RAID Array "Off Line" on P4C800-E Deluxe

[macleme]

I'm having trouble with the RAID array on my P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo.
After months of flawless performance and without adding any new
hardware, I rebooted one day and noticed the following events in the
boot sequence:

FastTrak 378 BIOS 1.00.0.37 Promise Technology, Inc.
Scanning IDE Drives........

(this went on for several minutes and then I received the following
"blinking" message

ID Mode Size Track Mapping Status
1 2+0 Stripe 327857MB 39859/255/63 "Off Line"

For the life of me, I couldn't figure this out. My data was backed up,
so I wound up reformatting the two 160MB Maxtor hard drives which make
up my RAID_0 Array and then reinstalled Windows XP Pro.

Well, things worked well for a few weeks, until the exact same
blinking message came up that told me my RAID array was "Off Line". I
tried updating my BIOS to 1017 (from 1016 where it was always at), but
no luck. After taking somebody's advice, I let my PC sit before
restarting thinking it might be a heat issue, but nothing changed.

Here's what I notice:

When I reboot my system and hit Ctrl-F to access FastBuild Utility
2.01, I have the following screen:

Auto Setup....................[1]
View Drive Assignments........[2]
Define Array..................[3]
Delete Array..................[4]
Rebuild Array.................[5]

Pressing the keys will bring up the following:

[1]: No Available Disks!
Any Key to Continue.........

[2]:
Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB) Assignment Mode
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928 Array 1 U6

[3]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

....if I press Enter to Select Array 1, the following screen comes up:

Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line

Stripe Block:64KB Gigabyte Boundary: OFF

[Drives Assignments]

Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB)
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928
?:? failed or disconnected


[4]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----


[5]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

.... if I press Enter to Select Array 1, I receive the following
message:

Recovery is not applicable
<Press any key to continue>


I'm absolutely stumped on this one, and I don't want to keep
reformatting my hard drive. I'm running Windows XP Pro (fully
updated), 3.4GHz CPU (water-cooled... mainly for an NVIDIA 6800 Ultra
graphics card and no, there aren't any water leaks), 2 GB RAM,
P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo BIOS 1017, Promise FastTrak 378 RAID Driver
V1.00.1.37 for Windows SE/NT4/ME/2000/XP/2003 FastTrak, 2 Maxtor SATA
160MB drives in RAID_0 configuration, 2 SATA Hard drives in the SATA 1
and SATA 2 connectors in non-RAID configuration (both Maxtors, 120GB
and 30GB).

Thanks for any and all advice,
Mark

 

[Paul]

I'm having trouble with the RAID array on my P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo.
After months of flawless performance and without adding any new
hardware, I rebooted one day and noticed the following events in the
boot sequence:

FastTrak 378 BIOS 1.00.0.37 Promise Technology, Inc.
Scanning IDE Drives........

(this went on for several minutes and then I received the following
"blinking" message

ID Mode Size Track Mapping Status
1 2+0 Stripe 327857MB 39859/255/63 "Off Line"

For the life of me, I couldn't figure this out. My data was backed up,
so I wound up reformatting the two 160MB Maxtor hard drives which make
up my RAID_0 Array and then reinstalled Windows XP Pro.

Well, things worked well for a few weeks, until the exact same
blinking message came up that told me my RAID array was "Off Line". I
tried updating my BIOS to 1017 (from 1016 where it was always at), but
no luck. After taking somebody's advice, I let my PC sit before
restarting thinking it might be a heat issue, but nothing changed.

Here's what I notice:

When I reboot my system and hit Ctrl-F to access FastBuild Utility
2.01, I have the following screen:

Auto Setup....................[1]
View Drive Assignments........[2]
Define Array..................[3]
Delete Array..................[4]
Rebuild Array.................[5]

Pressing the keys will bring up the following:

[1]: No Available Disks!
Any Key to Continue.........

[2]:
Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB) Assignment Mode
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928 Array 1 U6

[3]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

...if I press Enter to Select Array 1, the following screen comes up:

Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line

Stripe Block:64KB Gigabyte Boundary: OFF

[Drives Assignments]

Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB)
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928
?:? failed or disconnected


[4]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----


[5]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

... if I press Enter to Select Array 1, I receive the following
message:

Recovery is not applicable
<Press any key to continue>


I'm absolutely stumped on this one, and I don't want to keep
reformatting my hard drive. I'm running Windows XP Pro (fully
updated), 3.4GHz CPU (water-cooled... mainly for an NVIDIA 6800 Ultra
graphics card and no, there aren't any water leaks), 2 GB RAM,
P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo BIOS 1017, Promise FastTrak 378 RAID Driver
V1.00.1.37 for Windows SE/NT4/ME/2000/XP/2003 FastTrak, 2 Maxtor SATA
160MB drives in RAID_0 configuration, 2 SATA Hard drives in the SATA 1
and SATA 2 connectors in non-RAID configuration (both Maxtors, 120GB
and 30GB).

