Gigabyte Intel 2 RAID arrays 10 and 1 fail

[gaula13]

Dear All,

I need help - desperately.

I have a 4 * 500GB Seagate drives under a RAID 10 or is it 01 array (mirroring and striping) and this has and continues to work just fine attached to Ports 0 - 3 of the EP45-UD3R Gigabyte motherboard under Intel ICH10R and Windows 7. Volume Write-back Cache is enabled. So far no problem.

Now I attach 2 * 2TB Samsung HD 204UI drives (Ports 4&5) and build a separate Intel array encompassing the two new discs as a separate RAID 1 (mirroring only) array. Now the problems start.

Firstly one and then the other drive was reported as having failed. Manually enable the disc again and it gets rebuilt.

No matter what I do, every time I or an application writes to the new Samsung 2TB mirrored array 1, it causes a "failure" on one or other of the two drives (predominately the one on Port 5) and a rebuild of the array under the INTEL ICH10R Matrix Storage Manager software (version 8.9.0.1023).

I have observed new behaviour of this second array (on Gigabytes 2 purple SATA ports). when starting up W7 Ultimate, one of the disc was reported by the BIOS as being OK and the array being rebuilt. However, when W7 started, one of the drives was reported as missing. Then, seconds later, it reported it as being OK and being rebuilt. How weird is that?

What needs to be done to make the configuration work? Are the other SATA ports (Ports 4&5) ONLY configurable as RAID under Gigabytes own software?

An answer will, I am sure, help lots of folk - not just me.

Kind regards and lots of thanks to a solver.

 

[FliGi7]

Is it possible that one of the cables is actually faulty? I had a problem where my optical drives would randomly be undetected at reboot, then would appear after 3 or 4 more tries without doing anything. It turned out to be faulty cables.

 

[gaula13]

I really appreciate the input but the problem is that it has happened on both drives (obviously separate cables) - both new. Not impossible but highly unlikely that both cables and/or drives are "duff" as supplied by Samsung/Gigabyte.

What tests could I do to prove either way?

Kind regards.

 

[FliGi7]

The only test would be to replace the cables and see if it still happens.

Are you occupying the other two sata ports on the board?

 

[gaula13]

I have discs in all 6 RAID possible SATA ports. I believe the other two ports are not RAID capable and are presently used for two DVD drives.

I shall try new cables and will get back to you this evening.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[FliGi7]

According to Newegg, all 8 ports support RAID. I would swap them around and see what happens while you wait for the cables.

 

[sygnus21]

What Gigabyte board do you have? Have you went through the manual? I know nothing about RAID so I have no answer for you but here's a GIGABYTE forum that I use for questions concerning my board.

Good luck.

One thing I will say/ask.... are you using Intel's latest RST drivers - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...roductProduct=Intel®+Rapid+Storage+Technology

 

[gaula13]

The board is a Gigabyte EP45-UD3R.

I have replaced the cables - no difference and the 2nd raid is rebuilding again - for the n th time.

How do I test the discs when there is no software that supports the testing of RAID discs? The Samsung site offers no help at all on testing software for HDD's and does not appear to recognise that they ever manufactured or sold them other than vague references to a variety of model varients that bear no resemblance to the model number of the discs that I have.

Seriously frustrating.

HELP!!

Do I get (try) Amazon to replace both?

Kind regards and thanks.

 

[FliGi7]

Connect them but don't RAID them. Once in Windows and they are both recognized, use the Samsung utility to test them:

SAMSUNG Hard Disk Drive - support - utilities

 

[WindowsStar]

@gaula13

How did you setup the RAID 1? On the motherboard and let it initialize the drives? Then load the OS or DATA? or is the RAID 1 created within Windows 7?

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Is there a chance that a Gigabyte BIOS update addresses the issue? It sounds motherboard related to me.

Regards,
Golden

 

[gaula13]

Fligi7 - you are totally correct and I am totaly wrong. All 8 ports are RAID compatible but only 6 are Intel RAID compatible. To change to the Gigabyte SATA ports will mean the loss of all data and the loss of the CD/DVD drives.

I have downloaded the correct Samsung test/diagnostic software, created the bootable CD and tested the discs. One is showing an error and has been dispatched to Amazon for replacement - perhaps this will solve the issue.

I shall post back the results when I get the new drive,

In the meantime, thank you all for the help so far. Greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

 

[FliGi7]

Correct, the two purple (I think?) ports are JMicron RAID, I believe. Sounds like it was a disk problem from the get-go, though. Let us know how it turns out once you get the new drive.

 

[gaula13]

SOLVED - I sent one drive back to Amazon, the replacement arrived PDQ, it has rebuilt and is working AOK. Good on Amazon.

Thank you for all your help and guidance.

Kind regards.

 

[FliGi7]

Good deal. Thanks for posting back up.

 

[gaula13]

Dear FliGi7,

Once again you are correct. I bet that you can be a pain in the posterior - as one can be when one is always right - but thank you for your valued and thoughtful input - greatlyappreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[FliGi7]

I'd rather be called names than not called at all. Happy RAIDing.

 

[gaula13]

I have resolved the problem - one of the new drives was duff. Now it has been replaced, all is well.

However, now I have a different problem so will open a new thread re: Windows 7 Ultimate will not install on Intel RAID.

Many thanks for everybody's help and guidance.