RAID1 Failed

Question

Was booting up my laptop today and got as far as here. After this, I get a message saying OS not detected, and does nothing more but shut down. I've tried taking out the two HDDs and reinserting them in case they'd become loose somehow, but it made no difference. I've spent many years around computers, and this laptop is quite old and has had its problems, but I've never come across this and I've absolutely no idea what to do. Anyone that can help me out?

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

Looks like the root drive failed and the mirror is OK. Replace the drive connected to port 0 wtih a new one - you should then be able to rebuild the array from the other drive.

you'll need a new drive that's the same size or larger than the other one (but if you use a larger drive, note that the array size won't increase - it'll be the same as the smaller drive in the pair).

DELL-Rajath N · Answer

Hi Teliko,

I appreciate your efforts to fix this issue and for providing a picture of the error. The error message indicates that the RAID has failed or a hard drive in the RAID array has failed. I suggest you to try booting the computer by connecting one hard drive at a time, so that the faulty drive can be determined.

Please reply to this message with your findings, system model number and the version of Windows installed on the laptop.

Teliko · Answer

There doesn't seem to be a way to differentiate between the status regardless of which HDD is removed, I still get 'RAID1(Mirror) Failed'. Unless I'm supposed to be looking at something in the BIOS?

Teliko · Answer

Oh, it's an Alienware m17x-R2, service tag <ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy> with windows 7.

ejn63 · Answer

First thing to do:  remove the battery, unplug the system, hold the power button for 30 seconds.  Then remove and reinstall both hard drives.

Teliko · Answer

I've already done this

ejn63 · Answer

What happens if you go into the RAID utility (CTRL-I when prompted)?  Are both drives showing having failed?  Or just one of them?

Teliko · Answer

For one in 'Port 0' it says 'Error Occured(0)' and one in 'Port 5' says 'Offline Member'

ejn63 · Answer

You should be able to rebuild from the RAID BIOS once you replace the failed drive.

Teliko · Answer

:O Interesting, I'd pretty much lost hope for it being recoverable. So I need to just purchase an identical drive and replace port 0 with it, and then power it back up? Does it rebuild the array itself or is that something I do from the BIOS?

Teliko · Answer

Alright, great. Just to be sure I don't end up buying the wrong product, Dell's replacement department lists my laptops HDD as being a WD3200BPVT model, whereas my one is actually a WD3200BEKT. Will mixing these models effect anything, or is it safe? That model appears to be cheaper on Amazon which is why I'm curious, and I know jack squat about HDDs. Thanks for the assistance thus far, though.

ejn63 · Answer

The BPVT model is a 5400 rpm Scorpio Blue -- the BEKT is a 7200 rpm Scorpio Black, so while the BPVT may be cheaper, it's also slower.

If you have 7200 rpm now, get another 7200 rpm drive to replace it.

Teliko · Answer

Replacement finally arrived today. http://i.imgur.com/AtIEc4b.png. Back up and running now. Thanks for the help, man.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

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