Score:-2

Recover data from failed RAID 5 Dell Poweredge T710 Server

cn flag

Very important data on RAID 5 array on poweredge T710 server - how can I get the data back? Willing to spend money to do it (eg buy a replacement system and swap the disks in), would prefer not to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a third-party data restoration service, but may have to consider it if can't DIY. Data are important.

Does it make the most sense to first try to:

  1. Get the current system working, since it has configuration information already in it. So far, haven't succeeded at this.
  2. Remove the drives and clone them using some kind of hardware/software designed for the purpose to make sure that the data are safe. If so, what kind of hardware/software should be used. Currently in a mostly Mac environment, and don't have any modern PCs, though could get one I suppose.
  3. Buy a used T710 (they seem to be available on eBay for <$1000), install the RAID drives there, try to get at the data that way.
  4. Some other approach.

Current behavior of system: There are a variety of confusing and inconsistent behaviors. Not sure which ones are relevant.

On first powerup in many years, the system came up on monitor to indicate a bios error of some kind. Tried to reboot, this time the system failed to start at all. When pressing power button, nothing at all happens.

Replaced the motherboard battery.

The system then powered up once. Was able to enter the configuration utility. See below for all the screenshots I was able to capture. Most salient points seem to be that the system is RAID 5, and two drives are considered 'missing' by the system, though they are physically present, and have yellow/orange lights illuminated.

After this I hit ctrl-alt-delete to restart the system, but it would not restart. It just seemed to 'go dead' and would no longer power up, even after pressing the power button, power cycling, turning off power and waiting several minutes and attempting again. This is what it was doing previously, and now it won't power on at all. Not sure what caused it to power on after I replaced the motherboard battery so that I could capture the images below (but glad that it did!).

I believe that the system was configured with Windows Server OS, but not certain, and not certain of version, further details (this system was from a long time ago).

Thank you for your help

Configuration Utility Results

Bios Version

More configuration info

Boot Sequence

Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
Where are the backups? If the data were important there would be backups. Go find them and restore them to some other system. If you really don't have backups, **DO NOTHING YOURSELF** and send the system as-is for professional data recovery. I can think of several easy ways for you to lose everything by making hardware or configuration changes. It is also very likely that you have already lost all the data, as RAID 5 can tolerate only one drive failure, while you have lost two drives. You should leave the server alone and go hunt for those missing backups.
cn flag
Thanks for your comment Michael. Unfortunately, the backups are also not easily accessible, to say the least. Our primary backup was that we had two independent servers holding the data. The one I described is the *better* of the two at this point. The second backup is that we have boxes of incremental tape backups from years ago. From the minimal labelling on them, they look like they'd be nearly impossible to figure out at this point. I think that the server is the best option. Any thoughts on how to have it professionally done without paying tens of thousands of dollars? Thx again.
Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
No, you pay the thousands of dollars. Or you find a tape drive and go through all those tapes.
cn flag
Also, if I remove the drives physically from the system and try to create image copies of them using software and some type of drive enclosure on a different system, is that a high-risk thing to do / am I likely to harm the drives or data by doing this?
Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
Well that would be step 1 of recovery anyway, but again there are many caveats around even that. Mainly that you should get the drives back into the system in the same slots.
cn flag
Assuming that I label the disks so that I know which one comes from which slots, is there meaningful risk to taking the drives out and trying to image them? I mean beyond the obvious that if I physically mishandle them they could be harmed. Even if I *am* going to take them for pro restoration, the server itself is heavy and could end up getting physically damaged in transit. Thanks again.
Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
At minimum, the drives, backplane (if any) and RAID card should all go, with everything labeled and plugged in exactly where it originally was. The data recovery company will give you specific instructions about this.
in flag
If you want to do anything yourself, and the drives seems to be in relatively good condition, you could try to make copies of the drives that you than can work with, but that is if the drives have no damage (if they do you risk making them worse) To do this you need new drive that can contain the original drives, and a interface that allows you direct access, that is no RAID. (I do not recommend this path, but it can be done if it is for educational purposes), and if you go that route, some companies can even do remote recovery.
Michael Hampton avatar
cz flag
@NiKiZe With two dead drives on a RAID 5?!
in flag
@MichaelHampton Missed that part, however missing does not have to mean dead. Still no (real) recovery center will ask for anything but the drives, maybe with notes on which bay they are in (or even better which order they where used in the array)
Zac67 avatar
ru flag
If there's no backup the data wasn't really important. Duh.
Score:6
cv flag

Wow. This question. Another example of what not to do. You don't have appropriate backup methods in place. You don't know if your backups are any good and have no good way to test them. You have data that you claim is very important, yet you're looking for ways to recover the data without spending "thousands of dollars".

Either the data is important enough to spend whatever is necessary to recover it, or it isn't. If it is then start reaching out to data recovery companies. If it isn't, then keep tinkering around and risk losing the data forever. One or the other. There's no in between. Are any of the methods you proposed likely to help you recover the data? No. Are they likely to cause you to irretrievably lose the data? Yes.

A data recovery company is not going to need the entire server. They're going to need the drives. They'll tell you exactly what to send and how to send it. They have their own equipment (in a clean lab) to reconstruct the array and recover the data.

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