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NT 4.0 server hard drive failure

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6 replies

by stephen sr.

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Disk manager says drive 3 failed in array. Log files say a drive failed and will no longer be used. Adaptec 2940 card's utilities says all drives fine after running verify drives.

Drive format is NTFS, so scan disk is not an option to check drive with.

This is a Seagate drive that is ~1.5 years old. Is this a bad drive or is it a Windows software raid issue? If windows issue, how do I reactivate/recover the drive? If drive is bad, how can I tell if it is scsi drive 1 or 3?

6 replies

by jdbooe

Does the system boot? Do you continually have drive failures? The utilities that came with the controller are generally best for finding bad drives or locating which drive is 1,2,3..etc by flashing the led's. If you don't have raid utilities then I would suggest pulling the drive with scsi id:3 and powering up the system, if it comes up normally, except for the msg: drive state critical, then you have the correct drive. Once you have the "bad drive" you can perform a Low Level Format on it thenreplace it in the array if it isn't bad. I have more info if you need.
Good Luck
jdbooe

by jdbooe

You are correct to boot one drive must be scsi id 0, the problem with a 3 drive array is if you pull the wrong drive with a dead drive you lose. I have had to resort to jumper settings to solve this problem, then Yes low level format before restoring raid configuration and regen. the array.
When I build a system similar to what you have I put scsi id 0 at the end of the cable next to the terminator, then id 1, then 2, then 3 etc.. you might be looking for scsi id 2, the last drive in the chain, assuming that the drives are set at 0,1,2.

by jdbooe

sorry I missed part of your comment. No the scsi controller DOES NOT require the next drive to be id 1, it can be 3 then 6 or almost anything. However it is good and common practice to start with 0 then 1,2,3..etc.

by stephen sr.

I ran the Seagate Tools last night and all 3 drives came back as fine. Two drives have 2 partions and the third has 1 partition (Drive 1 has C: and D: , drive 2 has D: then mirror of C: , last drive(failed drive) has D: only with unformatted space at end of drive). First drive has to be scsi 00 to boot, is the second drive required by the mirror to be scsi 01? Do I have to do a low level reformat before I regenerate the RAID5?

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