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First off, sorry for my poor english. Okay?

So, folks, my DELL PowerEdge R420 is stopped. It's RAID-5 designed with SAS x4.

But, two drives are in trouble:

  • One is under S.M.A.R.T. error.
  • The other one is simply failed.

So, it's right the RAID-5 won't do the things properly. I mean the server isn't booting the OS any more. It's saying there's an unknown filesystem.

If do I replace the HDD/SAS with SMART-error then can it run again?

Because I know the RAID-5 needs 3 hdds at least to run with no problem.

I can't call the "foreign config". It just shows "clear config" and only.

Ps.: I tried to remove the total failed hdd and run the RAID-5 on "clear config". No success though.

Ps.: I need to recover the data. Seriously.

See my printscreen below:

OpenManage

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Hakuno
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3 Answers3

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The HDD with SMART error is not failed, it is only predicted to fail in a relatively short time. To restart your array, you had to replace the failed disk only, let it rebuild, and then replace the predicted-to-fail drive.

However, if you cleared the array config, you are now on a very bad situation, as basically you erased any metadata both from your disk and the RAID card.

I strongly suggest you to stop here and to call a real IT professional to help you recover your data.

shodanshok
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  • The OpenManage shows the array as should be, even after I've called the "clear config" when I took off the total-failed one. I hope the metadata is there still. How could I check it out? And yes, the best option seems to await the DELL support as told. Thank you so. – Hakuno Jan 24 '17 at 20:08
  • Ps.: my support expirated :( so it enforces my need to understand the situation – Hakuno Jan 24 '17 at 20:12
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You'll have to try to rebuild the drive in order to get the data off.
If the drive rebuilds, you're all good. If it doesn't rebuild you better have a backup....

Yes, you need a new/good drive in order to replace the bad drives.

If it's under warranty (2 years is standard), call Dell and they will send you new drives for free, next business day shipping.

During bootup you can get to the raid controller menu. Once you have replaced the DEAD drive with a new one, you mark the new one as "ready" and boot up the server. It should start to rebuild.

The predictive failure does not mean it's bad yet. You just have to hope that it doesn't die while trying to rebuild the RAID. If/when the new drive is done being rebuilt, you can replace the 2nd drive (the predictive failure one).

Greg
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Any chance you can stick a good drive in and mark as spare and see if it will try to rebuild?

FACTORY909
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  • So I need a good drive even to try. All right? Indeed it is needed. I just wanted to know the chance I would have to recover the data before of acquiring the new drive. But, it sounds bad since I can't force the foreign config for let me backup the data with only 3 hdds yet. Could I force it..? Thanks since then. – Hakuno Jan 24 '17 at 19:52
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    None of this should have anything to do with foreign configs. Don't force anything if you don't understand what's going on. Call an expert if you need to. – Spooler Jan 24 '17 at 20:26
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    Listen to SmallLoan, unless you have a spare you can stick in. – FACTORY909 Jan 24 '17 at 20:27
  • I discovered the major issue. My filesystem is corrupted too. Thanks! – Hakuno Jan 25 '17 at 20:13
  • What was the major issue? – FACTORY909 Jan 25 '17 at 21:26