RAID5 Data recovery after loss of OS

[HGrub]

I have a RAID 5 on Intel Rapid Storage Technology that was running on Windows XP and Windows 7 in a dual boot configuration. Had a failure on one drive and tried a disc reset, but it failed again. Shut down and replaced bad drive. Rebooted but now get message OS not found. Tried the repair function with the Windows 7 DVD, but that did not work. I can see all of my data files with the Windows 7 DVD repair, so the files have not been lost. How do I recover the files? Tried to boot from a separate drive but got a blue screen of death. This is an array of 5 1TB SATA drives with 2 storage volumes. The first volume has three partitions - WinXP OS, WIN7 OS, and DATA. The other volume was unused at the time. Any help would be appreciated.

[idata]

Hello agfa1

Thank you for contacting us regarding the RAID failure that you are experiencing with your system, it will be more than pleasure to provide you with assistance on this matter.In order for me to assist you better and to investigate further on your case, please provide screenshots or pictures of the Windows 7 DVD repair mode (where you can see your files).As well please provide us with the RST version that you are running (number version)During POST please press CTRL + i and please send screenshots of that as well so we can take a look to the actual RAID status.Can you please provide us with more system information (RAM, CPU , Motherboard and any recent changes that you might have done recently) I hope to hear from you soon.Best Regards,Diego S.

[HGrub]

Here is what has happened in the last few days. I found a Lazesoft Recovery CD that I had and it would boot up and I was able to see my files on one partition. I then found another drive with Windows XP loaded so I tried it and was shocked to find that it would boot up and I could also see most of my files. I was able to copy the data to this drive. However, I still have two missing partition. So, I was able to backup about 95% of my files. Would like to be able to get the other files on the two missing partitions. Here is the info you requested:

Supermicro C2SBA+II Motherboard

4GB Memory

Intel Q9650 CPU

5 WD 1TB Enterprise SATA HHD

IntelMatrix Storage Manager Option ROM v7.5..0.1017 ICH9R wRAID5

I also tried the Windows XP install CD and tried to run repair, but received a message that no disks were found. Sorry, but unable to get any screen shots.

[idata]

Hello agfa1,

Thank you for your response, we really appreciate it.In this case since now you are able to boot into the OS, please go ahead and attach the report that the Intel® Matrix Storage Console will generate by following these instructions:

1. Use the Intel® Matrix Storage Console
2. Under the View menu, select System Report.
3. Hit Save.

To attach a file, you must click the "Attach" option on the bottom right-hand corner of the response box.As well, can you please take a picture of the RAID status displayed on the screen when pressing CTRL + i?I hope to hear from you soon.Best Regards,Diego S.

[HGrub]

Sorry for the late reply, but my backup PC also crashed but is now back up. On the

Intel Rapid Storage Technology Screen, I could not find anything that would generate

report. So as it stands now, I was able to recover 99% of my data using the utility program I was using before. With all the lost partitions found, recovery is not possible. Therefore with data saved, I am just going to do a complete reinstall.

I do have one question. Can you make the RAID Volumes non bootable? I would like to use a separate drive to boot from and have all data files on the RAID. So far I have been unable to do this as it will only boot off the RAID. If I disable RAID in BIOS that it will boot from single drive. Otherwise if RAID is enabled and I try to boot from a separate drive I get a Blue Screen Stop Error 7B. The only reason the other hard drive I found would boot up is because it was missing the correct RAID drivers.

Thanks for your help on this matter.

[idata]

Hello agfa1

Thank you for your response.In order to be able to make the computer boot from a single drive and not from the RAID volumes, you will need to change the boot order on the BIOS.However you will need to make sure that the OS was installed after the SATA mode was set to (changed) to RAID.I Hope this helps.Best Regards,Diego S.

[idata]

Hello agfa1,I was taking a look to your thread and I wanted to know if you still need further assistance.Please do not hesitate on contacting us back if necessary.Best Regards,Diego S.

[HGrub]

Hello

After getting data recovered, reformatted all drives and reinstalled OS. I went

with a RAID 1 using two drives for the OS and work area. The other three drives

are used in a RAID 5 for data storage. So far, no problems. Thanks for your help.

[CWick]

Definitely a very informational post indeed, I wasn't lucky enough get my OS to boot however I managed to recover all the data from the RAID arrays using a software which I bought online named Stellar Raid Recovery. Now after the fresh install I have installed the OS on a separate HDD and kept the RAID seperate, Quite a hard lesson .