Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion

Fastest way to get files off a damaged RAID Mirror drive onto a new drive

(1/2) > >>

questorfla:
The raid Mirror failed on one drive.  The otther seems to be in decent shape but that makes it the only viable copy of over 10 years worth of files saved into one place so I am being careful.
My plan was to first try an actual copy onto a single new drive to make sure they were all readably.  That was first catch, Permissions.  I found a way to use a single right click via a reg edit that now does most of the grunt work that but t is still terribly slow and besides it is making my workbench system the owner.  So i probably will have to do again.

I was wondering if there is a way to change the permissions tro "everyone" in general such thatthe copy would work with no edits for permissions once i get the RAID Rebuilt?
.
I could just clone it (and may yet for safety) but in the end I need to confirm the files can be opened and read.  At  least sampling a few.
The fastest copy / backup utility I have found was Good-Sync although I had a few comments on Tera-copy, Karen's replicator. and one i had never heard of called Rich Copy 4 but it seemed a little dated.

Once this is all ready to roll, it is the better part of a 2TB drive that has to be copied to another 2TB drive.  Once i have THAT for a backup, then i will load it onto a 2TB RAID Mirror as it was for years.

Thanks for any names or suggested software. I think I am stuck on the permissions as i have seen nothing but people complaining about the the same issue.

Just wondered if anyone had any Preferences for speed and reliability when used in house, no Internet, this is just one system with  a ton or ram and a Fast processor and i just need to Copy the files to make sure they can be copied.  In case they are corrupted for any reason.  I have not had time to investigate the Raid crash but the other drive half is pretty dead.  Click of Death :(

Shades:
First of all: I only work with one system that has a raid setup, so I can only share my experiences with that system.

Raid solutions quickly become a stinkin' pile of c... when a disk fails when it is just set to striping (yeay...speed, boo...writing same data twice). Unless there is a contingency drive (preferably same brand, type and size) put in the raid setup, you likely will have a big problem trying to get your raid setup to rebuild itself.

I work here with a Linux server that has a software raid with 4 disks and a separate boot drive. Till now it was every time still able to rebuild itself after a calamity. But only because one of the 4 drives is there as a contingency. Now I always get confused with the numbering, but if I remember correctly this setup is called: raid 6. the number might not be correct, but it is a compromise between raid 5 and 10. Can't be bothered to look it up, sorry.

However, I never recommend a raid setup to anyone. Although the speed difference is noticeable, it isn't that much. It also doesn't weigh against the problems you run into when one of the standard consumer components breaks. It could take sometimes one or more days before the raid was usable again.

If there would still be an option to have the broken drive work long enough to clone it, you should be able to use the cloned drive to continue with the raid rebuilding. Turn the broken drive upside down and see if that helps (you would be amazed), There is also the trick of putting it in a zip-lock bag, make very sure there is no air inside the bag with the drive and putting it in the freezer for several hours. If you have no means of doing that, don't bother with this trick...which is a 'hail Mary' at best.

And when you do connect the drive again for cloning, work as efficient/fast as you can to get all data off it. Prepare beforehand everything you need so you waste as little time as possible. If the heat doesn't kill the drive, the condensation most likely will. In the mean time it is best to not use the system with the RAID at all. Avoiding too many discrepancies between drives and all that.

If it contains 10 years worth of data, where are the (confirmed) backups? Raid is not backup!!!!!!!!! Anyone who thinks it is...should seriously be punished by 10 whiplashes... so they will never ever forget that! Ok, that may be harsh nowadays...wearing a fool's hat at home, work and their commute for 10 days then.  :o

4wd:
If you're going to copy all the files to ensure readability, I think the first thing I'd do is image the HDD first.  This will not only keep all the permissions but you can always mount the image later if necessary to check anything.
Verify that it is not corrupt - make a couple of copies of the image when you're done, hide one well away from where you're working.

Try Sysinternal' Disk2VHD.

If you have Admin privileges, you can use RoboCopy from the CLI to copy everything, including permissions - check its options.

40hz:
^There is a GUI of sorts available for Robocopy.

Look here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2006.11.utilityspotlight.aspx

mouser:
image the HDD first.
--- End quote ---
exactly.
wish such a large volume, you do not want to do normal file copying for this scenario.  it will take too long, be too much stress on the drive, and too prone to permission or other errors.

you want to do a drive image or a drive clone; in other words make a low level copy of the entire drive.

these days i use Macrium Free version for such things.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page