Member Avatar for JamesTYoung

Hello All,

I have, for far too long, been using a Linksys EFG 80 for network storage. I had 2 hard drives, set for Raid 1 (I think, whichever makes the one drive copy the other, not striped for speed).

Anyway, the device has died and I can no longer read the disks. I purchased a USB to EIDE cable and tried to access the drives that way, but while the Drive Manager can see them, it doesn't recognize the format and I can't access the data.

Is all hope lost? Is there a way I can get my PC to be able to read the data on that drive, short of replacing the EFG 80 (a discontinued model, my new one only reads SATA drives).

I realize there are a few other threads which seem to indicate this is not possible, but no one has asked my question specifically and I'm hoping for a nuance that makes what I need possible.

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Member Avatar for ScudRunner50

I would guess that the problem you're running into is that you're no longer going through a RAID controller to access the data. I'm not sure how you can bypass this problem without another machine that you can put a RAID controller on, but I hope this at least points you in the right direction.

Member Avatar for JamesTYoung

I would guess that the problem you're running into is that you're no longer going through a RAID controller to access the data. I'm not sure how you can bypass this problem without another machine that you can put a RAID controller on, but I hope this at least points you in the right direction.

*nod* That's the direction I was thinking too, the challenge is finding a RAID controller.

Will a software controller work? Do I need both drives connected?

(Not that you have those answers, per se, but if anyone else reading does...)

Member Avatar for ScudRunner50

Since they're RAID 1 drives I doubt you'll need both of them, but I dont know if there is any software out there that can do what you're looking for. I'll see if I can find anything though...

Member Avatar for JamesTYoung

Since they're RAID 1 drives I doubt you'll need both of them, but I dont know if there is any software out there that can do what you're looking for. I'll see if I can find anything though...

Thanks :)

I look forward to hearing what you find, but I did try the standard channels (Read: google).

I'm hoping I just didn't know the correct way to phrase a search, or there are better ways to find things out than google.

Member Avatar for ScudRunner50

I did my own searches and though I admit I wasn't able to spend a ton of time on it I was not able to locate any hints that there is software that could act as a virtual raid controller. Best recommendation I can offer would be to get a new controller and see what you can do from there. I believe your problem was only that your device is busted and both of the drives still work fine, in this case you should be able to continue on as normal with both drives in raid 1 config.

However I did come across several sites that recommend against using RAID for similar reasons and state that you're better off doing DVD backups... imo I think you'll be fine as long as you have a new controller, less you have to worry about as its automatically backing up everything you do and provides a seamless experience if one drive should fail.

hope everything works out for you!

Member Avatar for JamesTYoung

I did my own searches and though I admit I wasn't able to spend a ton of time on it I was not able to locate any hints that there is software that could act as a virtual raid controller. Best recommendation I can offer would be to get a new controller and see what you can do from there. I believe your problem was only that your device is busted and both of the drives still work fine, in this case you should be able to continue on as normal with both drives in raid 1 config.

However I did come across several sites that recommend against using RAID for similar reasons and state that you're better off doing DVD backups... imo I think you'll be fine as long as you have a new controller, less you have to worry about as its automatically backing up everything you do and provides a seamless experience if one drive should fail.

hope everything works out for you!

Yeah, I was hoping to avoid having to purchase such a thing as I am a laptop user only, but I will see what can be seen.

Thanks for your help.

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