dave

saarg & dirtyofries, Thanks for the info! I actually use AnyDVD HD so it's reassuring that it will work. I'm not quite sure when I'll make the upgrade as I need to continue getting up to speed on everything. In the mean time, thanks!

Any update on this? Were you able to get it working? I'd like to move from ESXi to unRAID for my Windows VM that has a BD-ROM attached.

I already knew this drive was bad - just how bad is it? Should I just toss it? It took a looong time preclear, lol: ========================================================================1.15 == invoked as: ./preclear_disk.sh /dev/sdh == WDCWD20EADS-00R6B0 WD-WCAVY1843494 == Disk /dev/sdh has been successfully precleared == with a starting sector of 63 == Ran 1 cycle == == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 48:48:17 (11 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 7:46:57 (71 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 35:57:51 (15 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 92:34:42 == == Total Elapsed Time 92:34:42 == == Disk Start Temperature: 29C == == Current Disk Temperature: 31C, == ============================================================================ ** Changed attributes in files: /tmp/smart_start_sdh /tmp/smart_finish_sdh ATTRIBUTE NEW_VAL OLD_VAL FAILURE_THRESHOLD STATUS RAW_VALUE Raw_Read_Error_Rate = 181 182 51 ok 1250509 Reallocated_Sector_Ct = 41 43 140 FAILING_NOW 1265 Seek_Error_Rate = 100 200 0 ok 0 Temperature_Celsius = 121 123 0 ok 31 Reallocated_Event_Count = 1 1 0 near_thresh 1076 *** Failing SMART Attributes in /tmp/smart_finish_sdh *** ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 041 041 140 Pre-fail Always FAILING_NOW 1265 24 sectors were pending re-allocation before the start of the preclear. 24 sectors were pending re-allocation after pre-read in cycle 1 of 1. 16 sectors were pending re-allocation after zero of disk in cycle 1 of 1. 16 sectors are pending re-allocation at the end of the preclear, a change of -8 in the number of sectors pending re-allocation. 1256 sectors had been re-allocated before the start of the preclear. 1265 sectors are re-allocated at the end of the preclear, a change of 9 in the number of sectors re-allocated. SMART overall-health status = FAILED! ============================================================================

I'm setting up a new VM in ESXi to run Plex Media Server. Does anyone have any insight on whether it would be better to run PMS on Windows or Linux? Thanks!

... a few thoughts about that: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=31020.0 Oh ya, I've already got a backup of my flash drive!

Final update: I got everything copied off of the bad drive. Only one file gave me an error, so everything worked out well. My array is back up and running flawlessly. Thanks everyone for your help!

I have a Windows VM on my ESXi box that has the vSphere Client installed. Also on that the Windows VM, I have Chrome Remote Desktop installed so I can remotely use that VM (and unRAID) from anywhere via Chrome. Only downside to this is that if the ESXi machine goes down for whatever reason, it's not possible to access it.

Agree with itimpi -- it's not really possible to tell if you don't have file checksums. But by far the most likely thing is you'd get a read error reported and the offending file wouldn't copy. Note that if you're using Windows Explorer to do the copies, this will also abort the entire copy process (not good). If that happens, use something like SyncBack (or TeraCopy) to start the copy over ... these will continue copying the good files if a single file has an error. I am using the Export Wizard in the Linux Reader program that you mentioned. That should be fine right? See attached.

In case anyone is still following this thread, here's an update: 1) I have the array back up and running after doing a New Config and adding in my two new 3TB drives. 2) I bought an external drive dock, plugged it into my Windows 7 VM, and read it using Linux Reader. It is currently copying over the 1.7TB of data from my failing drive. Only 1.4TB to go... Does anyone know how the errors will be handled during file copy? Will the file be copied over incorrectly or will the copy fail altogether? Or is that not possible to tell??

Ok, thanks for confirming. I have ordered an external hard drive enclosure that should arrive tomorrow to try and read the failed disk. *fingers crossed*

Ok, I can't wait any longer for Lime Tech to help. I want to get my array back up and useable. I have the following disks: 1) Original Parity (2TB) 2) Disk1 with data on it that I want to keep (2TB) 3) Disk2 has been removed from the server 4) Disk3 with data on it that I want to keep (1.5TB) 5) Disk4 with data on it that I want to keep (1TB) 6) New drive that has been precleared (3TB) 7) New drive that is currently preclearing (3TB) What are my options to get the array running as-is? I'm okay with having disk2 out of the array - I'll recover that data later. Can I do the following? 1) Stop array (it's already stopped) 2) Do New Config 3) Assign precleared 3TB to parity 4) Assign disks 1, 3, and 4 to spots 1, 2, 3 5) Start the array 6) Let unRAID build new parity 7) Should I run a parity check afterwards? Then, once the other 3TB drive is done preclearing I can add it to the array in spot 4. After it's assigned I can copy the data from the old disk2 to the array. Does anyone see any problems with that? Thanks! Dave

I was reading in another read about a user swapping the parity drive and his showed up as "Wrong" too. He was instructed to stop the array, unassign the parity drive, start the array (so that the parity drive shows as missing), stop the array, then assign the parity drive. In my steps listed earlier, I only unassigned disk2 from the array and started it. Do I need to do the same for parity since it is showing as "Wrong" on the GUI? Here's the thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=31301.msg282764#msg282764

Also, I was just browsing another thread that talked about "short-stroking" a larger drive to a smaller size. Could I do that with a 3TB drive I have to simply replace the bad 2TB disk2? Then I could do a New Config, re-assign my old 2TB parity drive, and let disk2 be rebuilt. Afterwards I could copy all the data off of the short-stroked drive to another 3TB drive (I have three not in use that are intended to be added anyways) and then "re-stroke" the one back up to 3TB. It sounds complicated but could it work? Thanks!!!

