First Restore DOA - Need Help
I tried to restore from a single SATA drive to a RAID 0 configuration. My computer is a Dell 8400 which came with the RAID 0 configuration. Last year it crashed I threw in a single SATA drive temporarily. I used TI9 to make a backup of the SATA drive, no problem. I read on this forum that I should be able to restore back to a RAID 0 config.
I installed the drives, turned the RAID on in the BIOS, created a new RAID array. I used the Windows XP disc to create a new c: partition and formatted using diskpart from the recovery console before starting the backup process. Next I used Bart PE with the TI plugin to pull the backup from a 1TB USB drive. Upon booting the Intel RAID screen says the array is bootable, press F6 when PE loads to install Intel raid driver, all good. TI starts fine in Bart Pe and sees the backup. Chose restore and let it work. Twelve hours later it's done. I did not restore the MBR, just the backup disk contents (Windows XP SP3).
Turn computer off and restart, now it goes to the Windows failed to boot page. Do you want to normal boot, safe mode etc. Hardware has not been changed, drivers should be all good. I still have the single SATA drive if this doesn't work out.
Any clues?
Philip
Philip,
Twelve hours seems a really long time for the restore, especially from BartPE. What size is the image file?
Is Winodws giving a BSOD 0x7B error when you try to start it normally?
Are the RAID drivers installed in the image you restored? If not, you're going to have problems.
Is the SATA non-RAID drive currently disconnected? Is the RAID "drive" the only drive connected when you try to boot it?
Am I to understand correctly (at least concerning BIOS RAID) that images created from a RAID 0 set can be restored to a non-raid drive, but that OSes installed on non-raid drives would not have the drivers necessary to run if restored on a RAID drive?
It depends on the exact situation. Some chipsets are more forgiving than others.
Going from RAID to non-RAID is easier because Windows will usually drop back to "basic" drivers and allow the system to boot. From there, you can install any driver updates you need.
Going from non-RAID to RAID is more tricky. The problem is that Windows can't access the drive past a certain point if it doesn't have the correct drivers. This causes a BSOD 0x7B. If you install the RAID drivers while on the single drive (you may have to do a force install) and then create a backup image, when you restore the image the RAID drivers are already installed and Windows can find them and access the drives. While this doesn't work every time, it stands a much better chance than nothing.
For example:
- Have single drive booting properly.
- Connect the RAID drives.
- Change the BIOS controller mode to enable RAID mode.
- Setup the RAID 0 configuration.
- Boot back into Windows on the single drive.
- Install any RAID drivers to allow accessing the RAID 0 setup.
- Create an image of the Windows partition.
- Remove/disconnect the single drive and restore the Windows image to the RAID 0 drive.
- Try booting the RAID 0 drive.
Other solutions involve inserting the drivers into the restored system either as part of the restore or afterwards. The TI 2010 Plus Pack supports this with the UR feature.
Restore files was 240 GB from a 1tb USB drive.
No BSOD, only the windows did not boot correctly screen shows up.
I'm going from a single SATA drive to RAID 0
Yes the SATA drive is completely removed from the system.
Philip
A very clear explanation, sir. Thank you.
Are you sure there's no BSOD? If you have Windows set to automatically reboot on a BSOD (the default), it will only be a quick flash and Windows will reboot (very easy to miss). This option can be disabled from the Windows "Safe Mode" menu.
If no BSOD, exactly what happens when you try to boot Windows "normally"?
Problem solved. Computer is up and running, typing this response from it. The Intel RAID driver was not installed. I did a xp repair to install the driver.
Thanks for all your replies.
Philip