RAID5 problem on A8N-SLI Deluxe : can't RE-use same HDs again !

[Toto]

I've just bought a A8N-SLI Deluxe, and I've made a first and good test on
the RAID controler : I succeeded in creating a 4 HDs RAID5 bunch &
installing XP on it. It boots, it works ! But that was just a first
trial...

As I intended to install the system on a single drive (to 'isolate' the
RAID5 bunch) I've tried to re-use the same 4 HDs on the SIL controller,
plus a single one with the system on the other controller.
I've reformated the 4 Maxtor HDs (high, then low level from the SIL
controller Bios), but now the RAID Bios utility doesn't let me build a
RAID5 bunch again : it says the disks are 'Reserved' and I can't build
anything with it. And of course, Windows doesn't see the Disks anymore. It
seems that even with a Lowlevel formatting, the disks still keep an
information that prevents their use for building a RAID5 bunch...

Any idea of a solution (or at least an explanation...) ?

 

[KC Computers]

I've just bought a A8N-SLI Deluxe, and I've made a first and good test on

the RAID controler : I succeeded in creating a 4 HDs RAID5 bunch &
installing XP on it. It boots, it works ! But that was just a first
trial...
As I intended to install the system on a single drive (to 'isolate' the
RAID5 bunch) I've tried to re-use the same 4 HDs on the SIL controller,
plus a single one with the system on the other controller.
I've reformated the 4 Maxtor HDs (high, then low level from the SIL
controller Bios), but now the RAID Bios utility doesn't let me build a
RAID5 bunch again : it says the disks are 'Reserved' and I can't build
anything with it. And of course, Windows doesn't see the Disks anymore. It
seems that even with a Lowlevel formatting, the disks still keep an
information that prevents their use for building a RAID5 bunch...
Any idea of a solution (or at least an explanation...) ?

There is indeed information left on them if you did not delete the RAID
array
first. Try hooking them up the same way they were and delete the array.

 

[Toto]

Thank you Kevin for your answer...

You're right, I should have done it first... In fact, I've tried many times
to rebuild this "genuine" array, but the utility doesn't say anything else
than 'reserved'...
There was one stage of my trials at which the Raid Controller utility could
see two HDs of the "old" RAid array, but asked for more of course...
That's why my idea - a bad one probably - was to low-level format the HD's,
to get everything "erased". Isn't there any other way now ? I mean, if you
get some former RAid 5 HDs from someone else, there must be a solution to
"clean" this kind of information even if you can't go back to the genuine
arrays ? Or are you just supposed to throw the HDs away ?

 

[KC Computers]

Thank you Kevin for your answer...

You're right, I should have done it first... In fact, I've tried many
times
to rebuild this "genuine" array, but the utility doesn't say anything else
than 'reserved'...> There was one stage of my trials at which the Raid
Controller utility could
see two HDs of the "old" RAid array, but asked for more of course...
That's why my idea - a bad one probably - was to low-level format the
HD's,
to get everything "erased". Isn't there any other way now ? I mean, if you
get some former RAid 5 HDs from someone else, there must be a solution to
"clean" this kind of information even if you can't go back to the genuine
arrays ? Or are you just supposed to throw the HDs away ?

You don't need to throw the drives away. Does the RAID controller
see any of them now when they are all connected? If so, will it let you set
up any sort of array (i.e. 0, 1, 5) just for testing? If so, the drive info
causing your problem might get cleared.

 

[KC Computers]

You may need to fix the MBRs for each hard drives:

To clear the MBR, boot from the XP cd and go into the Recovery console
(Repair). In command prompt type the following

fixmbr (new master boot record creation)
fixboot (incase you get message cannot find ntldr)
bootcfg /rebuild (incase the boot.ini is damaged)

Alternatively, boot from a Win98 bootable floppy and type this

fdisk /mbr

 

[Toto]

You may need to fix the MBRs for each hard drives:

To clear the MBR, boot from the XP cd and go into the Recovery
console (Repair). In command prompt type the following

fixmbr (new master boot record creation)
fixboot (incase you get message cannot find ntldr)
bootcfg /rebuild (incase the boot.ini is damaged)

Alternatively, boot from a Win98 bootable floppy and type this

fdisk /mbr

Thanks again, Kevin, I think you've given me the solution (because no, I
couldn't set up any kind of array more with the HDs...). That's exactly the
kind of thing I wanted to do without knowing exactly how to. But I can't
try it now because my office (where the machine is) is closed until
wednesday...

I'll also record this for another time (if any...).

As you seem to know this kind of problem quite well, let me ask one more
question : once my RAID 5 array built, what about my data if the Asus MB
happened to be out ? Do I have a solution to 'mount' my array, or at least
the HDs and some readable data on an other "non A8N-SLI Deluxe" machine ?
Or will I loose all the data if that happens when the A8N-SLI Deluxe is out
of production ?

 

[KC Computers]

You may need to fix the MBRs for each hard drives:

Thanks again, Kevin, I think you've given me the solution (because no, I
couldn't set up any kind of array more with the HDs...). That's exactly
the
kind of thing I wanted to do without knowing exactly how to. But I can't
try it now because my office (where the machine is) is closed until
wednesday...> I'll also record this for another time (if any...).

OK, let us know if it fixes the problem. We've seen similiar issues like
that
before with customer systems.

As you seem to know this kind of problem quite well, let me ask one more
question : once my RAID 5 array built, what about my data if the Asus MB
happened to be out ? Do I have a solution to 'mount' my array, or at least
the HDs and some readable data on an other "non A8N-SLI Deluxe" machine ?
Or will I loose all the data if that happens when the A8N-SLI Deluxe is
out
of production ?

If you wish to use your RAID 5 array in another system (after setting it up
with the RAID controller chip on the ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard),
then it will need to use something which uses the same Silicon Image 3114R
RAID controller chip. Othewise, your data will be in accessible. If that's
something that you worry about, then buying a separate PCI RAID SATA
controller is recommended.