Partition Restore of RAID 0?

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by Rykks, Sep 18, 2008.

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  1. Rykks

    Rykks Registered Member

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    I just got done reading the two GREAT tutorials on disk cloning and restoring by Grover Hatcher (groverH) that I found here.

    I want to clone a bootable backup copy of my 2-disk RAID 0 array and his writings suggested that creating a full disk backup (a "My computer" backup of my C drive) saved to a different drive and then doing a Partition Restore from the full backup .tib file on the separate drive (I won't be resizing as the new disks are the same make, model, and size) is a safer option than doing a "clone" as your master disks aren't installed and this prevents accidental wiping/damage to your master drives.

    I've made the CD and done the full backup, so my question is: Does this work with a RAID array? I've gotten concise instructions given to a guy by the folks at Acronis to do the clone operation and assurance that it will work for RAID 0 but the Restore does sound a whole lot safer from what groverH has said....


    BTW - My array is on an Intel x38 ICH9R southbridge. Will it give me any problems? I've tried cloning with a high-end disk cloner at the place where I work and the Intel sees a RAID but calls them both "unrecognized disk". I'm "guessing it might be because I called the clones by the same, default name as the masters and maybe the Intel Storage Matrix jazz is having heartburn because the clones aren't the same serial number? I cloned a RAID 0 that was on a Marvell "software" RAID controller a couple of months ago onto drives that were the same size but different models and it botted/worked just fine...(might make this a new thread since it's a different question)

    Thanks!
    Rick
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2008
  2. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    You should be able to clone or restore an image to your new drive as long as the TI CD has the correct drivers to support the RAID controller. The RAID "drive" should be seen as a single drive. If it shows up as two drives, it won't work properly.

    I have done both and haven't had any problems, though I prefer doing image restores because I don't like having the original at risk. Having an image backup gives you two backups, the image and the original drive. Doing a clone gives you no backups.
     
  3. Rykks

    Rykks Registered Member

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    Does that mean I have to add the Intel iastor.inf RAID drivers - the ones you install at "F6" during an XP installation - to the TI bootable "rescue cd"?

    I had already gone ahead and tried to do the restore since I didn't know just how long it would take to do the operation and didn't want to have to stay up til 2AM if it took a VERY long time. Unfortunately, the cd I made using the "Create Bootable Media"(sic) function inTI didn't work. It hung up at "Loading Acronis" with three dots after it and the cursor just blinking for like 10 - 15 minutes. I tried 3 or 4 times and even made a second one in case the first maybe didn't get written well. Could this be because it didn't have the Intel drivers? I did select the "full" rather than the "safe" version to write to the CD because the safe version lacked a lot of drivers according to the sidebar when you select what version to make the CD.

    I put my master drives back in and booted to XP and opened the CD to make sure there was data on it. I saw a folder - forget what it called itself - that have like 8 or 9 files in it. Shortly after opening the folder, my PC froze up and I had to hard reboot. Could this be because of some exe on the rescue CD trying to start?

    I suppose there MIGHT be a problem with the CD. I have a Plextor CD/DVD and it can be picky about the brand of disk you put in it.......

    Thanks for your help!
    Rick
     
  4. Rykks

    Rykks Registered Member

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    Oh - maybe another possible(?) cause for the CD hanging at loading: The drive that I put my full backup file on is a separate drive that resides on a different controller. This controller a Marvell chip and i have it set in BIOS as RAID with its bootROM enabled rather than in "legacy" so that the drive works at SATA and not IDE speeds....

    This bit makes me really leery of trying to clone if I can't restore with TI as I worry about flakiness when my master drives are in the rig,,,

    Rick
     
  5. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Rick,

    For the Full Mode version of TI from the CD, try the quiet acpi=off noapic option detailed in Section II of the PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST thread.

    Also, go ahead and try the Safe Mode version. Ignore the "drivers" message. The Safe Mode version just accesses the hardware through the BIOS. In many cases it will work well, especially if all the drives needed are internal.
     
  6. Rykks

    Rykks Registered Member

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    Alright! Thanks - the Safe version worked like a charm. I'm booted to the RAID 0 clones right now as I sent this and so far everything looks good.

    Just have to do some testing to make sure all my programs work - I expect they will - and that my Remote Desktop LAN connects to my "render farm" or "processor cluster" PC's in the other room and I'll be one heckuva happy camper.

    Having bootable backups of an active partition RAID 0 XP install and all data REALLY gives one peace of mind. Especially since I had to get a new mainboard and retrieve RAID 0 data files from the RAID that sat on it just recently due to a lightning strike outside my house that took out my router, print server board in my laser printer, AND the power-on circuitry - along with corrupting a RAM stick - on the old motherboard. That was scary but easy since I got hold of a board that used the exact same Marvell RAID chip and used the exact same Marvell drivers. All I had to do was hot-plug the old array into the e-sata ports on the new board, load drivers when it found new hardware, and bam! - "drive E".

    I had tried cloning the RAID 0 array with a Greystone DataFast DF-5 ATA cloner we have at work that we use to clone drive images for development and also in the manufacture of PC's for the Army and couldn't get the Intel southbridge bootROM to recognize the drives as "member" disks afterwards. This had worked fine when I did it when using the Marvell software RAID and I was stumped for a while. I think the problem was that I didn't give the clones-to-be a different name when I built the array in the Intel bootROM and it must have had a problem with the fact that the new drives - with still the old name - were physically different disks with different serial numbers and slightly different part numbers even if the same model/make. No matter - ATI not only worked but did the job in like a half hour, which beats the pants off of the 2.5 hour "mirror copy" that our professional equipment at work does.

    When you research a new program, it can give you the willies when you read about all these funky problems people have but I reckon that most folks only come to forums when they have a problem and the happy ones never come to these places, so that's all you find. When you think of it that way, you realize that maybe some programs aren't as bad as one might think. Sorry for the long post - I put in some other stuff about RAID so that, if somebody else Googles the problems I had, they might find solutions rather than just unsolved problems...

    Thanks again, a TON!
    Rick
     
  7. GroverH

    GroverH Registered Member

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    Rykks,
    The help you are getting from MudCrab is first rate. I know he helped me a lot with my guides. Thanks for the kind words.

    When restoring to a new disk of the same size as the old, any easy restore is the "disk" option restore rather restoring each partition. This is detailed in my restore guide. Check the link on line 2 of my signature below.
     
  8. Rykks

    Rykks Registered Member

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    Thanks. Grover - I've read your guides thru over and over before I set out to restore/clone my array and they were absolutely invaluable. You probably saved me from making a half dozen mistakes. Forums like this would be useless without the help folks like you - and mudcrab - supply and we are ALL indebted and grateful that you guys spend time on us boneheads. ;-)

    Thanks. man
    Rick
     
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