My array has been down for over a week now. Waiting for Tom as the only option sucks. I browsed the files on the bad disk and there was nothing critical on there (I mainly care about photos as they cannot be reproduced). With that said, *IF* I swap back in the 3TB parity that had ~2,500 errors after the full parity sync and then replace the bad disk2 with another new 3TB drive - would the risk of losing data be completely limited to disk2? After that, I would try to recover the data by copying off then back on. Thoughts?

Yup, I sent a PM to limetech. Three days ago now :-(

Tried the reboot last night. The array put itself into an odd configuration: Old parity disk and disk2 unassigned. So I stopped the array, changed the parity and disk2 drives. Got the swap-disable messaging, checked the box, hit Start and the same thing happened. Is there a way to a swap-disable via command line? Do I need to upgrade my unRAID version? Is that even possible in this state? Thx, Dave Also, is there a better way to contact Lime-Tech? I've both emailed and PM'd them several days ago with no response.

Couple ideas I had: 1) The 3TB has a "bad" version of parity on it (from when I added it too soon and triggered this whole mess). Does that matter? Does the drive need to be precleared again? - or - 2) Do I need to physically unplug the bad disk? It is currently still showing up in the drop-downs as an option to be assigned. - or - 3) Could a good old fashioned reboot have any impact? And then run through the swap-disable process again? I assume this wouldn't make anything worse!

I really appreciate all your help, Gary! I have sent a PM to Tom (limetech). Hopefully he can pop in here and set me straight. Dave

Yep, when I check the "Yes..." box the Start button becomes active. When I click it, the page refreshes and nothing changes. I've attached a snippet of the log that contains me clicking the Start button. You can see in there that there is "Jan 14 21:51:19 Tower emhttp: swap_dsbl copy not complete" log.txt

Ok, everything went fine up until the last step! I've attached my current configuration. As you can see, I have the option to check the box then Start the array. However, it does not do anything. I think it is because it says "Wrong" right next to my parity drive. Any ideas? Thanks!!!

Thanks for clarifying! Here's my final plan for tonight: 1. Stop array (already complete) 2. Write down current drive assignments. 3. Navigate to Utils 4. Click on New Config 5. Navigate back to the main page 6. Re-assign all disks in correct spots (including old parity drive) 7. Check "Trust Parity" box 8. Start the array 9. If necessary, immediately stop Parity check Then, perform the swap-disable: 10. Stop the array 11. Unassign disk2 12. Start the array 13. Confirm disk2 is recognized as missing 14. Stop the array 15. Assign new 3TB to parity and assign old parity to disk2 spot 16. Start the array and let unRAID copy parity over to the new drive then rebuild disk2

You do NOT want to run a parity check if you are intending a rebuild. If you run a correcting parity check then a disk playing up could cause bad parity to be generated which mean a rebuild would not produce the desired results. A non-correcting check is not worth running with a problem disk as it would almost certainly produce errors due to the problem disk. Thanks you guys. I'll report back tonight or tomorrow morning with my results.

Ok, thanks. Now I understand. Here's my plan for tonight: 1. Stop array (already complete) 2. Write down current drive assignments. 3. Navigate to Utils 4. Click on New Config 5. Navigate back to the main page 6. Re-assign all disks in correct spots (including old parity drive) 7. Check "Trust Parity" box 8. Start the array 9. If necessary, immediately stop Parity check Then, perform the swap-disable: 10. Stop the array 11. Unassign disk2 12. Start the array 13. Confirm disk2 is recognized as missing 14. Stop the array **Unclear here - do I need to shut the machine down? Or can I: 15. Assign new 3TB to parity and assign old parity to disk2 spot 16. Start the array and let unRAID copy parity over to the new drive then rebuild disk2 One final question I have: last time my parity check ran (January 1st) with the old parity drive, there were zero errors. Would this lend me to want to run a parity check after step 8? My understanding is that the array will be in the exact same state it was back on January 1st. Or is not worth the risk? Thanks, Dave EDIT: Posting this link here for reference: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=29529.0

Haven't heard from support yet, hoping they get back to me soon. In the meantime, I will be copying all the data off of disk2 onto an external drive. After that completes, I want to perform the New Config procedure. Can you guys please look over the steps I have outlined below and make sure they are correct? 1. Stop array (already complete) 2. Unassign new 3TB drive from Parity slot. 3. Re-assign old Parity drive 4. Navigate to Utils/New Config 5. Apply the New Config 6. Navigate back to the main page 7. Check "Parity is correct" box 8. Start the array 9. For step 9 and thereafter, what should I do? Or is step 8 the last? Thanks so much again!!! Dave

Thanks for the suggestion, I just sent an email to support.