Solve : RAID Issue on Dell PE1800 Server?

1.	Solve : RAID Issue on Dell PE1800 Server?
Answer» Hey all, I've posted on here before but I think this is my first time with a question. I have a new client, for whom I will be installing new hard drives, because they're running low on space AND they're starting to get read errors. The current situation is: They have a Dell Poweredge 1800 server with a P8611 board. On this board is a SCSI U320 RAID Controller, which has two 76 GB drives on a RAID 0 array. They are running dangerously out of space as their Exchange DB grows, and just recently they have been getting drive read errors. They can't afford to go to a new server and do a full migration, nor buy 2 new, larger SCSI drives. So, I have 2 1 TB SATA drives that I want to install. What I would LIKE to do is this: image their current volume and create a new RAID 1 array using the SATA Raid controller on the motherboard, and reload the image onto this new array. I've been testing this on my test server in the shop but I can't get the procedure down. I'm AFRAID of Windows blowing up because, number one, it is a totally different type of Raid array, and number two, it's a different raid controller. I'm currently using Acronis True Image to do the imaging, and I've read in articles and other forums that Acronis can do the imaging regardless of it being two different raid controllers. The issue I keep having is after I image the original RAID 0 volume and re-image it on the new RAID 1 array, I get an NTLDR is missing error. It seems to work if I go from mirrored to mirrored, but not striped to mirrored, which is what I need. Sorry this was so long and in-depth, but I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance. -RyanAre you saying that you want to take the two 80 GIG drives out of your client's server, and then put them in your server to make an image of the drives? Why are you switching from RAID 0 to RAID1?No, I want to image the current SCSI drives in the server they are in right now, then install the new, larger SATA drives on a DIFFERENT Raid controller in the SAME server, and also go from RAID 0 to RAID 1. They decided with RAID 1 because they are crazy paranoid about losing their data, so I'm setting them up with mirrored drives, offsite backups, and onsite backups.Quote The issue I keep having is after I image the original RAID 0 volume and re-image it on the new RAID 1 array, I get an NTLDR is missing error. It seems to work if I go from mirrored to mirrored, but not striped to mirrored, which is what I need. I know you've probably already thought of this, but have you tried booting to the recovery console and using the copy \i386\ntldr c:\, and the copy \i386\ntdetect.com c:\ commands?Well another thing I did not mention is that when I restore the image onto the new mirror array, it restores as the same size partition as before. So, afterwords I tried resizing the partition with G-Parted (a small linux distro) that has rarely failed me before for this purpose. But, when I try doing this it tells me that the file system is corrupted. I tried a chkdsk /r in recovery console to try to repair it but it doesn't even find a windows installation. It seems to be getting hung up on imaging the original striped array. I've tried this with 3 seperate loads of Server 03 and every time I create the image, Acronis tells me that the partition is corrupted and can only be imaged using the sector-by-sector method. Am I doing something wrong with creating the intial image? I will try the copy \i386\ntldr c:\ and the copy \i386\ntdetect.com c:\ commands when I get back into the shop tomorrow. Those aren't the COMPLETE commands. You need to place you drive letter in there. this assumes that your CD drive is d: copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\ copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\ This might be a lost cause since recovery console doesn't even recognize the windows installation. Would it be possible to just save all of the data and install a fresh copy of windows on the RAID 1 array? How did you go about setting up the array? Went into the raid controller bios, chose to create a new array, chose raid 0, chose the drives for the array, and chose the default 8 kb chunk size. then loaded Server 03 on this array. when server 03 was loaded, I used acronis to create an image. when doing so, acronis reports the disk as being corrupted and says the image can only made using the sector-by-sector approach (this happens every time). I do this, and when it finshes I take out the raid card and put in a different one. (this is to test going from one controller to a different one, as mentioned in my first post) When I create the new raid 1 array on the second card, I first try to load the image onto one hard drive without beign in an array. Then I create the mirror in the raid controller bios with the "with data copy" selection so the other drive will mirror. When I try to boot from the drive to verify the image, I get "ntldr is missing". So, it seems to me like the problem starts when I try to create the first image from the striped array.

