VAIO AR51SU RAID 0 error

[ozeegers]

Hi,

Anyone know the right solution to this problem yet ?

I have SONY VAIO AR-51SU, this machine worked properly on Vista Ultimate 32 for about 7 months now.
Recently MS Update installed update on Intel drivers (think i saw something about new SATA drivers ?).
Since yesterday the following error message comes up:

A drive in a RAID 0 volume is failing. Try to backup data immediately.

Already installed Intel Matrix Storage console 7.8 and later back to 7.5 (had 7.0 on the system before), but this does NOT change anything.
In safe mode everyting works fine, all data is accessable.

Should be software issue but what to do to solve it ?

thank you !!

[Blencogo]

Hi ozeegers and welcome to Club Vaio.

The easy answer is NEVER allow Windows update to automatically update your drivers. Stick to essential updates only.

This error seems to happen when transferring large volumes of data to your hard disc - usually happens after a large iTunes download.

This is a SMART hard drive error - but SMART checking does not apply to RAID arrays. If I were you, I would delete the warning message and see if it appears again - if you have reinstalled the Intel Matrix software and updated to the latest version of iTunes, it is likely that you will not have the problem again.

1. Install Intel SATA Driver 7.5.0.1017 from here: -

http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/downloads/updates/updates.asp?site=voe_en_GB_cons&c=0&s=VGN-AR&m=2845

To stop the error message: -

2. Search all programs -> Intel Matrix Storage Manager
3. Right-click and 'Run as Administrator'
4. In the Intel Matrix Storage Console, choose 'advanced view'.
5. One of your drives ("Port 0" or "Port 1") will show an error.
6. Change its status to 'Normal' (I think you do this by right-clicking on the drive or choosing 'Actions')

Good Luck.

[ozeegers]

Thank you for your reaction,

I already did the following:

Backup of the Users dir to USB harddrive (is this enough or should i backup to several CDs?)

Installed version 7.8 from Intel site and flagged the drive to behave normal ---> no luck
Installed version 7.5 from similar link as yours and flagged drive --> no luck
Installed driver verion 7.0 that came with the notebook from VAIO site --> no luck

I did a check disk run with no errors
I did a check of the disk via the VAIO recovery tools with no errors

My notebook hangs itself for a few minutes like it is trying to access the drive with no luck and then it works full speed again...
I ran the windows debugger where after analasys it said the problem was probably in "iastor.sys".
When i boot in safe mode i see that both iastor.sys and iastorv.sys.

I'd better send my notebook back to Sony to check and replace my harddrive ?

thanx,

Olivier

[ozeegers]

One more thing: should i update the firmware of my Raid controller like suggested on the Intel site ?


This is the printout of a system report from Intel Matrix Storage Console:

System Information
Kit Installed: 7.0.0.1020
Kit Install History: 7.0.0.1020, 7.8.0.1012, Uninstall
Shell Version: 7.0.0.1020
OS Name: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate
OS Version: 6.0.6000 Build 6000
System Name: VAIO-LAPTOP
System Manufacturer: Sony Corporation
System Model: VAIO
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz
BIOS Version/Date: Phoenix Technologies LTD R1050J8, 07/18/2007
Language: ENU
Intel(R) RAID Technology
Intel RAID Controller: Intel(R) ICH8M-E SATA RAID Controller
Number of Serial ATA ports: 2
RAID Option ROM Version: 7.0.0.1020
Driver Version: 7.0.0.1020
RAID Plug-In Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the RAID Plug-In: 7.0.0.1020
Create Volume Wizard Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the Create Volume Wizard: 7.0.0.1020
Create Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the Create Volume from Existing Hard Drive Wizard: 7.0.0.1020 Modify Volume Wizard Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the Modify Volume Wizard: 7.0.0.1020
Delete Volume Wizard Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the Delete Volume Wizard: 7.0.0.1020
ISDI Library Version: 7.0.0.1020
Event Monitor User Notification Tool Version: 7.0.0.1020
Language Resource Version of the Event Monitor User Notification Tool: 7.0.0.1020 Event Monitor Version: 7.0.0.1020
Array_0000
Status: No active migration(s)
Hard Drive Write Cache Enabled: Yes
Size: 465.7 GB
Free Space: 0 GB
Number of Hard Drives: 2
Hard Drive Member 1: FUJITSU MHX2250BT
Hard Drive Member 2: FUJITSU MHX2250BT
Number of Volumes: 1
Volume Member 1: Volume0
Volume0
Status: Normal
System Volume: Yes
Volume Write-Back Cache Enabled: No
RAID Level: RAID 0 (striping)
Strip Size: 128 KB
Size: 465.7 GB
Number of Hard Drives: 2
Hard Drive Member 1: FUJITSU MHX2250BT
Hard Drive Member 2: FUJITSU MHX2250BT
Parent Array: Array_0000
Hard Drive 0
Usage: Array member
Status: Error occurred
Device Port: 0
Device Port Location: Internal
Current Serial ATA Transfer Mode: Generation 1
Model: FUJITSU MHX2250BT
Serial Number: K204T78272D2
Firmware: 0041000B
Native Command Queuing Support: Yes
Hard Drive Write Cache Enabled: Yes

