Forcing a RAID pair during repair

Thread Starter

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Vista computer died. One HDD of RAID 1 pair mechanical failure.
Bought matching terrabyte HDD's, bios does not recognize them as a RAID pair. Am I doing something wrong? Will Vista Home Premium install disk correct them to a RAID pair? Do you need more information? Do I force it into a RAID1 pair after BIOS after installation? Can you RAID1 a pair of partitioned HDD's?

Dell Studio 540
 

R!f@@

Joined Apr 2, 2009
9,918
As a far as I know, for windows to see a raid unit, bios must be configured for raid configuration.
With a faulty HDD, it is unlikely for the RAID to work.

Try checking the HDD as a native HDD by plugging in one HDD at a time at configuring the bios for native HDD support. This will help you in confirming if the HDD is working properly. As long as you does not format the HDD in windows or via ur raid utility tht loads before windows ur data will be safe.

I believe RAID 1 is a mirror config if I am not mistaken. So say if one HDD fails ur raid utility will inform u of the failed HDD. Then all u need is to put in a new drive of the same capacity or more. Once u put in a new drive the utility will take care of the rest.
 

Thread Starter

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
So much fun! The Dell "driver" disk will not install the RAID driver. It just wants to "diagnose" the computer. I have to download the RAID driver from Dell. Dell has been trying to detect my computer for at least 30 minutes, instead of detecting the Service Tag number that I entered to find the drivers. Meanwhile, Dell refuses to download the drivers to my computer until it detects that my computer is the one I haven't installed any hard drives in.

I am beginning to understand why The Geek Squad says any computer with a bad HDD is, "unrepairable".

Edit: I see. Dell is having trouble with Internet Explorer 8. Good reason. I have Firefox. Probably doesn't look at all like Internet Explorer.
 

Dr.killjoy

Joined Apr 28, 2013
1,196
So much fun! The Dell "driver" disk will not install the RAID driver. It just wants to "diagnose" the computer. I have to download the RAID driver from Dell. Dell has been trying to detect my computer for at least 30 minutes, instead of detecting the Service Tag number that I entered to find the drivers. Meanwhile, Dell refuses to download the drivers to my computer until it detects that my computer is the one I haven't installed any hard drives in.

I am beginning to understand why The Geek Squad says any computer with a bad HDD is, "unrepairable".

Edit: I see. Dell is having trouble with Internet Explorer 8. Good reason. I have Firefox. Probably doesn't look at all like Internet Explorer.
This is why I build custom computers instead of playing with oem crap...
 

Thread Starter

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
This is why I build custom computers instead of playing with oem crap...
I wish!

This guy has enough trouble trying to understand Windows Vista, let alone something "custom". His hard drives are so messed up! One simply quit and the other one has 8 toolbars, some kind of repair program that starts up 3 copies every time the computer starts. I can't uninstall anything because "remove programs" doesn't recognize that I am already logged in as an administrator. MSCONFIG is corrupted and won't start. I can't change the ridiculous 25 character random password he installed because the "change password" part will not accept any typing from the keyboard...so I just bought it 2 new hard drives. Now I have to install a RAID driver, right after I install Internet Explorer 9 in my computer because Dell won't download to anything except Internet Explorer.

Lucky me. He packed it up and took it home. Maybe he will refuse to let me work on it any more (I hope)!

and I didn't even get to the part where he paid The Geek Squad $2000 to "fix" his computer, then lost the backup disk.

Ahhh! Shoot me now!

Edit: I learned from Riffa here and researching on the Dell site that I'm supposed to install drivers from an ISO image after Vista complains that it can not finish installing. I believe I can do that, considering that I had the sense to write down the Driver numbers before I took the old Hard Drives out. (If I did more than one in the last 3 years, I'd be better at this.)
 
Last edited:

kubeek

Joined Sep 20, 2005
5,793
This is why I use software raid and only for the two backup data disks, not for system or running data. The joy of re-creating system raid partition, ideally hardware one from an unobtainable motherboard, would just be too much.
It´s much easier to backup the system disk every once in a while.
 

t06afre

Joined May 11, 2009
5,934
I have never had problem with this on DELLs before. The computer should come with a software that can rebuild damage raid configurations. Only in severe failure you have to use the bios setup. If your computer has raid controller from Intel look for the "Intel® Matrix Storage Manager" item in the start menu
 

Thread Starter

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I have downloaded all the drivers for that Dell. Apparently one of them is for making the RAID configuration. I think I need to make a bootable disk to execute those 7 executables during the re-install of Vista, which I haven't figured out yet.

The big problem with backups is that the ding-a-ling that owns the computer keeps making up incredible passwords, then forgets them, making all the backups useless. Typically, his passwords look like: Wqc. ^<:)9s&- k#@mTF r4*"
Completely unhackable from my point of view.

He did pay The Geek Squad $2000 to "fix" his computer and make a backup disk, then lost the disk, then left his computer on and logged in so his renegade wife could download every virus she could find, half a dozen "toolbars" and Dog knows what else.
I still have one old HDD that has his old OS on it, but I'm afraid to plug it in to anything. My computer would probably catch AIDS from it. Safest thing to do is start with a clean load from the Vista Install disk, but it will not finish loading because it doesn't have the drivers for THAT computer and the Drivers disk from Dell doesn't install drivers, it merely runs a "diagnostic" GUI. If I spent my time "diagnosing" the computer, it would probably say, "Drivers not installed". Go figure.

Because Vista will not finish loading, there is no "start" menu. There is no Welcome page. There is no login page. It just says "Can not finish installation. Please put disk in drive." So, I put the Vista disk in the drive and installed it 3 times, but it just keeps saying it can't finish.

I spent today installing an ISO maker in my computer but when I tell it to make a bootable CD with the driver exe's in it, it says, "Please put bootable CD in disk drive." If I had a bootable CD, I wouldn't need a bootable CD maker!!!!!

Meanwhile, I was required to install Dell Detect on my Gateway computer or Dell wouldn't make an ISO file for the driver files. That required .NET 4.0 full. Having finished all that, Dell then stopped offering the option of downloading an ISO file, and I accidentally picked up 2 tool bars and an automatic updater program. Uninstall wouldn't take them out. System restore wouldn't take them out. I finally opened C: and deleted each program by hand then ran a registry fixer to delete their HKeys.

MY computer is almost back to normal. I have the 7 driver files on a thumb drive. Now, how do I get them to execute on the sick computer?
 
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