I've found myself in a tough spot and need your advice. We have an HP ProLiant ML310e Gen8 v2 server that's crucial for our business but I accidentally broke the Windows boot while trying to recover data. The previous admin vanished without a trace, leaving us without the local Windows Administrator password. The server holds important files, especially an old Microsoft Access database and a lot of documents.
Here's what happened: I powered down the server and removed the hard drive to connect it to my laptop via a USB SATA dock. Since it's managed by the HP B120i RAID controller, the drive seemed empty and difficult to access, despite my efforts with various commands using disk management tools. When I returned the drive to the server, Windows now refuses to boot, displaying a "Non-System disk or disk error" message.
I can boot successfully from USB with SystemRescue live Linux and can access BIOS (F9), but can't boot from the hard drive or a DVD with the ISO I tried. I've used TestDisk multiple times with no success, and attempts with PhotoRec yielded only junk files without any of the actual documents I need.
Given the importance of this data, I'm genuinely worried about what I've done and the potential consequences. Is there anything more I can try in SystemRescue to either fix the boot issues or recover valuable data? Or have I hit a dead end? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
You should definitely check whether the drive is recognized in iLO after you reinserted it. If not, there might be a connection issue or it wasn't seated properly. You can also boot into WinPE, which might help in copying data if the RAID functionality is intact. But honestly, if this feels overwhelming, involving a professional recovery service might be smartest.
And don't forget to document everything you do for the pros later if you end up going that route!
Honestly, the best move at this point is to hire a professional data recovery service. Trying to fix this on your own could risk further damage, especially with a RAID setup. It's better to let experts handle it since they have specialized tools and knowledge.
I hear you! It's a tough decision, but sometimes you just have to trust the pros to handle this.
Yeah, dealing with RAID data recovery can be pretty tricky. Getting help is really your safest bet.
First things first, you should definitely reach out to HP support. They're more likely to have the tools and expertise to help you resolve the issue with the RAID controller.
While you're figuring that out, keep your company informed about the situation without panicking them. This is a chance to show you're proactive! Consider planning a data restoration to another server, possibly a cloud-based VM if you have that option available. Who knows? Now might be the best time to push for some cloud resources if you've been lacking them!
Absolutely, leveraging cloud solutions is a golden opportunity. Plus, it helps move away from depending solely on that single server.
Totally agree. If anything, this makes a strong case for improving your infrastructure!
That's a solid suggestion! Just make sure to check every connection. Could save you some hassle.