I've been having ongoing problems with my Unraid system crashing/barely connecting etc... I decided to start again from scratch by re-formatting the Flash key and re-installing the software. Almost as soon as I clicked the "Are you sure?" button I spotted the flaw on my plan. Of course, in formatting over the key I was also formatting over the config information...

 

Anyway, I powered up the array and was presented with a bunch of unassigned disks (although surprisingly, or perhaps not, there was no sign of the ide disk I've been having problems with. *sigh*). Looking at the list of disks, I have no idea which one was the parity drive. Is there any way to tell? Presumably it is not just a case of hitting the 'restore' button is it? I don't mind losing the data from the ide drive, but to lose it from the three 750GB sata drivs would be a disaster.

Unless I'm mistaken, the individual data disks are formatted EXT3 and should be able to be read by a system that is setup for it (or by software capable of reading EXT3).  The parity disk should be the one that is unreadable, or does not have a recognizable file system/structure on it.

 

I'm sure someone is more capable of providing a more detailed answer than that, but that's the way I undersand unRAID.

No, the file systems are reiserfs, not ext3.

 

Never use the "Restore" button unless you are removing a disk from the array.  It will store a new configuration missing the drive being removed and calculate parity based on the currently assigned drives forgetting any old parity data. 

 

Instead, Do this for each disk in turn...

 

Initially, do not assign a parity drive at all.  Instead, go to the Devices page and assign only ONE drive and assign it to data disk1.  Then go back to the main page.

 

If the drive says "unformatted" the one you choose is likely the parity drive.  Note: you do not have to start the array at all.  Just look at the management page.  Do this process for each of your 750 gig drive in turn, assigning it to the disk1 slot.  The data drives should not say "unformatted"

 

Do not start your array if you see any drive marked as "unformatted"

 

You could assign both of the true data disks to disk slots, and leave the drive you think is the parity drive unassigned.  Then start the array.  You should be able to see your data on the shared drives from windows and figure out which is disk1 and which is disk2 based on their file contents. (un-protected, but both visible with their files)

 

Then, stop the array, assign the parity drive to its slot, and any others to their respective data slots, and you should be good to go.  It will re-calculate parity, but you will be up and running.

 

Oh yes, from your browser print a copy of the management page.  That way you will have a hard-copy of the disk model/serial numbers.

 

Joe L.

Parity (sdb) scsi-SATA_ST3750640AS_5QD0SQN4

Disk 1 (sda) scsi-SATA_ST3750640AS_5QD0SR8T

Disk 2 (sdc) scsi-SATA_ST3750640AS_5QD0NKMJ

Disk 3 (sdd) scsi-SATA_ST3750640AS_3QD0B3P9

 

I took another look at your syslog, and I believe this is the correct order.

 

You beat me to it... he had posted a syslog in an earlier thread....

You might try assigning them according to my list, but one by one according to Joe's instructions, just to be safe.

 

And may I recommend a backup of the flash, as soon as possible?  I use SyncBackSE to automatically sync the whole flash with a local folder about 4 times a day.

 

Sorted... Thanks once again folks.

 

Honestly, I'm not normally in need of so much assistance with these things... I do normally have a proper backup regime in place (hence the Unraid), but in this case the constant rebooting, opening the case, shifting drives etc had meant that it got overlooked.

 

 

...

Initially, do not assign a parity drive at all.  Instead, go to the Devices page and assign only ONE drive and assign it to data disk1.  Then go back to the main page.

...

You absolutely positively do not want to assign a potential data disk to the parity slot and start the array.  It will immediately start writing binary 1s to the disk.  The first few seconds will destroy the master boot record, partition table, and other senstive structures at the beginning of the disk.  Be very careful!

 

After doing this once, I would recommend that instead of assigning your disks to data disk #1 (as aesthetically pleasing as that might seem), assign your disk to the BOTTOM slot (#15).  Data disk#1 is actually the SECOND slot, and it is so easy to accidently assign it to the top (parity) slot.  The bottom slot is much lower risk for accidently parityizing your data disk.