[Blencogo]

Hi Oliver,

Yes, the next step is to contact Sony Support and ask their advice - I can't believe that they have not seen the problem before. They will probably replace the drive.

[ozeegers]

VAIO support asked me to make 2 rescue DVD's and restore the whole system via F10 at startup.

That is what i did tonight and after the complete reinstallation of Vista the same error comes up...
So there is definitifly somthing wrong with my drives --> shipping for repair !

thank you for your kind help,

Olivier

[ozeegers]

OK folks,

Got my VAIO back, harddrive replaced..... all is working like a champ again...

now ready to install vista Service Pack 1....... Hope everything will continue to work after that....

[geo27]

Hi, I am facing pretty much the same problem, tried the recovery utilities, none seems to have worked. Am now left with a crippled Vista environment that seems to spew out sequential error messages and effectively freeze.

On the promising side, I have managed to copy into an external drive the USERS folder, which is the most important element for my data files. however i noticed when I opened the files in another laptop they had all being given the same date of creation and date of modification so the date sorting function is rendered useless on the files and that is wuite important.
Is there any way this can be put right on these saved files? I basically used the Data Recovery tool by pressing F8 during bootup. Should I resave in a different way, if any alternatives exist?

I cannot open any window or do any operations within the Vista environment, so all I do will have to be done from the Bios utilies.

Also, I would love to know if after you recovered your drive, was your data lost or corrupted? Is there any way that the circumstances you describe, which appear exactly the same like I am now going through, could have left the possibility of recovering the files on the drive with the Error?

In Fact in the Intel Matrix Utility before booting up, the utility describes the Volume RAID0 as 'Normal' and 'Bootable'. But the drive on Port 0 however has a Type/Status of 'Error Occurred (0)', whereas the second drive in port 2 is 'Member Disk (0)'.

Any advice on how to recover from this with minimum damage would be appreciated.

best to all

George

[Rob-UK]

Hi, sorry to gatecrash your thread.

I also have a Vaio AR51SU, i was just wondering if you could tell me if the fan stays on and never turns off on your laptop ? Is it constantly running all the time, i`m trying to get to the bottom of something to see if i have a fault with mine, the fan on mine is always running and never switches off, all the previous laptops ive had in the past like a Toshiba the fan only comes on for cooling and isn`t on all the time.

Thanks

[ozeegers]

Hi, sorry to gatecrash your thread.

I also have a Vaio AR51SU, i was just wondering if you could tell me if the fan stays on and never turns off on your laptop ? Is it constantly running all the time, i`m trying to get to the bottom of something to see if i have a fault with mine, the fan on mine is always running and never switches off, all the previous laptops ive had in the past like a Toshiba the fan only comes on for cooling and isn`t on all the time.

Thanks

Hi, mine only runs now and then....

cheers,

Olivier