I know someone who has a PC with a C: drive that has Windows 10 on it and a D: drive which was configured in Windows as a software RAID.
If they blow-away Windows 10 on the C: drive (complete erase of C:) and re-install with the dynamic drives (software RAID on D:) be lost (thus losing all of the data there)?
I’ve done some Google searches on this but they keep coming up as installing ON a dynamic drive which is not the case here (C: is a standalone drive).
I don’t know but the safe thing is to assume things can go wrong and back everything up.
I am only familiar with hardware raids. But the raid disks themselves contain a configuration file created when the raid is created. I can transfer that bunch of disks to a another machine with the same type of raid card and read that configuration file and re initiate that raid. It may also work with different cards, but I have not tried it.
I am not sure, but suspect that the software raid will do a similar thing. But do back up just in case. Also, I am not sure if any encrypting was done. That may be an issue if the OS is reinstalled?
Just read a bunch of tech sites for this issue. All are very fuzzy about this. Even the Microsoft Win 10 ones.
Back up the raid first. Then disconnect the raid drives when re installing Windows. After the install is all done and made it through reboots. Then reconnect the raid drives. If disk management does not see them as a single raid drive and your data is there, then try and redo them as the same software raid configuration as before. When done, check what is on them. Your data? Hooray!!! Blank? Put the back up on them.
Thanks. I was running into the same problem.
I don’t think my friend has a backup solution sufficient to hold all that data. Seems he may have to buy one.
Honestly, your friend should have a backup solution, whether or not he’s planning to wipe Windows.
Was it a Raid 0 ? Or Raid 1 or 10. If a raid 0 cannot be recreated, then the data is gone. But a Raid 1/10 is a Mirror raid. So either disk will have all the data on it. Most folks use Raid 0 hoping for speed boost. But if it was a Raid 1/10 for data integrity, either disk will have all the data on it.
I’m not sure. I think it is Raid 5 with three drives. Too late to ask him now. I will ask tomorrow.
If not that then it is Raid 1 with two drives.
I asked for a pic of his Disk Management screen. Looks like a Raid 5 with four drives:
Looks like 4 drives in the raid. Notice 4 drives are all D. And dynamic. So they are likely in a raid. 3TB drives? Might be able to back up the data onto one 10TB drive, if they are not completely full.
A few sites make fuzzy claims that a reinstalled OS will see the raid, but not convincing.
Buy the cheapest 10TB drive you can and use it to backup just to be sure.
FWIW I recommended a backup solution for him.
It seems clear this is an unsure process. Better to be safe and the backup solutions are not terribly expensive. A good investment.
Never mind.
I am so close to a good source for this situation, but not quite.
I deal with 3 raid situations all the time. Intel chip set raid RST for our OS on mirror raid. Internal raid 0 SSD raids via raid cards as well as raid 6 external enclosures via raid cards.
But sadly for helping you out, no experience specifically with software raid recovery.
Thanks…and I certainly appreciate it but you really need not go to a lot of trouble. I’m just a random internet stranger.
It is maddening though. Surely this has come up before. I am surprised at the lack of answers for this one.
I suspect it is easy and Windows will just see it or it is impossible (or near enough).
I too was surprised that there was not an immediate obvious answer to this question. I am wondering if it another case of not being able to word the question in the magic sequence to elicit the Google genie to give the right response. I have had that happen before. Phrase it the right way and all is revealed.
And I am happy to take the trouble. It may give me information that I might need at some point. And if I can help someone, then they may be more apt to help others.
I getcha. I have had it happen before too. And I consider my Google-Fu to be strong.