[Filmo]

G5 Server with 3 1TB Drive set up in Raid 5 configuration conrolled by Megaraid G5 controller card

Set up as two Logical Drives

Logical Drive 0 is the drive (single partition) with the system software.
Logical Drive 1 is the drive with 2 partitions. Holds a lot of our data..

The server does and IS booting from Logical Drive 0, so it appears that the RAID5 is working, but when we came in this morning Logical Drive 1 is giving the "This drive can not be mounted Initialize/Ignore/Eject" error for each partition. Yikes!!! (has been working fine for the past six months... )

I tried using Disk Utility. It shows LD0 and it's partition mounted and LD 1 with it's partitions grayed out. I try using the 'mount' button but it does not work.

See:
http://ridiculousprods.com/mega1.png
http://ridiculousprods.com/mega2.png

using Megaraid -showconfig indicated the everything is supposedly online and working.

server:~ admin$ megaraid -showconfig 1
MEGARAID CLI version 1.0.12
RAID Level = 5
StripeSize = 64 KB
Size = 1702830 MB
Status = OPTIMAL
WriteCached : Enabled
ReadAhead : Adaptive
IO Policy : Cached IO
Drives = { 0, 1, 2 }
server:~ admin$

Surely there must be something that can be done to get these partition mounted??

Is there some software I should go and get immediately?
Is there something else I can do on the G5 Server itself with either Megaraid or standard Mac OS X software.
If not, can anybody recommend somebody in the Los Angeles area who can help?

Mac OS X 10.4.11 Server 3GB RAM Dual 2.0 GHZ G5s

[Filmo]

Hi, ran Diskwarrior 4. It said it successfull built a new directory but that the new directory cannot replace the original directory due to a Mac OS services failure.

http://ridiculousprods.com/diskwarrior1.png
???

Suggests to try rebuilding again.

When I tried to preview I got this error:
http://ridiculousprods.com/diskwarrior2.png

[reader50]

Ignoring the RAID side (since the boot volume works) it looks like either normal directory damage (partition 2,3), or partition map damage to volume 2. If you click "Verify Disk" on one of the unmounted partitions, what does Disk Utility say?

I tend to use Disk Warrior to do repairs (it's more thorough) while using Disk Utility for initial diagnostics (Verify Disk - it's faster at determining if there is a problem). You can certainly use DU to do a repair, but it won't try anything involved to salvage endangered files while repairing the directory tree.

It's odd that both partitions got knocked offline. Did the server crash overnight?

Edit - I see you already found Disk Warrior. From the report, it looks like the data is present, and in good shape. If you can get it to preview, I'd suggest copying all the data off to an external drive. Then reformat logical volume 2, and restore.

Alternative: it may be that Volume 1 (the boot volume) was what crashed last night. The server was able to recover, but some system files are gone. Files needed to mount the 2nd volume. If so, Volume 1 needs a fresh OS install, along with all your custom components (like the RAID card driver, I'd assume).

How well are you backed up? Wiping everything, then restoring from backups is another answer.

[Filmo]

Disk utility is saying that everything is fine and that no repairs are needed. But it won't mount the volumes.

Disk Warrior gets to step 8 of the repair, but I'm not able to preview the repair and thus can not recover the files.

http://ridiculousprods.com/diskwarrior3.png

Can I put a G5 server in Disk Target mode and try and run the repairs from a separate machine?

The big bummer is the the G5 Server has a Slim CD drive in it and not a DVD drive, so I can't boot from the DiskWarrior 4 DVD disc. Argh!!!!

[reader50]

Target Disk Mode works in all modern Macs (MB Air is an exception). Better answer: plug in an external HD via FW or USB. Install OS, add any needed drivers for the MegaRAID card. Reboot from the external HD - see if you can get all partitions to mount.

[Filmo]

I'm installing OSX Server onto a Firewire drive now. Hopefully that will work. I'll post back once I get a little further along.

[Filmo]

Okay FYI, Target Disk Mode does not work if you are using a Megaraid PCI raid card, particularly on the G5 server. It goes into the Target mode, but then looks on the SATA bus for the drives (which aren't there because they're on the PCI bus as part of the Megaraid Card.

