This section provides instructions on how to recover and restore your NAS system. Depending on the RAID configuration of your NAS system, see one of the following recovery and restoration procedures as appropriate:
For instructions on how to determine if you have a software-RAID or a hardware-RAID NAS system, see "Determining a NAS System's Configuration" in "NAS Manager."
NOTICE: Ensure that you use the correct recovery and restoration procedures for your NAS system
RAID type.
This subsection provides instructions on how to recover the software-RAID NAS system if the operating system or a hard drive fails. Additionally, this section provides information for possible solutions that do not require restoring the operating system or hard drives.
Because your NAS system is designed to have redundancy, it can recover from certain hardware and software failures. In some situations, it can recover automatically, and in others, you must have administrator privileges and manually intervene to recover the NAS system.
Use the following methods in the order listed to restore your software-RAID NAS system:
This section provides checks and solutions to try before you reinstall your operating system or replace a hard drive. Some of the checks require you to observe the LEDs on the front and back of the NAS system. For more information about the LEDs, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
Does the power LED show that the NAS system is turned on?
Ensure that the power cable is connected to the NAS system and a power source and that the NAS system is turned on.
Are the link LEDs on the back of the NAS system and any network switches to which it may be connected illuminated?
Ensure that the Ethernet cable is securely connected to the NAS system and a functioning Ethernet jack.
Are you using a standard Ethernet cable to connect to the network?
Do not use a crossover cable.
Have you allowed enough time for the NAS system to boot?
The NAS system typically takes several minutes to boot.
Does the NAS system boot completely?
Connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the NAS system, and observe the boot process.
Are the LEDs for all four hard drives on the NAS system lit?
Your software-RAID NAS system has a mirror of the operating system on hard drives, which allows you to recover in most cases. Depending on which drive fails, use one of the procedures in Table 6-1 to recover from a hard-drive failure.
Table 6-1. Software-RAID NAS System Hard-Drive Recovery Procedures
This section provides the procedures for replacing hard drive 0, 1, 2, or 3, re-establishing the recovery operating system partitions, and booting from the recovery operating system mirror hard drives.
Replacing Hard Drives
Remove the front bezel.
Remove the failed hard drive from the NAS system.
See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for information about removing and replacing drives.
If you are replacing hard drive 0 and the system is not powered on, move the hard drive in
slot 1 to slot 0, and then insert the new hard drive into slot 1 and go to step 5. Otherwise,
proceed to step 4.
This procedure allows the system to boot during step 6.
Insert a new hard drive in the same location.
Replace the front bezel.
Turn on the system, if it is not turned on already.
NOTE: The NAS system takes approximately 5 minutes to boot completely.
NOTE: The NAS system automatically starts rebuilding the operating system volume. The
rebuild procedure may take several hours.
NOTE: If the volume does not start building, you do not have a drive that is the same size or
larger than the failed drive, you did not have the drive in the system when the system booted,
or you were not using a RAID 1 volume. Use Array Manager to repair or reconfigure your
volumes. See "Disk and Volume Management."
Recovering From a Software-RAID Operating System Failure
If the operating system fails, you can attempt to recover data by booting from the recovery mirror hard drives, and then reinstall the operating system using the procedure in "Reinstalling the Operating System." This procedure requires that certain system files on the primary operating system volume (C:) are accessible by the recovery operating system during boot and during the backup procedure. Ensure that all drives are installed prior to starting the recovery procedure.
NOTICE: The reinstallation procedure resets your NAS system to the Dell default settings and
deletes all data on the NAS system. Before performing this procedure, attempt to boot from the
operating system image on the mirrored hard drives. See "Booting From the Software-RAID NAS
System Recovery Operating System Mirror Hard Drives." Booting from the recovery operating
system mirror enables you to perform a file restore on the main operating system mirror or access
the data on the data partition and back it up to tape.
Booting From the Software-RAID NAS System Recovery Operating System Mirror Hard Drives
You might need the software-RAID NAS system to boot from the recovery operating system mirror so that you can perform a file restore on the main operating system mirror or access the data on the data partition and back it up to tape.
NOTE: The recovery operating system mirror is intended as a temporary way to back up data. After
performing the backup, reinstall the operating system using the procedures in "Reinstalling the
Operating System."