Thanks for any and all advice,
Mark

Could be one of the drives or it could be the 20378 controller.

Here is one tale of a bad drive:
http://abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62663&highlight=20378+promise

You may want to check the S.M.A.R.T statistics, try some benchmarks,
use the Maxtor Diagnostic Utility (perhaps via the Intel SATA, if
they've managed to get their drive fitness test running on a SATA
port - as Intel SATA "fakes" being an IDE port, it might just work
anyway). Try to determine which drive currently is off line if you
can, or compare the performance of the two drives, to see if
they are the same or not. You might even consider running them
in a mirror for a while instead (assuming the array is less than
half full) - that doesn't eliminate the need for backups, but
when the array is offline, you might get the RAID BIOS to tell you
which disk is bad.

I've seen one report (cannot remember which private forum it was
now), where a person using a 20378 noticed the %CPU spiking in
Windows, when the system was idle. Moving the disks from the 20378
stopped the spiking (and the spiking looked random). It is always
possible there is something wrong with the 20378, but disks are
by far the more unreliable component of the two types (disk or
silicon chip).

HTH,
Paul

 

[Tim]

From the Promise web site - taking pot luc on which product it was:

567 My RAID 0 array went offline. How can I recover my data?
If one of the RAID 0 hard drives has failed, it is not possible to
recover your data. If all of the members of the array are still functioning,
it may be possible to recover your data. In the FastBuild BIOS utility,
delete the array and re-create it [ IMPORTANT: Make sure that when you
recreate the array you use exactly the same array settings (RAID level,
drive assignments, and stripe size) of the original array ]. Going offline
may indicate trouble with a hard drive, so it is recommended to perform a
data backup and then perform a disk diagnostic on the hard drives.





This would lead me to think that one of the drives is failing and this is
the controllers polite way of saying its not dead yet, do something about
it.

I would check the event logs to see if there are any messages in there that
are enlightening as to which drive is at fault.

See:

http://www.promise.com/support/faq/faq2_eng.asp?product_id=4&pname=FastTrak100 TX2 Pro#

I would also follow up on the diagnostics route mentioned. Try maxtor's web
site for HDD diagnostics, since the drives are surely still under warrantee.

Lastly, follow Paul's suggestion: if you do not have a compelling reason to
use RAID 0 then think about the potential of loss of all data / system that
the loss of 1 drive will incur (also the cost of downtime), then consider
either not using RAID or using RAID 1 for resilience and performance.

- Tim

I'm having trouble with the RAID array on my P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo.
After months of flawless performance and without adding any new
hardware, I rebooted one day and noticed the following events in the
boot sequence:

FastTrak 378 BIOS 1.00.0.37 Promise Technology, Inc.
Scanning IDE Drives........

(this went on for several minutes and then I received the following
"blinking" message

ID Mode Size Track Mapping Status
1 2+0 Stripe 327857MB 39859/255/63 "Off Line"

For the life of me, I couldn't figure this out. My data was backed up,
so I wound up reformatting the two 160MB Maxtor hard drives which make
up my RAID_0 Array and then reinstalled Windows XP Pro.

Well, things worked well for a few weeks, until the exact same
blinking message came up that told me my RAID array was "Off Line". I
tried updating my BIOS to 1017 (from 1016 where it was always at), but
no luck. After taking somebody's advice, I let my PC sit before
restarting thinking it might be a heat issue, but nothing changed.

Here's what I notice:

When I reboot my system and hit Ctrl-F to access FastBuild Utility
2.01, I have the following screen:

Auto Setup....................[1]
View Drive Assignments........[2]
Define Array..................[3]
Delete Array..................[4]
Rebuild Array.................[5]

Pressing the keys will bring up the following:

[1]: No Available Disks!
Any Key to Continue.........