I installed a OS X Server package on Firewire Drive. When I attached it to the Server, it also was unrecognized. (It does work as a start up drive on another machine, so I've confirmed that the Server install on the firewire drive is good.)

Seems like there's some corruption in the Mac OS X 10.4 Server install. The previous images above, in particular the Disk Warrior one indicated that the reason it couldn't mount the preview was because of an error with Mac OS X service. See this image in particular: http://ridiculousprods.com/diskwarrior1.png

I'm starting to think that whatever part of the Mac OS X system deals with mounting volumes is the problem here. It can't mount the logical disk on the RAID beyond the boot volume, and it can't mount any attached firewire drives either. Anybody have any thoughts on trouble shooting the mount processes. Perhaps there's some command line work around.

[Filmo]

Forgot to add, I've tried starting up the server with the "option" key held down and the firewire drive plugged into both the 800 port and 400 port. No love. It doesn't show up as a selectable drive. I'm not sure why this would be because in theory this is well before the system software loads. I've also just reset the PRAM which doesn't seem to make a difference.

[reader50]

Connect a wired keyboard to the server. Plug in the external FW drive. Reboot, holding down the Option key. You should be able to select the FW drive.
oops, problem is most likely a dodgy FW drive. Got a nice big USB flashdrive, or can the enclosure connect via USB? It will run slower, but should still work.

I agree with your diagnosis - it's a problem with the boot system. You can diagnose from the FW drive, provided it has the MegaRAID stuff installed on it too. This may prove significantly harder because you don't have a "normal" HD attached to the system for diagnostic / repair work.

When you're ready to repair, run the FW cable to another Mac that does have a DVD drive - preferably a PPC Mac. Put the OSX Install DVD in that Mac, then reboot the 2nd Mac in FW Target mode.

Option A: (external Mac can be PPC or x86) Now reboot the Server with Option down - it will presently find the OSX install disk in the external Mac - it will appear as an external FW optical drive. This may fix you up, especially if the MegaRAID doesn't require a driver. If it does need a driver, then ...

Option B: (external Mac must be PPC) Install OSX Server on an internal drive of the external PPC Mac. Include any needed MegaRAID drivers. Leave OSX Install DVD in the optical drive. Reboot external Mac in FW Target mode. Reboot Server with Option held down - boot from the prepared HD in the external Mac - your MegaRAID volumes should be reachable. You can start an OSX Install while booted from another drive - navigate to Install DVD/System/Installation/Packages/OSInstall.mpkg.

[Filmo]

I've placed an old G4 we had lying around into Target Mode. The G5 server recognizes the main drive in the G4, but not the DVD drive. I'm now installing OS X Server 10.4 onto the G4 main drive. Hopefully the G5 will mount that once it's installed. (The firewire drive I was using is brand spanking new and seems to work fine as a bootable drive for other machines, so I don't think it's wanky. But perhaps.)

I attempted to get the G5 Server to run off of the regular OSX on the externally targeted G4, but part way through the 'star-burst-rotating-start-up-grey-wheel' that normally accompanies any Mac start up, I got a "circle with a slash through it" above the normal spinny wheel. It just stuck there so eventually I had to shut down the server.

Fortunately I have the 10.4 Server install disks on CD-ROM. My next step if the Target Mode to a OS X Server disk doesn't work will be to boot to the CD-ROM, and reinstall the OS X Server on the partition that does mount. I really don't want to do this as I'll obviously have to reset up the server again and Open Directory. Ugh. Is there a way to to a 're-install' that won't wipe the settings but will replace all the system stuff? (Wishful thinking I'm sure, but I gotta ask before I go down the route of no return.)

I've never found a good way to back up server setting on OS X Server other than to 'drag-and-drop' the settings from each panel to the desktop and then archive them somewhere. Is there some easier way that I've been missing?

[reader50]

Filmo, a G4 will probably not be able to mount the optical drive via Target mode. However, you could pull the optical drive from the G5 server. Replace the ribbon cable with a longer one, bring the cable out the front, connect up a bare DVD optical drive on top of the Server. Ugly, yes. But it ought to work.

Optionally, use both ribbon connectors if you want to mount an "internal" HD on the PATA bus along with the optical drive.