GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I had 2 disks set up as Raid 1 so as to have a copy if one disk fails. They are stored in a G-Technology box.However, the drives disappeared in Finder, so I turned off the G-Technology box that stored them and turned the power back on. I got this message: "The connected drive is not readable". I know when Raid 1 is set up, the computer sees it as one drive and copies from drive 1 to drive 2 in the background. I got the same message whether one drive or both drives were in the enclosure. I called G-Technology and was told that both drives were probably encrypted. I thought the purpose of Raid 1 was to have data on a 2nd disk if the first drive failed. In my case, BOTH drives are unreadable.

I thought perhaps the encasement was at fault but that is not the case. I ordered 2 more drives and set them up through disk utility. Now I have 2 questions.

1) Finder shows 2 drives. How should I set this up? My choices are: leave them alone or set up as Raid 1 (again) or Raid 0.

2) How can I retrieve the date on the unreadable drives (OR is it lost forever?)

I have researched like crazy and could not find an answer.

In addition, I use BackBlaze but the data from the G-Tech drives is missing from there, too. I know that I had BB set up to backup that drive. I think perhaps I'm wasting my money on BackBlaze if I cannot restore the data on a failed drive.

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

OH this is not an easy solution unless you understand the technology for sure. But basically the steps involved would assume you have a spare drive (same capacity) as the failed drive, and you immediately catch the failure and take the steps to re-initiate the "mirroring" from the assumed good spare drive to the new replacement.


I found this link, which does not relate to your specific RAID management software, but I hope it helps, or at least provides and understanding of why you can't simply just access that data on the mirrored drive.
You might want to skip down to the Windows section (if that's what you are using).

https://recoverhdd.com/blog/how-to-recover-the-data-from-raid-1-array.html

Just Shoot Me Loc: Ithaca, NY

If 1 raid drive fails in a raid 1 configuration the other drive still retains the data. But if you have a power outage both drives can become corrupted and unreadable. The data is most likely still there. Your computer just can’t recognize the drive. You can buy recovery software online for as little as $60.00 that is good for a year of use. Raid 1 is not a backup strategy unless you have 2 or more of them. You would be better off having 2 or more Independant drives so when 1 fails you have the others as backup.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

What it sounds like to me is that one of the two disks in the original array has failed totally.
However the remaining drive is still considered part of a two disk array as far as the operating system is concerned.
Since you have already gotten replacement drives for the array set it up for raid 1 and immediately replace one of the new ones with one of your original ones.
If it doesn't start to rebuild the array then swap the old drives out so it can try to rebuild using that one.
It's highly unlikely that both drives have failed catastrophically at the same time unless you had a major power surge.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

Currently, it is setup as 2 independent drives. What software would you recommend to recover the data on the unreadable drive? I am using BigSur on a MAC

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I tried this. The first drive I inserted created the message, "The disk you attached was not readable by this computer". The second drive caused no message to appear on the computer and on Disk Utility, it says "missing/damaged" for the old drive. If I click on repair, both drives are grayed out on the popup list. Also, in Disk Utility, it says "unmounted". When I select the old drive and choose mount, I get this message:"Invalid disk"

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

Sounds like the first one was the one that failed and it would appear it was the primary drive for the array
The second one became corrupt because the first one died while the second one was copying from it for redundancy.
Sadly though I don't know what software you would use to recover it in Mac since my knowledge is in windows.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I did try a recovery software and the files recovered were basically trash. Now the old drive won't even mount.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I read this article and while it explained everything quite well, my MAC computer cannot download the repair software. Thanks for trying to help me!

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I GIVE UP. Nothing I tried works; so I am just going to use the new drives as independent drives and copy the data manually to the 2nd drive!! I've set up BackBlaze to back up drive one in this set. Thanks to everyone who responded.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

Yeah my apologies, I assumed you were using Windows. Unfortunately this article only covers Linux and Windows. I'm sure there is documentation out there for MacOS as well. Good luck!

tcthome Loc: NJ

After reading this thread, If the pictures are worth anything to you, Take the drives to a specialist that repair builds computers & troubleshoots software/hardware. If they don't have a specialist there, they are certain to work with one. Good luck.
PS: You might want them to set up your raid or tell you the best way to back up your files. I received an email this week with WD Passport 5gb ext drives for $120. You might be better off doing 2 separate back-ups plus BB from your computer & not the drives. If it possible a power spike or surge caused your problem, surge protection & a UPS/UBS (Uniterupted Power/Battery Supply might be needed & should be a standard in this day & age.

marycar53 Loc: Tuscumbia Al

I use Back Blaze and have 3 externals backed up to them. I had one to crash a few months back, ordered a backup USB. I then a second that included back up documents from a hard drive crash to go out a week later, and ordered another one. I also switched to another brand of external to back up. I was surprised that when I returned the drives back to them, my money was refunded. Only thing I'm out was my cost to return. I had a bad experience with Crashplan that had a software update and lost all of my files when a brand new hard drive crashed. I had to mail off the drive to have the data recovered, I was anxious until I uploaded all my stuff. Very happy experience with BB.

geok

Will a UPS/UBS (Uniterupted Power/Battery provide surge protection or is a surge protector also required If so, should it be placed before the ups or between the ups and the raid drive for maximum protection

dan59019 Loc: Washington Mi

RAID is primarily for up time - and raid one is useless. You must always back-up a RAID to a separate device or the cloud - preferably multiple locations for important work.