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Raid 5 Repair


I need some help with a RAID 5 array which is attached to an IBM server in the 346 X series. I use this drive to store data as part of my college computer system. There has been an on-going issue with one of the hard drives installed in the array, including constantly stalling and alerting to errors, to the extent that I finally ran a diagnostics on all of the 5 disks which are connected to the RAID 5 configuration. I have been able to see that this disk which is causing all the problems is corrupt, and the computer has labelled defunct. I decided to remove it and put in a new hard drive. I put the new drive into the same slot, and waited for the system to rebuild. I thought that there would be no more problems, but when I looked at the system after the rebuild said that it was 100% complete, the system could not boot up at all. I can’t see the drives or the array, and I can only see an empty server file. I have a lot of data on the files that I need to get hold of.


I have a DELL PowerEdge 2600 which is connected to a RAID 5 array. I have 3 hard drives in the array, all of them configured to the RAID 5 controller, and I use it in my home to save data from several different computers. I am trying to attach another external and bootable hard drive to the system, and this seems to have caused problems with the whole array. The computer thinks that the server is not online, as that is what the Device Manager says, and that there is nothing on the server but an empty file. I know that it should have more folders, with each drive having its own folder. I am not able to see any of the data which I have saved to this drive, and I don’t have a backup in order to recover it back to the server. I have tried altering the settings on the BIOS so that I can get through the screens, but I have not been able to boot the server up at all. It simply puts up this fail message, and then drops all of the data disks on the RAID 5 off of the screen.

Raid 5 Repair

With a Raid 5 configuration in operation you will be able to save and write to a larger number of partitions than before and be able to do so in larger volumes over a larger network.

Raid 5 works on the principle that more than three disks are in operation and the failure of just one disk drive is not enough to bring the whole system to a stand still. That said however even if one disk fails it is better to have it repaired, replaced and the information retrieved than leave it to chance and hope that the system continues to work without error.

It is best to assume that if one disk has failed there is a possibility that others might over time so prevention is most definitely better than cure, especially when you take into consideration how much a Raid 5 configuration can cost.

If one drive fails on a Raid 5 array you should take into account the idea of unrecoverable read errors.

This is the principle that many professionals adhere to whereby information that has been lost from one drive may not be recoverable to the other drives in the array simply as a law of averages.

That said although it is suggested that this is often the case it can be avoided and by doing so the Raid array can continue to work at its original speed and in its original configuration.

You should be aware that if there were a drive failure on your Raid 5 array the array itself would not necessarily fail. The idea of a Raid 5 setup is so that it can continue to function with more than one drive malfunctioning leaving with you enough time to gain the advise of a professional as to how to proceed in order to rectify the problem.

To this end we recommend you call us here at Plymouth Data Recovery and with our 14+ years of experience in Raid and multi-disk servers we will be able to help you recover your information and may also be able to provide you with advise and expertise on how to maintain and get the most from your Raid 5 array.