Vista - RAID HD failure with Vista-no boot after repair

I had a hard drive bearing failure on my Gateway desktop with two WD 500GB SATA hard drives set up for RAID-0. The computer is OEM in every way. I replaced the failed unit with an identical part and per the instructions; I reset the disks to non-RAID; deleted RAID volume; created a new RAID volume and now the RAID volume status is “normal” and “bootable”, and the hard drives show as “member disks”.

When I try to run the Gateway System Recovery from my recovery disks, I get a message that says no operating system is installed, or partition corrupted. I then hit “R” to perform a full system recovery, which first sets up a recovery partition. It appears to be progressing normally to this point. The recovery continues through the Gateway logo and then I get a blue screen that says: “A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.” It goes on to tell me to remove the hard drives and to make sure they are properly configured and terminated and then to run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption.

Does this sound like a Vista (Home Premium 32bit) problem, or if not, can anyone tell me how to run CHKDSK /F, when I can’t boot?

Hi GHS, Welcome to the Forum.

I need a few answers

Did the PC come with RAID installed?
Did it have a restore partition on the RAID HDD?
How many recovery discs do you have? and what size are they? are these CD's?

You say that you changed the damaged HDD as per instructions what instructions?
I doubt you can reach a command prompt, but just in case Type chkdsk /f /r
You might reach the screen with your backup discs See attached
I hope this helps

Pooch

Pooch...thanks for responding. I'm not very computer savvy, so I hope I can answer your questions.

Yes, it came with RAID installed, but I don't know if it had a restore partition. I have three recovery CD's with 680MB on each disk.

I did a web search and found the instructions, but wasn't smart enough to print them out, so I honestly don't recall which website had them. I was searching for Western Digital info, but I know I didn't find the RAID setup info at their website.

I did try booting after replacing the bad drive and before I performed the volume changes, but got an error message that showed the new drive as a non-RAID. It wouldn't let me change it until I performed the sequence noted in my original post.

I tried typing the command...no luck.

Thanks again.

There is either a problem with the HDD's, the array or your Installation software.

Recreate the RAID 0 array with 64k sector size, insert the recovery disks and if it gives you a screen to load 3rd party SATA/RAID drivers Install these off either a driver/utility disk or thumbdrive or usb floppy.
Install the O/S again


provide your model # for more info on re-installation requirements (i.e., SATA driver)

Ps- you can perform a disk check outside of Windows using the Recovery Utility and command prompt:
Create a Recovery Disc
burn ISO with BURNCDCC

To access CMD, and run the disk check command
Boot off created recovery disk (It will look like this)
then click Command Prompt

copy/past the following and hit enter:

CHKDSK /F

Are you absolutely sure that you had RAID 0 installed on your PC?
Do you have a vista install DVD as well as the recovery discs?

I have visited the Gateway site and downloaded instructions for a Gateway PC using RAID. It might not apply to your exact model but the information that it contains should also work for you.
When a Full system recovery is mentioned it is always about Recovery Discs and windows Install DVD or Recovery Discs and HDD Image.
This means that if you had RAID0 then you must have an Install DVD. If you have no Install DVD then you had another RAID setup, if this was the case by making a RAID 0 You will have destroyed the HDD image.
I hope you answer with a yes to the DVD then we can help you.
If your answer is no then you need to contact Gateway for help. There is a sticker on the side of your PC with the contact No.
Here is the Address for the Help sheet;
http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals...R2.pdf#page=42
Have a look at it it may still help you. The info about RAID is under Chapter Advanced Hardware Setup and the recovery info is under Chapter Troubleshooting.
There are also use full links to the Gateway site and contact numbers for support.

Should you have any other questions or need help still then feel free to ask.

I hope this helps

Pooch

To do chkdsk /f /r you have to write it exactly chkdsk(space)/f(space)/r

Yes, it had RAID-0 installed from the factory.

Latest info: After several tries, I was able to reinstall windows from the OS disk, but not the data from my three recovery disks. Based on the looks of the desktop---black, with only the recycle bin icon visible and certain missing functions that should be available with the basic OS--it appeared that the Vista installation was incomplete or corrupted.

After the computer had been operating for some time, one of the hard drives began to buzz, so I shut it down. Now, when I attempt to boot, the “disk volume information” screen shows an error occurred on the other old hard drive and I again get the blue screen. I again tried to recover from the disks and could not, so it appears I have another hard drive with a mechanical failure.

Is there anything about a RAID configuration that would lead to both drives failing almost simultaneously?

Since I was using only one-fourth of the available storage capacity before it failed, could I simply convert from RAID and use a single drive? I’m not that concerned about speed and I doubt I will ever need the storage capacity available on a single 500GB drive.

Perhaps you switched out the good HDD, and left the bad one in.
In a RAID 0 the computer sees both drives as a single HDD.

If you do go without an array, you will most likely not be able to re-image the drives off the recovery disks (which is a factory Array image), as you cannot image an arrayed setup on non-arrayed HDD's (or vice-versa). Be prepared to do a fresh O/S install from a Vista DVD.

No, it's definitely the old drive. The computer sees one HDD, but the individual serial numbers show up on the "Disk Volume Information" screen.

Thanks for your help...looks like the best solution is to order another hard drive.

To be honest, if you have an install disc I would just go with that, The recovery discs contain the drivers that you need and bloatware (other programs) from the manufacturer that you probably do not need, Drivers can be downloaded either from Gateway or Direct from the hardware manufacturer.
This applies to single disc or RAID setup.



With RAID the chances that a HDD will fail is bigger, but only because you are using more HDD's
It is however not impossible that both fail.

Yes you can as I said before Just use the install DVD not the recovery discs. You can always make new backups when you are finished.
I doubt that you will notice too bigger speed difference, certainly not with normal usage.
You can also use more HDD's This is useful for backups should anything happen to your main drive.

I agree with rive, you should double check that you have switched the right disc.
If you reinstall non RAID on the new HDD, when you are finished you could then check the old HDD's again (one at a time) to see which is defect.

+1



I take it you are going to try RAID again, Let us know how you get on.

Pooch

I decided to order another hard drive and try to keep it in the OEM configuration. Many thanks to everyone for the help, the enlightenment, and the suggestions...it's greatly appreciated.

When I get the new drive installed, I'll report on my progress.