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RDR / What we take in / Dell PowerEdge servers

Specialist · Dell PowerEdge and PERC arrays

Dell PowerEdge recovery, Reading. Cut the power before the halted rebuild asks more of the next-weakest disk.

Servers and RAID sets begin at £500 + VAT. The diagnosis is free, and you are quoted your price, fixed and in writing, before any chargeable work is done. Almost every server we receive follows the same pattern: a PowerEdge that has quietly been running a member short for weeks, a spare fitted, the PERC allowed to run a rebuild, and a second carrier going amber part-way through it. Each disk in the set is then cloned read-only on its own, and the controller's own view of the array is read back from those disk images. The array is then assembled from the images, and the file system is repaired on the copy. Your carriers are never written to, and the chassis stays where it is. Sets come in from Reading itself, and from Newbury, Thatcham, Theale, Woodley and Didcot.

Only pay if we recover your data, on most jobs The diagnosis is free; then one fixed figure in writing Parcels arrive from Newbury, Woodley and Theale

An engineer answers, and looking is free
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Match the PowerEdge symptom to the fault.

Different fault? Begin at the triage →
What you are seeingWhat is likely wrongWhat happens next
A rebuild started and stopped part-wayAnother member is failing while the set is already short of onePower the chassis down now
The PERC reports a foreign configurationThe controller no longer has its own definition of the array after a power outageImport nothing, and ring first
Two carriers turned amber at the same timeMore likely a faulty backplane or expander than two hard drives failing at the same timeTurn it off, get a quote, then send every disk
The virtual disk shows as offlineA member has been reported as failed, so the set has stopped respondingDo not clear the configuration
The disks show nothing on a PCA SAS disk needs a SAS port, which most desktops do not have, and a desktop sees only the PERC's own metadata on each disk as opposed to a file systemNormal, not damage. Get a quote, then send them
Writes were held in cache and never reached the disks when the power failedWhen the battery that powers the cache module goes flat, everything it was holding is lostSay so, as it changes the order of the work
Packing and posting: get a quote first, by phone or with the form. Once you have it, add some padding around the item in the package so it cannot move about. Next, put a value on the parcel that represents what the data is worth to you. Finally, send your parcel tracked and insured to the Oxford intake lab, or drop it off there Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, no appointment needed. We cover the cost of return postage. If you want one of our engineers to talk you through the packing before you seal the box, ring first and we can guide you through it. All of this is set out on the packing and postage page.

Where a PowerEdge array actually fails.

PERC controllers, H310 to H755Dell's own RAID cards, and the part that decides most of these jobs. The PERC controller writes a record on the disks themselves of how it configures the array: the order of members, the size of stripes, how parity rotates across members, and where data starts in the array. That's why a set can be put back together here from images even without the card, the backplane or the chassis it came out of.
SAS, SATA and 520-byte disksA PowerEdge chassis allows drive types to be mixed freely. A SAS member needs a SAS port that a desktop does not have, and even on the right port a PC finds a RAID member carrying the PERC controller's own metadata, which cannot be mounted as a file system. This is a function of the controller, not some kind of physical problem with your disk. Sectors of 520 bytes, where they turn up at all, are common to large storage arrays (NetApp, EMC, 3PAR) and not typical of PERC controllers. Both are simply normal work on the right equipment.
Boot mirrors and hot sparesMost of the time, the server starts from a mirrored pair and keeps the data on a separate RAID 5 or RAID 6, often with an unused spare sitting in a bay. In most cases the mirror causes little trouble. The spare is where things get difficult: as soon as the system marks a member as failed, it immediately starts writing to the spare, and the array is at its busiest when it is weakest.
What we never do hereNo rebuilding, no importing, no clearing of configuration, and no forcing a member back online against the drives you posted (these are all writes). Each write closes options. Your members get read once and put aside, and every repair happens on the copies, where a wrong turn costs an afternoon at most.

From your parcel to your files coming back.

01

Logged the day it lands, and the look costs nothing Free

A case number is assigned to your device when we receive it. An engineer then finds the real fault (free) before anything else occurs; you will be advised clearly of what will be returned and what will not, along with a single written price. Charges cannot begin until you have read this and accepted.

The look costs you nothingA fixed price, in writingStill nothing to pay
02

The disks are copied before they are asked anything

Each member is read in full behind a write blocker to create an exact clone of each one (the good ones as well as the one written off by the controller) before the array has even been looked at. The awkward sections get brief runs and wait until the rest is safely copied. Not a byte goes back onto the drives you posted, at any stage of the job.

Every member cloned firstNo write reaches your disks
03

The controller's own account, off the copies

A PERC writes its description of a set to the members themselves, which is why the card or chassis is not needed here. The order of the members, stripe size, rotation of parity and where the data starts (offset) are read back off the images. Once this information is pulled, it is compared with the file system sitting on top before anything is assembled.

Set assembled on the imagesBrought up read-only
04

The volume, and then the file system

With the geometry established, the array is built using the copies and then brought up read-only, and the file system is fixed there rather than on anything of yours. Databases, shares, mail stores, accounts: all files are opened, because you can't tell from a name in a directory that something is good or bad. Anything that comes back damaged is marked as damaged.

