Is it possible to mount HP RAID volumes on Linux? I have a Compaq Elite 8100, running Windows 7, that won't boot (BOOTMGR missing). The drives are physically OK. I want to use a Linux live CD (or rescue DVD) to copy files from the RAID volume but I don't know how to mount it. Is it possible?

What does parted or fdisk show for the partitions of the drives?

Installing ntfs-3g package which allows to mount Windows ntfs filesystems.

You don't say which Linux distro or version thereof you're running. I recently was able to recover files from a Windows 7 laptop's hard drive by installing this package (and ntfs-progs) on my RHEL7 workstation. Depending on how old it is you might need to install fuse packages.

If you do a web search you'll find information on these.

Hello Mensa,

I have not tried parted or fdisk. I don't know how to use these utilities. But I'll investigate and see what I can do. If you can specify a command then I'll be happy to report the results.

The version of Linux I'm using is Linux Mint 14.1. I'm using the live CD version. I don't want to install Mint on the computer. I just want to use it to extract desperately needed files.

The two hard drives are configured in a RAID array (mirror). I think it's a hardware RAID, but I'm not sure.
This link describes the RAID system.

I thought (hoped) that a hardware RAID array would look like an ordinary drive to the OS. That way it would mount like a single ordinary drive. But Mint cannot mount this RAID array. (I tried this exercise on a Win7 PC without RAID. Mint mounts the drive automatically). The /dev folder shows /dev/sda and /dev/sdb, not /dev/sda1 or /dev/sdb1 as I expected. When I try to mount /dev/sda or /dev/sdb a message pops up that indicates they can't be mounted. Do RAID arrays show up as some other type of device in /dev?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Generally speaking when using hardware RAID (vs software RAID) your OS will only see the RAID sets or LUNs you've created as opposed to the physical drives that comprise them.

Examples:
If you had an internal RAID controller such as an Avago/LSI/PERC with 8 drives managed and had configured 2 drives as a RAID 1 (Mirror) and the remaining 6 drives as RAID 5 your OS would see only 2 drives - one for each RAID set - it would not see all 8 drives.

If you have an external Disk Array presenting 5 LUNs that came from 3 different RAID sets and/or pools your OS would see 5 drives regardless of how many drives comprised each of those RAID sets/pools. (Disk Array topologies can vary wildly - some are simple like the Dell MD1220 so it is just presenting RAID sets but others are more sophisticated like the Hitachi VSP which builds pools out of multiple RAID sets then allows you to subdivide the pools into many LUNS.)

Now that you've let us know you're using a LIVE CD though it may be that doesn't have the drivers built into it to see your RAID devices. For the Avago/LSI/PERC you need the MegaRaid or MegaSAS driver. For disk arrays you might need a specific driver (e.g. the one for Qlogic fiber HBA). Some of these drivers are built into the base kernel these days but I don't know what choices Mint might have made for its live CD.

So first do "ls -l /dev/hd*" and "ls -l /dev/sd*" to see what is there. I'd expect the devices to show up as /dev/sd* but some older things are /dev/hd*. In the /dev/sd* naming the letters are the drives and the numbers are partitions on those drives e.g.
/dev/sdg = 7th drive found
/dev/sdg1 = First partition on 7th drive
/dev/sdg2 = Second partition on 7th drive

For any "drive" found you can run "parted /dev/sd<letter> print" to see its partition table. (fdisk -l /dev/sd<letter> also works.)

Unlikely to help the OP - he has already said the drive was originally used on a Windows system so it is unlikely to have been configured with dmraid. The implication from what he has posted so far suggests it may be hardware RAID rather than software RAID.

I haven't done software RAID in Windows but apparently it is available:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/36504...-in-windows-7/

This hardware RAID must be an addon card then, I do not think the model mentioned has factory hardware RAID.

This document suggests the RAID configuration can be done via the internal eSATA controller for this model:
http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/p...r_na-c02034672

Looking at drivers HP provides they are all for Windows so there may not be one for Linux. But then again it may just see whatever the eSATA provides. There is probably a way to interact with the eSATA setup during boot either via system BIOS or a separate BIOS seen in POST. I don't have this model so can't tell.

I read somewhere that Knoppix has RAID software built in. So I downloaded latest version and installed it. Results seem encouraging, but still no cigar!

Running Knoppix I now see drives (partitions?) listed in the file manager (PCManFM). When I click on any of them I get this message:
ntfs-3g-mount : mount failed : Device or resource busy

In /dev I now see devices like /dev/sda[1-15]. With Mint I only saw /dev/sda and /dev/sba (no numbers on the end).

"mount" returns this:
/dev/mapper/isw_cebccdbgcc_RAIDVOL1 on \media\knoppix\SYSTEM\ type fuseblk (... a long list of parameters ... )
/dev/mapper/isw_cebccdbgcc_RAIDVOL2 on \media\knoppix\SYSTEM\ type fuseblk (... a long list of parameters ... )

"dmraid -ay" returns this:
RAID set "iws_cebcedbgcc_RAIDVOL" already active
RAID set "iws_cebcedbgcc_RAIDVOL1" already active
RAID set "iws_cebcedbgcc_RAIDVOL2" already active
RAID set "iws_cebcedbgcc_RAIDVOL3" already active

Does any of this mean anything to anyone? I'm relieved to see a MENSA guy thinking about this.

What is in \media\knoppix\SYSTEM? (or /media/knoppix/SYSTEM?)

What does df show?

Better - what does "df -hT" show ?. Cut-and-paste the answer, don't type it (even a photo)

If your windows installation won't boot but is otherwise undamaged there may be other ways to boot it. The Super Grub 2 rescue disk can boot almost any operating system including up to windows 8.1. People use this disk with Windows 7 BOOTMGR missing situations.

>> I thought (hoped) that a hardware RAID array would look like an ordinary drive to the OS. That way it would mount like a single ordinary drive.

This is the case for true 100% hardware RAID which costs $200+ for PCI cards. What you likely have is what is termed 'fakeRAID' especially if it is built into your motherboard.

This is not an advertisement but a product called r-tools saved the day when all other tools we tried indicated the data was gone including Knoppix, SystemRescueCD, and another commercial product (I don't recall the name). YMMV.