Answer»

Hey all, I've posted on here before but I think this is my first time with a question.

I have a new client, for whom I will be installing new hard drives, because they're running low on space AND they're starting to get read errors.

The current situation is:

They have a Dell Poweredge 1800 server with a P8611 board. On this board is a SCSI U320 RAID Controller, which has two 76 GB drives on a RAID 0 array. They are running dangerously out of space as their Exchange DB grows, and just recently they have been getting drive read errors.

They can't afford to go to a new server and do a full migration, nor buy 2 new, larger SCSI drives. So, I have 2 1 TB SATA drives that I want to install.

What I would LIKE to do is this:

image their current volume and create a new RAID 1 array using the SATA Raid controller on the motherboard, and reload the image onto this new array.

I've been testing this on my test server in the shop but I can't get the procedure down. I'm AFRAID of Windows blowing up because, number one, it is a totally different type of Raid array, and number two, it's a different raid controller.

I'm currently using Acronis True Image to do the imaging, and I've read in articles and other forums that Acronis can do the imaging regardless of it being two different raid controllers.

The issue I keep having is after I image the original RAID 0 volume and re-image it on the new RAID 1 array, I get an NTLDR is missing error. It seems to work if I go from mirrored to mirrored, but not striped to mirrored, which is what I need.

Sorry this was so long and in-depth, but I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance.

-RyanAre you saying that you want to take the two 80 GIG drives out of your client's server, and then put them in your server to make an image of the drives?

Why are you switching from RAID 0 to RAID1?No, I want to image the current SCSI drives in the server they are in right now, then install the new, larger SATA drives on a *DIFFERENT* Raid controller in the SAME server, and also go from RAID 0 to RAID 1.

They decided with RAID 1 because they are crazy paranoid about losing their data, so I'm setting them up with mirrored drives, offsite backups, and onsite backups.Quote

The issue I keep having is after I image the original RAID 0 volume and re-image it on the new RAID 1 array, I get an NTLDR is missing error. It seems to work if I go from mirrored to mirrored, but not striped to mirrored, which is what I need.

I know you've probably already thought of this, but have you tried booting to the recovery console and using the copy \i386\ntldr c:\, and the copy \i386\ntdetect.com c:\ commands?Well another thing I did not mention is that when I restore the image onto the new mirror array, it restores as the same size partition as before. So, afterwords I tried resizing the partition with G-Parted (a small linux distro) that has rarely failed me before for this purpose. But, when I try doing this it tells me that the file system is corrupted. I tried a chkdsk /r in recovery console to try to repair it but it doesn't even find a windows installation.

It seems to be getting hung up on imaging the original striped array. I've tried this with 3 seperate loads of Server 03 and every time I create the image, Acronis tells me that the partition is corrupted and can only be imaged using the sector-by-sector method.

Am I doing something wrong with creating the intial image?

I will try the copy \i386\ntldr c:\ and the copy \i386\ntdetect.com c:\ commands when I get back into the shop tomorrow.

Those aren't the COMPLETE commands. You need to place you drive letter in there. this assumes that your CD drive is d:
copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\

This might be a lost cause since recovery console doesn't even recognize the windows installation.

Would it be possible to just save all of the data and install a fresh copy of windows on the RAID 1 array?

How did you go about setting up the array? Went into the raid controller bios, chose to create a new array, chose raid 0, chose the drives for the array, and chose the default 8 kb chunk size.

then loaded Server 03 on this array.

when server 03 was loaded, I used acronis to create an image. when doing so, acronis reports the disk as being corrupted and says the image can only made using the sector-by-sector approach (this happens every time). I do this, and when it finshes I take out the raid card and put in a different one. (this is to test going from one controller to a different one, as mentioned in my first post)

When I create the new raid 1 array on the second card, I first try to load the image onto one hard drive without beign in an array. Then I create the mirror in the raid controller bios with the "with data copy" selection so the other drive will mirror.

When I try to boot from the drive to verify the image, I get "ntldr is missing".

So, it seems to me like the problem starts when I try to create the first image from the striped array.

Solve : RAID Issue on Dell PE1800 Server?

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