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HDR / The work we take on / RAID sets and servers

Servers · failed RAID sets

Hull server recovery. The box will not boot, but the disks inside are usually the healthy part.

The hard drives in a RAID system normally function correctly. It is the other components that have failed: a controller with a set list which doesn't match its drives, a prompt which does damage regardless of your response, and a cache that was holding writes at the time the mains power was lost. All members are copied initially. Work is done on those copies. Your RAID card remains within the server. The entire volume is returned, including file shares, databases and virtual machines. An accountancy firm in the Old Town and a freight company based near Hedon Road, both in Hull, send the disks from the same kind of box.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs Free to look at, then one fixed price Parcels come in from Beverley, Grimsby and Skegness

An engineer will take the details
0800 6890668

Putting a name to the symptom.

Nothing similar? Go to the triage →
What you seeWhat the fault isWhat to try
PERC card: Foreign Configuration DetectedThere exists a discrepancy in layout on the drives versus the layout in the card's memory. Therefore, instead of guessing what should happen next, it simply halts operation. No data loss occurred.Leave the screen free of any input
1786 — Drive Array Recovery Needed (HP)It began rebuilding the array, however at some point along the way, it appears to have failed or become stuck.Turn it off. First, image each drive separately.
After a power outage, amber LED lights show on the drive(s)Write processes halted mid-process. The contents of the cache remain unknown. There has been no change to the configuration of the drives.Never turn it on again
The server boots successfully; however, the logical data volume is missing.The problem lies either in the RAID card's configuration or the underlying filesystem. Everything sitting underneath both layers remains intact.It usually comes back okay.
RAID card failureMember ordering, stripe size, and parity rotation exist on the physical disk layer.You do not need to replace the RAID card.
The files were successfully duplicated, however none of the previously working VMs or databases will run.A successful duplication does not equate to a consistent duplication. Therefore, only consistent data will run.We now view this as a recovery process for a database.
Send it to us: get a quote first, either over the telephone or via our online quote form. Then carefully package it to prevent damage in transit, insure it for its full value and post the package using a trackable service to the Leeds intake laboratory; alternatively you may drop it off there (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, no appointment needed). For laptops, PCs, Macs and recorders, we require only the drive unit itself (storage soldered to the board is not taken on; if you're not sure which kind you have, ring us first); for RAID arrays and servers, we just need the individual disks, labelled by their respective bays; for a NAS, send the drives if you can remove them, but if not, please include the entire NAS device. A single external drive goes whole, with its cable and power adapter. We pay for return postage. If you would like an engineer to inspect the packaging prior to taping the box closed, please give us a call first. Further information is available on our sending page.

The server disks already know the layout.

PERC & MegaRAID cardsBoth of the above-mentioned cards write to the last sectors of each drive using a standardised format called DDF. The DDF can then be read from the images and used to rebuild the set with the controller remaining within the box.
HP Smart Array cardsHP uses a different method. Each member's RIS structure is located at the beginning of each member. The parity block is shifted one stripe from its normal location. Use a default configuration preset aimed at that area and you will get a volume that was never configured on your server.
The prompt where both answers hurtLeave this one alone. Import may overlay stale metadata across stripes that were entirely clean. Clear will delete the layout from every disk. Nothing will ever recreate the layout. First create an image of each member and the prompt will no longer be hazardous.
Writes left in the cacheA write counts as complete once battery-backed memory holds it, long before it hits a platter. Power loss during a flush causes damage to reside within the file system. There is nothing to indicate it happened. This alone is the reason to use imaging.

From the box arriving to the files going back.

01

A case number first, then a free diagnosis Free

Every piece of gear that shows up receives a case number on the very same day it arrives. An engineer examines it and determines what is really wrong with it and there is no charge for this. We give you straight language about which files we will be able to copy from the disk and which ones we won't be able to. Then we provide you with a single price quote, in writing, based upon these findings. We don't begin working on anything until you agree to the quoted price.

The diagnosis is freeOne price, put in writingNothing to pay yet
02

Leave the server exactly as it stopped

Turn the server off. Remove the disks individually and label each with the corresponding bay number they originated from. Never respond to anything requested via console. In a lab environment, each member is imaged separately using hardware designed specifically for the purpose (this includes the members the controller has already discarded). None of the files contained within any of the original members are opened until each individual image is completed.

Each disk imaged on its ownIncluding the write-offs
03

Put the set back together in software

The DDF/RIS records were recovered along with the images. By reading them you receive the RAID level, stripe size, which bay number each member occupied and (on RAID levels 5 & 6) which direction the parity rotates. That represents all the geometry required to rebuild the set within software. Once rebuilt in software, if there is a dead card, it does not matter.