To boot from the recovery drive, perform the following steps:
Shut down the NAS system.
Remove the front bezel.
Swap hard drives 0 and 2 with each other.
See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for information about swapping drives.
Swap hard drives 1 and 3 with each other.
Replace the bezel.
Turn on the NAS system.
The NAS system boots from the operating system on hard drives 0 and 1.
This section provides instructions on how to recover the hardware-RAID NAS system if the operating system or a hard drive fails. Additionally, this section provides information for possible solutions that do not require restoring the operating system or hard drives.
Because your NAS system is designed to have redundancy, it can recover from certain hardware and software failures. In some situations, it can recover automatically, and in others, you must have administrator privileges and manually intervene to recover the NAS system.
Use the following methods in the order listed to restore your hardware-RAID NAS system:
This section provides checks and solutions to try before you reinstall your operating system or replace a hard drive. Some of the checks require you to observe the LEDs on the front and back of the NAS system. For more information about the LEDs, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
Does the power LED show that the NAS system is turned on?
Ensure that the power cable is connected to the NAS system and a power source and that the NAS system is turned on.
Are the link LEDs on the back of the NAS system and any network switches to which it may be connected illuminated?
Ensure that the Ethernet cable is securely connected to the NAS system and a functioning Ethernet jack.
Are you using a standard Ethernet cable to connect to the network?
Do not use a crossover cable.
Have you allowed enough time for the NAS system to boot?
The NAS system typically takes several minutes to boot.
Does the NAS system boot completely?
Connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the NAS system, and observe the boot process.
Are the LEDs for all four hard drives on the NAS system lit?
Your hardware-RAID NAS system uses RAID 5 parity-redundancy functions to recover the operating system and data in most cases. Depending on how many drives fail, use one of the procedures in Table 6-2 to recover from a hard-drive failure.
Table 6-2. Hardware-RAID NAS System Hard-Drive Recovery Procedures
Reinstalling the operating system on a hardware-RAID NAS system does not delete the data volume; therefore, a data recovery volume, which is available on a software-RAID NAS system, is not necessary. RAID 5 redundancy protection is provided by its ability to recover data through parity matching. Therefore, if the operating system files are missing or corrupt, the operating system must be reinstalled. See "Recovering From a Hardware-RAID Operating System Failure."
See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for information about removing and replacing drives.
Insert a new hard drive in the same location.
NOTE: Ensure that the new hard drive is the same size as or larger than the failed drive.
Replace the front bezel.
Turn on the system, if it is not already turned on.
NOTE: The NAS system takes approximately 5 minutes to boot completely.
If the NAS system was turned on when the hard drive was replaced, the RAID controller card automatically rebuilds and recovers all data to the new hard drive. If the NAS system was turned off when the hard drive was replaced, you must manually start the rebuilding process.
To manually start the rebuilding process, perform the following steps:
When prompted during POST, press <Ctrl><A> to start the CERC BIOS Configuration
Utility.
Select Array Configuration Utility.
Select Create Arrays in the Array Configuration Utility screen and press <Enter>.
Select all four hard drives to create the array.
When the Array Properties Menu appears, select RAID 5.
Press <Enter>.
Type an array label.
Press <Enter>.
Highlight ArraySize and press <Enter>.
Type 10 to specify a 10-GB partition when creating the operating system array or type the
desired size for the data array.
Select the array settings by pressing <Enter>.
NOTE: Enabling write cache will improve performance, but may lead to possible data loss if a
sudden power outage occurs. Dell recommends that you use a UPS with the NAS system.
Select Done and press <Enter> to complete the RAID 5 configuration.
Press any key to return to the main menu.
Press <Esc> twice.
Select Yes to exit the utility and press <Enter>.
The system automatically reboots.
Recovering From a Hardware-RAID Operating System Failure
If the operating system for your hardware-RAID NAS system fails, reinstall the operating system using the procedure in "Reinstalling the Operating System."
Recreating a Hardware-RAID NAS System Data Volume
After reinstalling the operating system, ensure that the RAID-5 data volume is present as explained in "Checking Partition or Volume Properties" in "Disk and Volume Management." If the RAID-5 data volume is not present, recreate the volume by performing the following steps:
This subsection provides instructions on how to recover the software RAID with external storage NAS system if the operating system internal hard drives or external storage hard drives fail. Additionally, this section provides information for possible solutions that do not require restoring the operating system or hard drives.