Repaired on copies onlyOpened here before it goes
05

The list first, then the bill, then the files

You look at the file list first and make a decision about what to do. We will never invoice anything until you have said yes, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. All of the information that we recover will be put on new media purchased by us specifically for this job, and our company pays the cost of postage back to you. The case stays open on the bench until you tell us the files open on your own machine.

Nothing billed until you say yesNew media, bought for the jobPostage home is on us

What goes wrong most often

  • A rebuild is the most demanding thing you can start: it is going to read every single sector on all of the remaining disks. All of these disks are the same age, from the same batch, and they've all had the same hours on them. A disk that fails in the middle of a rebuild isn't bad luck; it is the second-weakest disk being forced to do the hardest work it has ever done.
  • A server that will not start is often a healthy array: the array can be taken out of service by other hardware like the PERC (the controller), the backplane, the expander or even a power supply, while all of the disks within that chassis are still sound. That is a cheaper job than it looks from where you are standing, and the free look settles which of the two you have before a figure is agreed.
  • Disks reading as nothing on a PC are normal, not damage: it's not the disk failing; a SAS drive needs a SAS port, which a desktop doesn't have. Even if you do get it connected on the correct port, your PC will see a RAID member carrying the PERC's own metadata (it won't find a filesystem it can use). Many people end up thinking their disks are done based on this. The disks aren't, though, and they read here on their own terms.
  • Send every disk, including those that have been written off, as a member dropped by the controller is typically much easier to read than the controller's decision suggests, and often contains the most recent version of the blocks that matter. The bay number on each drive, along with a truthful account of all attempts made, will determine how quickly your set goes back together.

What decides these jobs: how much of each member still reads, whether anyone has recreated the virtual disk since it failed, the extent of rebuilding permitted and whether or not the volume was encrypted. A chassis powered down with all its members still in it gives the longest list of possibilities. The same chassis after a spare, a rebuild, an import and two nights of restarts gives a much shorter one, and you are told which files fall in the gaps rather than finding out at home. If the volume is encrypted, you need to provide us with the key to access it. We only deal with storage and do not handle phones or tablets. Prices for servers and RAID sets begin at £500 + VAT, quoted in writing after a free diagnosis, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data.

How one of these actually went.

RG · RDG-2026-2007ON FILE ✓

A rebuild that halted on a six-bay PowerEdge, and two volumes back

An engineering consultancy based in Didcot had been running a six-bay PowerEdge a member short since the summer without anybody noticing. When the second carrier went amber, a spare was installed and the rebuild began; however, it halted part-way and the virtual disk went offline. That same afternoon, the chassis was powered down, and every drive came in with its bay number written on the carrier. The two weak members were copied first, one of them across four passes; all the other drives read straight through. The PERC's own description of the set was pulled off the images, the array assembled above them, and both volumes (the file share and the job database) were brought up read-only. Everything was opened here before it went home.

Each of the weak members copied first2 volumes back on line

What helps, and what makes it worse.

First things to do

  • Turn off power to the chassis as soon as one of the members drops out
  • Write the bay number on each of your carriers before removing them
  • Get a quote, then send every disk, the failed one included
  • Tell us what the PERC has already been asked to do

What makes it worse

  • Starting or restarting a rebuild without one of the members
  • Importing or clearing a foreign configuration
  • Forcing a failed member back online through the menus
  • Re-creating the virtual disk and seeing if it comes back

Answers before you commit to anything.

The rebuild stopped part-way. Is the array gone?

Usually not, but this is where you must stop playing with it. A rebuild requires all remaining members to complete a full sector read, the heaviest demand that anyone can place on the oldest disks in the building, and it is often the weakest disk that fails under it. At that point you have two members down rather than one, with images still to be taken from both. Power off the chassis, leave the carriers in their slots, and let copies be made before trying anything else.

The disks read as nothing on a PC. Are they damaged?

Almost certainly not. An ordinary desktop will not have a SAS port to attach a SAS drive, and even if you had a port available, a PC would see a RAID member with the PERC's own metadata rather than a file system it can mount. The same disks are readable on the correct hardware. If a disk has been put on a PC and Windows has asked to initialise it, the only thing that matters is that nobody said yes.

Do you need the server, or only the disks?

The disks. Get a quote first, by phone or with the form. Then send each member as a bare disk with the bay number clearly written on it. The carriers, the chassis and the controller can all stay where they are, since the array's configuration is read from the images, not from your hardware. Tell us which PERC it was and what it has already been asked to do: a rebuild, an import, a clear, or forcing a member back online. This history shapes the order of the work more than anything else you can give us.

How much is it, and how long does it take?

Servers and RAID sets begin at £500 + VAT, and that price band is published here rather than held back until you call. There is no cost for the diagnosis, the figure is fixed in writing before any chargeable work is carried out, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Four to six working days is normal for a multi-disk set, from the parcel arriving to your recovered data going home on new media. If your situation is urgent, we can move it up our schedule.

If this sounds like yours, start here.

Disks out of a NAS → When a RAID 5 rebuild goes wrong → When ransomware has the files → Every device we handle →

Nothing gets worse while it sits switched off.

There is no charge for the look. You then receive a list of the files that opened, those that did not, and a fixed amount to complete the job. Keep it switched off until you have received that in writing.

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