RE: ASR Restore (XP Install) fails to recognize RAID driver

So tell me, do you have any CD's that came with that Promise FastTrack 378
controller? What brand computer is it?

"JimMaher" wrote:

> Lawson,
>
> I believe it is a hardware RAID. Again, its on the motherboard and
> identified as an 82801ER. I believe it is also known as an Intel ICH5R.
>
> Also, though I've said RAID 1 twice now, it is actually a RAID 0 (my
> thinking error; this is just a workstation - not a server).
>
> In Computer Management->Disk Management, it shows as one disk, but with
> 68.95 capacity and "No" under Fault Tolerance. That capacity and no fault
> tolerance confirm RAID 0, rather than RAID 1. But the appearance as a single
> disk confirms hardware RAID, right?
>
> I do not believe there is a hardware problem. We checked three ways:
> 1. We used motherboard diagnostics and used the RAID controller BIOS to
> confirm the RAID configuration.
> 2. We ran disk diagnostics on each of the two drives, repeatedly.
> 3. After restoring the disaster recovery CDs, we ran CHKDSK.
> Our conclusion was that something damaged one or more kernel files, and that
> is why it wouldn't boot.
>
> We did try pressing "F6" when prompted to let ASR know we had drivers to
> install. The "S" is just the response to a prompt when it asks you for the
> driver diskette (I don't remember the wording of the prompt).
>
> Besides the Intel 8201ER motherboard controller, the motherboard also
> includes a Promise FastTrack 378 controller that is not in use. We did NOT
> try switching the drives to that controller. Again, that felt like a
> "workaround".
>
> Why didn't the ASR routine (our XP Install, for that matter) use the drivers
> we installed with F6 and target the RAID? If it had, I believe all would
> have worked.
>
> My conclusion remains that the ASR routine is not a reliable reciovery
> mechanism.
>
> Jim
>
> "Lawson Poling, MCSA" wrote:
>
> > OK. I'm going to go WAY out on a limb here, but in your original post you
> > mentioned that after the C drive failed the system would not boot. For me
> > that is a red flag with regards to which type of RAID is installed on the
> > computer, software or hardware.
> > Second, you mentioned that you trouble shot the mainboard/controller with
> > the manufacturer and verified it to be in good working order. I Googled the
> > specs for the controller and it is indeed a SATA controller, but I didn't see
> > anything that described it as a RAID controller. I didn't look *real* hard
> > but I did look. Therefore, I believe what you have is a software RAID
> > configuration via the Windows OS vs. a hardware RAID. This can be verified by
> > looking at Disk Manager. If you see two disks with redundancy, then you have
> > a software RAID config, perhaps via the Windows OS. If you see one disk with
> > no redundancy, then it is in fact a hardware RAID and my theory goes out the
> > window.
> > I'm guessing you have a software RAID, which, in my experience with a failed
> > Netware server, does not mirror the OS / boot files and this is why your
> > computer would not boot after the failure of a single hard drive. A hardware
> > RAID configuration will mirror not only data, but the boot files as well and
> > spare you this nightmare.
> > That said, and assuming you have a software RAID, then I think the solution
> > would have been to replace the failed HDD and begin running the ASR restore
> > which would have partitioned the new HDD to the same specs as the original
> > (that is what one of the files on the floppy disk does) and then a basic OS
> > would have been installed via the Windows XP CD and THEN, the System State /
> > Registry and other files contained in the .bkf filewould have been restored
> > to the C drive.
> > At this point you would have a bootable hard drive with the OS in the same
> > "up to date" files (SP1) as when the ASR backup was done.
> > Again, assuming a software RAID, you would then go to Disk Manager and go
> > through the process to bring the DATA from the mirrored drive back onto the D
> > drive partition of the new HDD.
> > I know you said you pressed F6 during the boot to the Windows CD in order to
> > specify a RAID driver, but frankly I'm ignoring this or else my theory is
> > debunked.
> > I was also confused about pressing S to install a driver diskette, but you
> > was there and I wasn't. Conventional drives such as floppy drives shouldn't
> > need drivers installed during this process.
> > So, what I have to ask is: What type of hardware RAID controler is on the
> > computer?
> > I guess I could have just asked that first, but I got on a roll.
> >
> > Lawson...
>
.

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