Our sister location has had a server crash/issue and have asked us for help. Unfortunately I am a hardware person not a software person and am having difficulty helping. Please read the info they have provided me. Thank you
Reviewing the operational history, on Friday 3/29 the server was shutdown normally to allow the batteries in the UPS to be replaced. The backup files on the USB drive were not checked before the Novell server was shutdown. Recent backup e-mail logs had indicated the backup had been run nightly.
On startup, the server performed a routine consistency check of the RAID volume, then failed to startup Novell. Kris described the consistency check as completing without error or intervention; it was not interrupted.
I investigated the Dell/Novell server startup failure today, checking each of the components. I determined and confirmed that the hardware was OK, no failed components. The three 72gb SCSI drives show no errors. The
RAID5 volume is intact and consistent.
Inspecting the disk sectors, I found that the first 40mb were erased and set to all zeroes. I found no apparent cause or explanation for the erase. Since the Novell volume starts around the 100mb boundary, it is likely that all of the Novell files are intact but they remain inacessible.
Checking the backup, the last backup file was created 3/8/2013, with five previous copies of the backup. The backup continued to repeate the 3/8 backup job, sending out new e-mail reports but not updating the backup files.
I used several different recovery programs to search for data that would help rebuild the missing partition table and startup volume, no success.
Next, I created a new 100mb DOS partition to allow starting the server from the hard drive. However, without the original Novell installation disc, I'm unable to install the Novell files necessary for startup. It may be possible to recover these files from the backup.
For Wednesday, I will be in contact with Kroll Ontrack Data recovery in Minnesota. They have tools and technicians that should be able to recover the missing Novell partition info and regain access to the Novell server.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! :)
Thank you in advance,
Jessica
Reviewing the operational history, on Friday 3/29 the server was shutdown normally to allow the batteries in the UPS to be replaced. The backup files on the USB drive were not checked before the Novell server was shutdown. Recent backup e-mail logs had indicated the backup had been run nightly.
On startup, the server performed a routine consistency check of the RAID volume, then failed to startup Novell. Kris described the consistency check as completing without error or intervention; it was not interrupted.
I investigated the Dell/Novell server startup failure today, checking each of the components. I determined and confirmed that the hardware was OK, no failed components. The three 72gb SCSI drives show no errors. The
RAID5 volume is intact and consistent.
Inspecting the disk sectors, I found that the first 40mb were erased and set to all zeroes. I found no apparent cause or explanation for the erase. Since the Novell volume starts around the 100mb boundary, it is likely that all of the Novell files are intact but they remain inacessible.
Checking the backup, the last backup file was created 3/8/2013, with five previous copies of the backup. The backup continued to repeate the 3/8 backup job, sending out new e-mail reports but not updating the backup files.
I used several different recovery programs to search for data that would help rebuild the missing partition table and startup volume, no success.
Next, I created a new 100mb DOS partition to allow starting the server from the hard drive. However, without the original Novell installation disc, I'm unable to install the Novell files necessary for startup. It may be possible to recover these files from the backup.
For Wednesday, I will be in contact with Kroll Ontrack Data recovery in Minnesota. They have tools and technicians that should be able to recover the missing Novell partition info and regain access to the Novell server.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! :)
Thank you in advance,
Jessica