[2]:
Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB) Assignment Mode
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928 Array 1 U6

[3]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

...if I press Enter to Select Array 1, the following screen comes up:

Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line

Stripe Block:64KB Gigabyte Boundary: OFF

[Drives Assignments]

Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB)
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928
?:? failed or disconnected


[4]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----


[5]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

... if I press Enter to Select Array 1, I receive the following
message:

Recovery is not applicable
<Press any key to continue>


I'm absolutely stumped on this one, and I don't want to keep
reformatting my hard drive. I'm running Windows XP Pro (fully
updated), 3.4GHz CPU (water-cooled... mainly for an NVIDIA 6800 Ultra
graphics card and no, there aren't any water leaks), 2 GB RAM,
P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo BIOS 1017, Promise FastTrak 378 RAID Driver
V1.00.1.37 for Windows SE/NT4/ME/2000/XP/2003 FastTrak, 2 Maxtor SATA
160MB drives in RAID_0 configuration, 2 SATA Hard drives in the SATA 1
and SATA 2 connectors in non-RAID configuration (both Maxtors, 120GB
and 30GB).

Thanks for any and all advice,
Mark

 

[Formerprof]

Always check the cabling first. If you haven't already done so unseat and
reseat all the connectors. A little dirt or oxidation can cause the most
infuriating intermittent faults. HTH

formerprof

I'm having trouble with the RAID array on my P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo.
After months of flawless performance and without adding any new
hardware, I rebooted one day and noticed the following events in the
boot sequence:

FastTrak 378 BIOS 1.00.0.37 Promise Technology, Inc.
Scanning IDE Drives........

(this went on for several minutes and then I received the following
"blinking" message

ID Mode Size Track Mapping Status
1 2+0 Stripe 327857MB 39859/255/63 "Off Line"

For the life of me, I couldn't figure this out. My data was backed up,
so I wound up reformatting the two 160MB Maxtor hard drives which make
up my RAID_0 Array and then reinstalled Windows XP Pro.

Well, things worked well for a few weeks, until the exact same
blinking message came up that told me my RAID array was "Off Line". I
tried updating my BIOS to 1017 (from 1016 where it was always at), but
no luck. After taking somebody's advice, I let my PC sit before
restarting thinking it might be a heat issue, but nothing changed.

Here's what I notice:

When I reboot my system and hit Ctrl-F to access FastBuild Utility
2.01, I have the following screen:

Auto Setup....................[1]
View Drive Assignments........[2]
Define Array..................[3]
Delete Array..................[4]
Rebuild Array.................[5]

Pressing the keys will bring up the following:

[1]: No Available Disks!
Any Key to Continue.........

[2]:
Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB) Assignment Mode
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928 Array 1 U6

[3]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

...if I press Enter to Select Array 1, the following screen comes up:

Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line

Stripe Block:64KB Gigabyte Boundary: OFF

[Drives Assignments]

Channel:ID Drive Model Capacity(MB)
1:SATA Maxtor 6Y160M0 163928
?:? failed or disconnected


[4]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----


[5]:
Array No RAID Mode Total Drv Capacity(MB) Status
Array 1 Stripe 2 327857 Off Line
Array 2 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 3 ---- ---- ---- ----
Array 4 ---- ---- ---- ----

... if I press Enter to Select Array 1, I receive the following
message:

Recovery is not applicable
<Press any key to continue>


I'm absolutely stumped on this one, and I don't want to keep
reformatting my hard drive. I'm running Windows XP Pro (fully
updated), 3.4GHz CPU (water-cooled... mainly for an NVIDIA 6800 Ultra
graphics card and no, there aren't any water leaks), 2 GB RAM,
P4C800-E Deluxe MoBo BIOS 1017, Promise FastTrak 378 RAID Driver
V1.00.1.37 for Windows SE/NT4/ME/2000/XP/2003 FastTrak, 2 Maxtor SATA
160MB drives in RAID_0 configuration, 2 SATA Hard drives in the SATA 1
and SATA 2 connectors in non-RAID configuration (both Maxtors, 120GB
and 30GB).

Thanks for any and all advice,
Mark

 

[ChrisH]

On 31 Aug 2004 23:42:31 -0700, (e-mail address removed) (macleme) wrote:

I've seen this dreaded message more than once myself.
From the Promise BIOS screen your No.2 drive (connected to the SATA 2
port) is non-functional, this may be because the actual drive is bad,
or more likely the connections are bad. SATA cables are prone to
disconnecting themselves so check that first.

On my P4B the Promise RAID chip simply failed, your's will be a newer
chip but it's still a possibility. Less likely than a bad connection
though.

Even after correcting for a bad connection you may still end up with
the array being offline. Now, provided both drives are being detected
OK, the workaround is to go into the Promise BIOS and delete the
array, then re-create without altering any settings. This does work (I
did it) and it puts the array back online. Do not do this unless the
BOTH drives are showing under Drive Assignments.