Because your NAS system is designed to have redundancy, it can recover from certain hardware and software failures. In some situations, it can recover automatically, and in others, you must have administrator privileges and manually intervene to recover the NAS system.
Use the following methods in the order listed to restore your software-RAID NAS system:
Troubleshooting External Storage Configuration NAS Systems
This section provides checks and solutions to try before you reinstall your operating system or replace a hard drive. Some of the checks require you to observe the LEDs on the front and back of the NAS system. For more information about the LEDs, see your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide.
Does the power LED show that the NAS system is turned on?
Ensure that the power cable is connected to the NAS system and a power source and that the NAS system is turned on.
Does the power LED on the external storage enclosure show that the enclosure is turned on?
Ensure that the power cable connected to the storage enclosure and a power source and that the enclosure is turned on.
Are the link LEDs on the back of the NAS system and any network switches to which it may be connected illuminated?
Ensure that the Ethernet cable is securely connected to the NAS system and a functioning Ethernet jack.
Are you using a standard Ethernet cable to connect to the network?
Do not use a crossover cable.
Have you allowed enough time for the NAS system to boot?
The NAS system typically takes several minutes to boot.
Does the NAS system boot completely?
Connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the NAS system, and observe the boot process.
Are the LEDs for all hard drives in the NAS system lit?
External Storage Configuration NAS System Hard-Drive Failures
Your external storage configuration NAS system has a mirror of the operating system on the internal software-RAID hard drives and external storage for data volumes, which allows you to recover in most cases. Depending on which drive fails, use one of the procedures in Table 6-3 to recover from a hard-drive failure.
Table 6-3. External Storage NAS System Hard-Drive Recovery Procedures
Replace the failed hard drives, and then follow the procedures in your external storage system's documentation.
Replacing External Storage Configuration NAS System Internal Hard Drives
This section provides the procedures for replacing internal hard drives 0 or 1.
Replacing Hard Drives
Remove the front bezel.
Remove the failed hard drive from the NAS system.
See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for information about removing and replacing drives.
If you are replacing hard drive 0 and the system is not powered on, move the hard drive in
slot 1 to slot 0, and then insert the new hard drive into slot 1 and proceed to step 5.
Otherwise, proceed to step 4.
This procedure allows the system to boot during step 6.
Insert a new hard drive in the same location.
Replace the front bezel.
Turn on the system, if it is not turned on already.
NOTE: The NAS system automatically starts rebuilding the operating system volume. The
rebuild procedure may take several hours.
NOTE: The NAS system takes approximately 5 minutes to boot completely.
NOTE: If the volume does not start building, you do not have a drive that is the same size or
larger than the failed drive, you did not have the drive in the system when the system booted,
or you were not using a RAID 1 volume. Use Array Manager to repair or reconfigure your
volumes. See "Disk and Volume Management."
Recovering From an Operating System Failure
If the operating system for your software-RAID (with external storage) NAS system fails, reinstall the operating system using the procedure in "Reinstalling the Operating System."
NOTICE: The reinstallation procedure resets your NAS system to the Dell default settings.
Replacing External Storage Hard Drives
For information about replacing an external storage hard drive that has failed, see your external storage systems documentation.
Recreating an External Storage NAS System Data Volume
For information about recreating an external storage data volume, see your external storage systems documentation.
Reinstalling the Operating System
NOTICE: This procedure resets your NAS system to the Dell default settings. It also deletes all data on
the software-RAID NAS system. (Hardware-RAID NAS system data volumes and external storage data
volumes are not affected).
This procedure resets your NAS system to the Dell default settings. It also deletes all data on the software-RAID NAS system. (Hardware-RAID NAS system data volumes and external storage data volumes are not affected).
Perform all three of the following procedures to reinstall the operating system:
Install the Reinstallation console on a system running Windows® 2000, Windows 2003, or
Windows XP.
Prepare the USB Key, which was provided with your NAS system, for the reinstallation.
Reinstall the operating system on your NAS system.
Requirements
Client system with a CD drive running the Windows 2000 (Professional or Server Family), Windows 2003, or Windows XP operating system.
