How to recover RAID5 RST?

[HKrau]

Hi,

I have big problems with my system. It worked for some years with 5 harddisks as Raid 5. Due to a power outage the Raid configuration in the BIOS was corrupted.

After pressing Ctrl-I I see the RST menu. The raid volume is marked as "failed" in red.

Two harddisks of the Raid are marked as Non-Raid and only three as belonging to the Raid.

Only following meu items are selectable:

1. Create RAID Volume

2. Delete RAID Volume

3. Reset disks to Non-RAID

6. Exit

The system will not boot Win 8.1 64bit. A face appears with an error msg.

Any help appreciated & kind regards,

Hans

[AlHill]

You do have a backup of your data, correct?

Doc

[HKrau]

Hi Doc,

that's part of my problem: my backup is neither complete nor very current. Both of these two conditions stem from the fact that my backup HDs are not big enough for the full RAID. A 10 TB HD is ordered and will arrive shortly. Therefore I need to get the RAID5 up in at least read only mode.

If I had a complete and recent backup the reset of the RAID5 would be easy.

Hans

[AlHill]

I cannot help you with the raid issue. One of the Intel support engineers will be able to assist you.

Regarding the backup, one of the things I all tell users, whether raid or not, is to always keep a backup, and to make certain it can be restored. I know this does not help much now, it is part of best practices that I try to pass on to others. I take a backup, every Friday night, whether I need to or not. And, I do this on eleven machines. For a friend who has little knowledge of maintaining his work environment, I have scheduled backups every Sunday. Those backups have saved him on more than one occasion.

For myself, for absolutely critical data, I use two different backup programs.

Ok, enough of my soapbox. I hope your raid is recoverable.

Doc

[idata]

Hello HWKraus

Thank you for contacting us; it will be more than a pleasure to assist you.In order to assist you better, can you please provide me with the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) that you are running?As well can you please provide me more system information, such as your system model and brand?I hope to hear from you soon. Regards,Diego S.

[HKrau]

Hi Diego,

thanks for your answer, your help is very appreciated. The only infos I can supply (the pc doesn't boot anymore) are:

BIOS Message:

ASUS UEFI BIOS Utility-EZ Mode

P9D WS BIOS Version 1707

CPU Type: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1226 v3 @ 3.3GHz

and the info from RTS:

Intel(R) Storage Technology - Option ROM - 12.7.0.1936

Regards, Hans

[idata]

Hello HWKraus

Thank you for your response.In this case, I regret to inform you that based on your system and the RAID status marked as Failed in red, the actual data structure on the RAID got completely damaged, making the RAID unrepairable.At this point you can reset the Raid left to non raid volumes from the RST® BIOS MENU, so in case that you need to contact a Data Recovery center, the recovery process might be easier for them.My most sincerely apologies again for the inconvenience that this may cause.Regards,Diego S.

[idata]

Hello HWKraus

We just wanted to double check if you were able to reset the RAID to non RAID volumes?Please don't hesitate on contacting us back.I hope to hear from you soon.Best Regards,Diego S.