Pavilion d4999t-2 recovering files from dual Raid drives

[NVBob]

I have(or had) Pavilion d4999t-2 - product number KT82AV#ABA. The motherboard is toast.  Can I recover my files from the dual Raid drives?  It had been a while since I did a file back up. (Yes I was a lazy boy).  I know there are companies that can do this but 800.00 dollars min is a lot to pay.

[NVBob]

Hey thanks for the answer.  I am not a geek, old or new, I am a plumber!  I did put both of the drives in a "clamshell" that would connect them by usb to my new HP computer but they were not recognized.  My new computer wants me to format them.  I did not try to install them in another computer.  I have a friend that works for our school district here.  He wanted me to find out if the Raid system was software based or otherwise.  You mentioned Raid 0.  Do we know for sure that is what I have?  I don't know what that means but I do know it is important.

[NVBob]

Thanks old-geekster.  I now know what I need to know.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

RAID 1 gives you full redundancy.  If you are using RAID 1 then disconnect one of the good hard drives and install it on a good PC or use an external 3.5 drive enclosure.

If you are using RAID 0 then your data might be lost.  Trying to install two RAID 0 hard drives under a differnet set of hardware might not ever work.  The RAID controller, bios level and drivers would need to be the same to have any chance to get the array pair to be recognized without going through paring initialization.

[erico · Accepted solution]

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NVBob wrote:

I have(or had) Pavilion d4999t-2 - product number KT82AV#ABA. The motherboard is toast.  Can I recover my files from the dual Raid drives?  It had been a while since I did a file back up. (Yes I was a lazy boy).  I know there are companies that can do this but 800.00 dollars min is a lot to pay.

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Hi,

How have you arrived at the conclusion that your motherboard is toast?

If you disconnect the hard drive SATA connectors and every other external device except a keyboard and external video and then power it up, what does it do?

You would have to have a motherboard that was identical in all respects to recover a RAID set or spend (as you now now) insane amounts of $$. Even with an identical motherboard (identical Intel storage controller and chipset) the RAID set may not be recoverable. You can not move the drives to another motherboard and expect  all to be well again. RAID is a special case and it just does not work out that way.  If the RAID set was RAID 0 then the data is spread across two drives. That means no redundancy. When one drive fails your data is gone. If the drive set was RAID 1 then replacing the failed drive can be done. The RAID set can be rebuilt by the Intel Matrix storage software solution.

Here is a Wikipedia article that has a reasonable explanation of the many types of RAID and their advantages and disadvantages.  The acronym RAID stands for Redundant array of inexpensive disks. Redundancy, in Information Technology is the "duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe".

[NVBob]

ok