64-MB USB Key included with your NAS system
Resource CDincluded with your NAS system
Reinstallation CDsincluded with your NAS system
Keyboard, mouse, and monitor attached to your NAS system
Installing the Reinstallation Console on a System Running Windows 2000, Windows 2003,
or Windows XP
You must set up a client system running one of the supported to reinstall the operating system image on your NAS system. Part of this setup includes installing a set of NAS utilities used for the reinstallation.
NOTE: You must have administrator privileges to install the Reinstallation Console.
NOTE: On systems running Windows XP, network sharing is disabled by default. You must enable
network sharing before installing the Reinstallation Console.
To properly set up your client system, perform the following steps:
Insert the Resource CD that came with your NAS system into your client system's CD drive.
The Resource CD automatically starts.
From the Resource CD menu, click Reinstallation Utilities.
Click on Dell PowerVault NAS Reinstallation Console.
When prompted to open the file or save it to your computer, click Open.
Follow the prompts and accept the defaults to complete the installation.
Click Start, point to Programs→ Dell NAS Reinstallation Tools, and click Dell PowerVault
NAS Reinstallation Console.
Select the volume you want to share.
The volume must have at least 3 GB of temporary free space available for your reinstallation.
Click Begin Setup.
Click OK.
When prompted, insert Reinstallation CDs 1, 2, and 3.
NOTE: Do not close the application until after you have finished reinstalling the operating system on
your NAS system.
Preparing the USB Key
Because the USB key is used to boot the NAS system to start the reinstallation and to provide configuration information, you must configure the USB Key with the necessary information.
NOTICE: When you perform the following procedure, all data on the USB Key is deleted.
NOTE: You must have administrator privileges to install the Dell PowerVault USB Key Preparation Tool.
To configure the USB Key, perform the following steps:
Insert the USB Key into a USB connector on the client system.
Insert the Resource CD that came with your NAS system into your client system CD drive.
The Resource CD automatically starts.
From the Resource CD menu, click Reinstallation Utilities to display the reinstallation
utilities.
From the Resource CD menu, click the Install NAS Utilities link.
Click on Dell PowerVault USB Key Preparation Tool
When prompted to open the file or save it to your computer, click Open.
Follow the prompts and accept the defaults to complete the installation.
Click Start, point to Programs→ Dell NAS Reinstallation Tools, and click Dell PowerVault
USB Key Preparation Tool.
In the Reinstallation Client Name text box, type the name of the client system you setup for
the reinstallation.
If your system is in a DHCP environment, click Prepare USB Key. If you system is in a non-
DHCP environment, select the non-DHCP radio button, enter the client IP address, subnet
mask, and default gateway, and click Prepare USB Key.
NOTE: If you do not enter the client name, you will be prompted for the client system name and
network configuration each time you attempt to reinstall.
The USB Key configuration is complete, and the USB Key is ready for use.
Reinstalling the Operating System on Your NAS System
NOTICE: This procedure resets your NAS system to the Dell default settings. Any data on the internal
operating system drives will be deleted. Data on external SCSI enclosures will not be affected. Before
performing this procedure on an External Storage NAS system, attempt to recover your system by
following the procedures in "Troubleshooting External Storage Configuration NAS Systems." For
instructions on how to determine the configuration of your NAS system, see "Determining a NAS
System's Configuration" in "NAS Manager."
NOTE: Dell recommends that you back up your system, if possible, before attempting a system
reinstallation. See "Backing Up the System."
Ensure that the NAS system is using NIC 1 to connect to the same network as the client
system.
NOTE: During reinstallation, you must use NIC 1 to connect the NAS system to a network that includes
your client system.
If this is an external storage NAS system, continue with step 4; otherwise, go to step 12.
Turn off any external storage enclosures attached to your system.
Physically disconnect all external storage enclosures connected to your NAS system by
removing the SCSI cables from the PERC RAID controller.
For instructions on how to connect/disconnect external enclosures to your system see the Dell™ PowerVault™ 22xS Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide on the NAS system's Resource CD.
NOTICE: Failure to disconnect all external storage enclosures from your NAS system before performing
a system reinstallation may lead to data loss. Disconnect all external storage enclosures from your NAS
system prior to continuing with this procedure.
Turn on the NAS system.
