I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

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scottfree
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Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:03 pm

I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by scottfree » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:12 pm

I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0. Can your software recover the data to be re-paired with the other volume?
If not can I get some of the data restored with your software.

Alt
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Re: I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by Alt » Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:53 am

That depends on how you formatted the disk. If it's a quick format, most likely you'll be able to recover the data.
You need to create a virtual RAID 0 of the disk, scan it, and then recover data from recognized partitions.
Some further information:
What to do if I don't know if R-Studio can recover my files?.
How to create RAID0
Data Recovery Using R-Studio. Your case is 2.

scottfree
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:03 pm

Re: I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by scottfree » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:19 am

Thank you for your quick reply.
I used Disk utility from Mac OSX Mavericks 10.9.1 (Just clicked Erase button). Is that quick format?
I simply chose to erase the wrong volume.
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
This was also the format of the RAID (0) volume it initially was.

It is a Western Digital MyBook 3TB USB 3 external drive
It was a 2 volume (identical drives) RAID (0) striped setup
1 Volume is fine

The "virtual RAID 0 disk you speak of: Is this a carbon copy "Disk image" of the "formatted" drive I'm trying to recover.
Should I buy a 4TB drive to create the image on to?
Do i then run your software on the disk image and recover from that?
Is there anyway to re-pair the bad drive to the data on the good drive?
Is the full complete directory of both volumes on both volumes?

Thank you for your help

scottfree
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:03 pm

Re: I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by scottfree » Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:03 am

Is it possible to get a reply to my previous message?

Thanks

Alt
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Posts: 3129
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:13 pm
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Re: I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by Alt » Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:58 am

scottfree wrote: I used Disk utility from Mac OSX Mavericks 10.9.1 (Just clicked Erase button). Is that quick format?
I simply chose to erase the wrong volume.
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
This was also the format of the RAID (0) volume it initially was.
Everything depends on the Security options on the Erase tab. If they were left unchanged, most likely it's the quick format (the default option). If not, you're completely out of luck. Let's hope that was the quick format.
scottfree wrote: The "virtual RAID 0 disk you speak of: Is this a carbon copy "Disk image" of the "formatted" drive I'm trying to recover.
Well, this is a combination of hard drives /hard drive images (whichever you choose to use) from the original RAID, R-Studio works with such object the same way Mac OS does with the original RAID. You may use a hard drive and the image of the second hard drive, too. The help I referred to explains how to create such virtual RAID 0 from its components.
scottfree wrote: Should I buy a 4TB drive to create the image on to?
Not necessary if you're absolutely sure that the hard drives are physically healthy and you have means to simultaneously connect both the drives to your computer.
scottfree wrote:Do i then run your software on the disk image and recover from that?
You should set R-Studio upon the Virtual RAID0 object you created from the hard drives / their images.
scottfree wrote:Is there anyway to re-pair the bad drive to the data on the good drive?
That's a bad idea. I would recommend the following scenario:
1. You recover the required files and store them elsewhere.
2. You re-create the RAID0 from the drives if you're sure that they are in good conditions.
3. You write the files back to the new RAID 0.
But do remember! RAID0, although fast, are extremely error-prone. If data on one disk gets corrupted, you loose files from the entire RAID0. If you still want to use RAID 0, backup everything!!!!
scottfree wrote:Is the full complete directory of both volumes on both volumes?
No! And that's the problem! Data is scattered over the disks in RAID 0, in this way: A piece of data with the size of the block on one disk, then another piece of data on the other disk, then back on the first disk, than on the second disk, and so on. So, if the info about the full complete directory is larger than the block size, it will be scattered between two disks, and the format destroyed those data pieces on the erased disk.
This article Default Parameters of Software Stripe Sets (RAID 0) in Mac OS X may help you to understand what you should see on the not-erased disk.

Alt
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Re: I've accidentally formatted 1 of a 2 volume RAID 0

Post by Alt » Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:01 am

Well, I'd like to see on the screenshot of R-Studio's main panel with the hard drives attached (their image opened).

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