Geometry read off the disksNo original controller needed
04

Copied is one thing. Opening is another.

Whatever was on top (NTFS, ReFS, XFS, ext4 or a VMFS datastore) will be repaired on the rebuilt copy. No information is ever sent back to your drives. Once this happens, everything gets thoroughly checked out: guest machines boot up, shares mount, databases attach & files open.

Repairs done on images onlyProved by booting and mounting it
05

You sign it off, then it comes back

You will not be charged while you think about this. First, you receive a list of everything that was recovered from the drive. Once you have seen the list and given us the go-ahead, the bill comes next. Files are returned to you on media purchased specifically for this job and we cover the return postage as well. Your job is kept open by us until you can view them on your personal computer.

You approve the listing firstCopied onto new mediaReturn postage at our cost

What turns up most often

  • The map is not always located at the same location on every card: HP places RIS at the beginning of each member; PERC & MegaRAID place DDF at the end of the members. If you look at the wrong end, then you are just guessing about the geometry.
  • Evidence exists even after the drive is ejected: a member that was removed weeks ago may have the only current copy of some regions. Therefore, the images are compared to each other byte for byte and nothing here is taken on trust.
  • Generic presets get Smart Array wrong: HP shifts the parity block a stripe from where standard tools expect it, so any volume built by such a tool never existed. It must be built again using HP's scheme.
  • The cache battery is always one of the first questions asked: whether the write-back data made it to the platters decides which state the file system is in. This will be determined early on, before anyone is given an expectation.

What those two options really do: Import assumes that the foreign metadata is correct and allows it to overwrite the configuration that the card is currently operating under. Clear wipes the layout off all members, and there is no undo. Both sit one key press away from being executed, with absolutely nothing to warn you about these actions; once full images exist, though, neither action can take anything away from you. Imaging is not just one part of this process. The whole job depends on imaging.

One case from the casebook.

HU · HUL-2026-0816LOGGED ✓

A flat cache battery, and the ProLiant asking questions

The power had been off long enough for the cache battery to drain. When the power went back on, the controller asked the practice a question to which none of its staff could safely respond, so no one responded. Each member was copied prior to attempting other things. The array's metadata (the data about the array) was read back from those image copies. The parity rotation calculation was performed using the copies. The set was reconstructed by assembling it with nothing but copies. The entire practice database opened normally and all writes up to the final write made while the cache was functioning were accessible.

Database came up complete5 days after it landed

Before you box it up.

Do these first

  • Document every display screen generated by the controller.
  • Mark each drive with the bay number where it resided.
  • Obtain a quote prior to sending all disks (including those that appear to be non-functional).
  • Identify what type of data was contained in the array (SQL, Exchange, VMs, file shares)

What not to do

  • Clicking "Import" or "Clear" at that prompt.
  • Adding a replacement disk and allowing the unit to rebuild.
  • Updating the firmware on the controller.
  • Turning the server back on before the disks are imaged.

Asked most weeks, answered here.

The server is dead. Is everything on it gone?

Almost never. Usually, there is no damage to the disks and the problem lies at least one level higher than the disk: either the controller's records of what has happened in the array, or the map of where everything in the array lives, or simply a file system that has become disorganised. If you leave the power off, and if you don't provide an answer to the console, then the odds will be working in your favour.

'Foreign Configuration Detected' — what does that mean?

The configuration as represented on the disks does not match what the controller expects. Swapping controllers, removing and replacing a disk in a different position than previously occupied, or a card that is failing will all create this scenario. At this juncture, this is simply doing what it was designed to do. Both Import and Clear actions result in loss of data, therefore image all disks before proceeding in either direction. Once you've done that neither direction can reach any meaningful data.

Does the RAID controller need to come too?

No. Each member contains a description of how they're laid out: DDF is an open standard for PERC and MegaRAID; HP creates its own RIS format. This is read from the images and the set is created in software again. A replacement card is never required.

Will the databases and virtual machines actually run?

Typically yes, however this represents two separate tasks. Task number one is retrieving a complete VMDK or MDF from the rebuilt volume. Task number two is mounting that VMDK under a hypervisor environment or attaching that MDF within a SQL Server application environment. That second task is essentially another database recovery process unto itself.

What people read after this.

A RAID 5 rebuild → Western Digital drives → Asus laptops → Everything we take in →

A drive left switched off loses nothing more.

Leave it off. There are only a few start attempts left in your failing drive and each attempt uses up a little more of what remains. Our complimentary diagnosis will determine what files are readable.

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