Recovering a Windows RAID 0 array


jstrike965

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Windows 11
I setup a RAID 0 array with two 2T SSD disk through windows Disk Manager. The motherboard died and I'm trying to setup the array on the new PC I just built. Everything I've managed to find said the array would just come back up on the new PC, but it's not. I downloaded a tool that scanned the array and verified all the files are there, but it's $200 if I want to actually recover them from the array. My critical stuff is backed up, but I have a ton of other stuff on there I'd rather not lose.
I have not tried setting up again in Disk Manager for fear of losing the files, is it possible to set it up w/o losing the files?
If I need a 3rd party tool to do this, are there any suggestions?

TIA
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Pro x64 23H2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade
Haven't worked with RAID 0, my RAID 1 is 2 x 2TB drives in a NAS box. I also was given an older computer with 2 x 500GB drives running as RAID 1. Since it's a new motherboard I'd check the BIOS for whether to boot as RAID or AHCI. Seems to be that once drives are set for RAID and Windows installed they won't boot with the BIOS set as AHCI.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
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    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
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    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Since it's a new motherboard I'd check the BIOS for whether to boot as RAID or AHCI.
The last motherboard (and this one) supported RAID, but there was a problem with the last one and I couldn't get it configured properly which is why I setup the RAID in Windows Drive Manger. It's not as good as the motherboard raid, but when ASRock told me they weren't sure why it wasn't working I set it up through windows rather than beat a dead horse. On the new rig I can see both drives in Drive Manager but they don't show up as being joined. I should also add that this is not my boot drive, but the BIOS is set to AHCI.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade
For what I know there are 3 Kinds or RAID: BIOS RAID, Hardware RAID and Software RAID.
I used to have a RAID 0 array set under BIOS.
I bought a new MB, set RAID mode instead of AHCI under BIOS, installed in same order and once booted the array was back.
Never set RAID under Windows that should be a Software RAID.
Don't you have a drive image backup of your RAID array?
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64 - Windows 11 Pro - Lubuntu
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom build
    CPU
    i5 6600K - 800MHz to 4400MHz
    Motherboard
    GA-Z170-HD3P
    Memory
    4+4G GSkill DDR4 3000
    Graphics Card(s)
    IG - Intel 530
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 226BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    (1) -1 SM951 – 128GB M.2 AHCI PCIe SSD drive for Win 11
    (2) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for Data
    (3) -1 WD SATA 3 - 1T for backup
    (4) -1 BX500 SSD - 128G for Windows 7 and Lubuntu
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W TR2 gold
    Keyboard
    Old and good Chicony mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech mX performance - 9 buttons (had to disable some)
    Internet Speed
    500 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
  • Operating System
    Windows 7 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Q550LF
    CPU
    i7-4500U 800- 3000MHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Q550LF
    Memory
    (4+4)G DDR3 1600
    Graphics card(s)
    IG intel 4400 + NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Display LP156WF4-SPH1
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    BX500 120G SSD for Windows and programs
    & 1T HDD for data
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Browser
    Firefox 64
Not a fan of software RAID myself, but I had to get it working, and it was over 6 years ago. I have the critical contents backed up, but I don't have a full image backup. The drives are in tact and the contents are still on there. I used a program called Stellar Data Recover, it found everything with no problem. I could pay for the tool and restore the contents to my NAS, but that's $200 I'd rather not spend if I don't have to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade
Not a fan of software RAID myself, but I had to get it working, and it was over 6 years ago. I have the critical contents backed up, but I don't have a full image backup. The drives are in tact and the contents are still on there. I used a program called Stellar Data Recover, it found everything with no problem. I could pay for the tool and restore the contents to my NAS, but that's $200 I'd rather not spend if I don't have to.
If you can get any live linux distro working then ensure mdadm and ntfs-3g are installed (on a live distro you can install stuff but changes are not persistent i.e all changes vanish at shutdown. Then RAID 0 stuff is easily visible whether windows (NTFS) or not. So you should have FREE access to your data. The main problem is if your RAID 0 uses that wretched new proprietary Windows file system -- unlikely but it's possible.


Incidently I've RAID 0 running for 3 legacy HDD's (different capacities) which have been running for donkeys years on a NAS -- zero problems and perfectly accessible for Windows clients vis SAMBA, SFTP, File explorer, Filezilla etc.

Note also NAS data should also be backed up regularly -- while these things are usually highly reliable hardware can and does fail at times, as well as human error (fortunately hardware fails a lot less often than one might suppose) and will gurantee to fail at the one time you either haven't got or were just about to take a backup.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7

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