Windows 8 shows "dynamic invalid" for a two-drive spanned set; how to access my data?

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I have a failed computer (win7) that had 4 2tb drives that I spanned to one logical drive. It is not my os drive, just a data drive. I have since tried to move the drives to a new computer (win8) and disk management is telling me all 4 drives are "dynamic invalid". When I try to reactivate disk I get "This operation is not allowed on invalid disk pack". The drives are in full working order, no bad sectors. What are my recovery options? Is a spanned drive really raid 0, so I can just use a normal raid recovery tool? Is there any way to simply rebuild whatever data is needed for my new computer to recognize the drives appropriately?

Dested

Posted 2014-05-06T18:23:10.593

Reputation: 103

Answers

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No, a spanned drive is not Raid 0. Raid 0 stripes the data to both/all discs with no recovery potential if any drive in the set fails. A Windows spanned drive links the drives together logically so that all the space together is considered a single drive. Data for a particular file is generally all stored on the same drive, which can raise the odds of recovery, but not always.

In most cases like this, your only hope is a data recovery tool or service. There are quite a few options out there and each will have varying levels of cost and success in retrieving your data. There is no simple recovery of your data. Unless, of course, you are using an off-drive or off-site data backup tool or service. If you have a backup, and you're sure that backup is valid, its as easy as reformat and copy the data to your drive(s). If you don't have backups, do NOT format your drives.

If it isn't already, making backups of your data (and testing those backups) should be a way of life for you and everyone else who ever touches a computer. Even if it's something as simple as an external hard drive or two and a scheduled backup run, learn it, love it, do it.

BBlake

Posted 2014-05-06T18:23:10.593

Reputation: 5 120

Actually, you're wrong. RAID 0 is striping without parity, RAID 1 is mirroring. Wikipedia. This doesn't necessarily invalidate your answer (I don't know enough specifics to say), but it certainly does change the first paragraph of your answer. (And I absolutely agree with your last paragraph, about backups; RAID is not backup, and striping without parity even less so!)

– a CVn – 2014-05-06T19:20:24.507

Whoops. You're right. I always get 0/1 backwards. – BBlake – 2014-05-07T12:40:18.203

The "R" stands for "Redundant"; RAID 0 provides zero redundancy. That's how you remember it. (Not sure if that was the original intention, but I find it an easy way to remember that RAID 0 is non-redundant. All other RAID levels offer varying degrees of redundancy.) – a CVn – 2014-05-07T12:58:03.377

So I do have access to the original boot drive, I just cannot boot into windows any longer. Is it possible to retrieve the spanned meta data and use it to recover? – Dested – 2014-05-08T06:25:25.613

Asked: 2014-05-06T18:23:10.593

Viewed: 1 071 times

Active: 2014-05-07T12:42:05.303