may be enough.

https://dmde.com/

 

[tnmack]

You should be able to recover your data with DMDE. It can assemble and mount a virtual 1TB RAID. You could then clone this RAID to an image file or another drive, or you could just use DMDE to extract your desired files from the image. If you have less than 4000 files in one folder, then the free version may be enough.

https://dmde.com/

Thanks for the tip! I will give it a try and let you know if it worked. -T

 

[tnmack]

You should be able to recover your data with DMDE. It can assemble and mount a virtual 1TB RAID. You could then clone this RAID to an image file or another drive, or you could just use DMDE to extract your desired files from the image. If you have less than 4000 files in one folder, then the free version may be enough.

https://dmde.com/

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!! DMDE did the job. Since the two drives were undamaged, I got back everything I needed. -Tom

 

[SennaSempre]

That was my first, and obviously last, experiment with RAIDs.

...and mine to, my first-and-last, RAID 0 comes set up by default from Western Digital in my experience, I don't know about other brands. But for a regular computer user that has never dealt with RAID configurations before, I agree with what DSzymborski said "but for >99% of consumers, it's pointless at best, dangerous at worst." so its ridiculous for them to come preset up this way straight from the manufacturer. It's like almost a conspiracy ruse to pad the system, pump more users' money back into the industry via data recovery services. i will try the dmde software as well and hope for the best.