NOTE: During POST, the PERC controller may beep and display the following message. (This is expected
behavior and is not a error.):
Following SCSI ID's are not responding:
Channel-X: Y,Y
Z Logical Drive(s) Failed
Press <Ctrl><M> to run the Configuration Utility or any other Key to Continue...
During the RAID controller's power-on self test (POST), press <Ctrl><m> to enter the
RAID controller's BIOS Configuration Utility.
Select Configure→ Clear Configuration.
Click Yes when asked to Clear Configuration?.
Press any key to continue, or press <Esc> to exit the configuration utility, and then click Yes
when prompted to exit.
When the message Configuration has changed. Please REBOOT YOUR
SYSTEM displays, shut down your system.
Insert the USB Key into one of the USB connectors.
During the boot process, press <F2> when F2=Setup displays on the screen.
In the BIOS setup screen, select Boot Sequence and press <Enter>.
Ensure that Hard drive C is first in the list and press <Esc> to exit the Boot Sequence
menu.
Select Hard-Disk Drive Sequence and press <Enter>.
Ensure that Hard-disk-emulated USB flash drive is first in the list by using the <+>\<->
keys and press <Esc>.
Press <Esc> again, select Save Changes and Exit, and press <Enter>.
The system automatically shuts down and reboots from the USB Key.
When the Dell PowerVault NAS 745N menu displays, press <1> to select Reinstall NAS
system, and press <Enter>.
Follow the instructions on screen to re-image the operating system.
This procedure may take several minutes to complete.
When the procedure completes, turn off the NAS system by pressing the power button.
Remove the USB Key.
Reboot the NAS system.
NOTE: During the reinstallation process, do not attempt to connect to your NAS system.
The NAS system boots and continues with the reinstallation process.
If you need to install the operating system on other NAS systems, repeat step 1 through
step 23 for each system. Otherwise, go to step 25.
On the client system, close the Reinstallation Console.
NOTE: During the reinstallation process, do not attempt to connect to your NAS system. Depending
on your configuration, this part of the reinstallation process could take several hours. During this
process, the system may reboot several times while completing the reinstallation process. The
reinstallation process is complete when the logon screen is displayed.
If this is an external storage NAS system, follow with step 27, otherwise go to step 30.
From the logon screen, log in to the system and shut down your system.
NOTE: The default administrator user name is administrator and the default password is
powervault.
Reconnect to your NAS system any external enclosures that you may have disconnected.
Restart your NAS system.
During POST, the PERC controller automatically detects the RAID configuration stored on your disks.
NOTE: Check the Dell Support website at support.dell.com for the latest driver and software updates.
You might need to install the updates after completing the reinstallation.
In the Log on to Windows window, enter the same user name and password that you used to
log in to the NAS Manager and click OK.
The Welcome to Windows 2003 Backup and Recovery Tools window is displayed.
Click Restore Wizard.
In the Restore Wizard window, click Next.
Click Import File.
In the Backup File Name window, click OK if the file and location are correct. Otherwise,
click Browse and navigate to the correct backup file location.
NOTE: If the .bkf file is in another system you must copy the file to the NAS system or map a share
to the file before restoring.
In the What to Restore window, click (+) to expand the File tree, and then click to expand
Media created yyyy/mm/dd, where yyyy/mm/dd is the year/month/date that you made the
system-state backup.
Click the (+) next to System State.
In the Backup File Name window, click OK if the file and location are correct. Otherwise,
click Browse and navigate to the correct backup file location.
Click System State so that it is checked, and check any other application data files that you
backed up, and then click Next.
Click Advanced.
In the Where to Restore window, select Original location from the drop-down menu as the
location to restore the files, and then click Next.
In the How to Restore window, click Always replace the files on disk, and then click Next.
In the Advanced Restore Options window, leave all check boxes unchecked and click Next.
Click Finish.
When the Enter Backup File Name window displays, click OK.
NOTE: If your backup file is in a different location, click Browse and navigate to the file.
Click Start Restore.
When a message warns that the system restore will overwrite the current system state,
click OK.
Click OK in the Confirm Restore window.
Restart the NAS system after the restore process completes.
NOTE: Windows must replace all locked files on the system; therefore, the process of restarting
the system might take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Restoring Initial System Setup
After the operating system is reinstalled on the system, the NAS system is returned to default settings. Ensure that you configure the system again to establish network communication. For more information about configuring your system, see "Initial Configuration."
