RAID won't unmount...can't repair

Problem: after fixed failed RAID (lost in poweroutage), RAID'd drive won't mount. If I drop to single user mode and fsck the boot volume (no errors listed), after reboot it's the RAID volume is back. I loose it after a restart without fsck (boot volume loads but RAID is "unrecognizeable").
When it mounts everything functions as it should (users get home folders and have read/wrote access, etc.). However if I try to repair it in disk utility (per Apple phone support), i get an error message saying that the disk can't unmount so therefore can't check it.
Any suggestions (besides clean install) that you have to keep the RAID volume intact? I refuse to believe that it's toast as i am able to have it function. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to a wipe if I could get a good backup of it, but I can't even do that since it won't unmount.
Can't wait to hear what you come up with!
Thanks in advance.

Really, how toasted can it be when it all works flawlessly
until reboot? THis really bothers me....
Don't get me started about the Apple Hardware RAID card. I hope you have the write caches turned off for all LUNs because they don't always fully flush on graceful power down (the drives are disconnected from the bus before caches are flushed) - I've had a RADAR bug report turned in for almost 2 years on that, it was very hard to track down and create a reproducible test case. LSI Logic fixed the bug in their microcode after Apple split its version from the LSI Logic code tree to modify for use in the Xserve; don't expect this bug to ever be fixed because the product is EOL, only known workaround is to turn off the write caches.
That said, the disks are big. You think it's working flawlessly, but it may not be. Mystery garbage blocks from space, especially on a RAID, can be hard to track down. For example, on a RAID 1, the read data might not always come from the same disk of the mirror.
If you really think that the mirror is good, I'd suggest cloning it off while booted from another disk (perhaps split the mirror, clone - not image - to one of the split disks, then recreate the mirror from the good copy).
Yea, your DiskWarrior issue is because the disk can't be unmounted.
Russ
Xserve G5 2.0 GHz 2 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8) Apple Hardware RAID, ATTO UL4D, Exabyte VXA-2 1x10 1u

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Message was edited by: shannon palmer

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Boot from the install disk and try it from there.
-Bmer
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Nichelle215,
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TM disk needs repair but won't unmount.

Hi,
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Magicpony wrote:
Hi,
I've been having problems with this TM disk since new but I can't work out what to do. The disk is a Seagate 1.5TB with my MacPro backed up to it and a sparse image on it as my MacBook backup.
If possible, you should partition the drive, so the MacPro's backups are in their own, exclusive space. If you ever want or have to delete them, it will be extremely difficult and take a very long time. See #4 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
Other drives in this enclosure (SOHO Tank, Oxford chip) work and unmount OK.
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Also, occasionally when I go into TM via the TM icon in the dock, I only see backups up to the day before yesterday in the timeline at the side. If I cancel TM and relaunch I get the full set in the sidebar (yesterday and hourlies for today).
Try the things in #E4 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
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The Apple Support Communities are an international user to user technical support forum. As a man from Mexico, Spanish is my native tongue. I do not speak English very well, however, I do write in English with the aid of the Mac OS X spelling and grammar checks. I also live in a culture perhaps very very different from your own. When offering advice in the ASC, my comments are not meant to be anything more than helpful and certainly not to be taken as insults.
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You may have to reformat the RAID.
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IMac Wont boot, can't unmount, can't reinstall

Hi Community, I'm really hoping you can help me as this one has me stumped.
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After banging my head against the wall, and Apple suggesting a genius bar appointment to replace the drive (at cost) i have resolved the issue. It was a bit of a hack but might help some one else who has the same problem
1) Boot to Windows (Bootcamp)
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7) erase the disk with GUID partition layout, repartioning as required
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The above *may work with a USB bootable device.
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Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backuped-up file.

Computer got uber slow.
I started to worry.
Now computer won't start.
VERY worried.
Tried to repair disk. Received error message above.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

sulaver wrote:
Computer got uber slow.
I started to worry.
Now computer won't start.
VERY worried.
Tried to repair disk. Received error message above.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You can't have received an error message "Disk Utility can't repair this disk...disk, and restore your backuped-up file." since that is pure gobbledegook and isn't even good English.
What may have happened is that
(a) your hard drive has become so full that the operating system can't find any space in which to.... operate.
(b) as macjack says, it has crashed - possibly as a result of (a).
(c) you have been allowing Time Machine to back up to your internal hard drive instead of to a backup disk, which has caused (a) to happen.

Disk Utility can't repair permissions

For the first time I neglected to repair permissions before security upgrade and now I find I can no longer repair permissions. Everything goes as normal until about 75% done and then it just freezes. I have tried running it from the install CD but it does the same. I used the disk repair and got this error message;
ERROR: The underlying task reported failure on exit (~9972)
1 Volume could not be repaired.
Computer otherwise OK. AHT reported all OK.
Is this the start of an HD failure or some querky software malfunction? Help needed!
G4 867 MDD Mac OS X (10.3.9) Extra 120Gb HD, 1.75Gb SDRAM LG 4163B Superdrive

If my HD has developed a bad sector then surely a clone will not work?
My best guess is that the cloning would fail when it tried to access the data that's referenced in the bad directory node. I've had similar problems when trying to copy files when there were directory problems. You may not have a bad sector per se, but certainly the directory record is damaged in such a way that Disk Utility can't reconstruct the record.
If I moved all my APPS folder to another HD and then did a Zero and format on this one could I then still use the APPS folder with a new install by repairing permissions?
You have to remember that apps store files in other locations - particularly in the /Library, /System/Library/ and /Users/username/Library directories. While you can copy the Applications directory to another drive, you're liable to miss supporting files the apps are going to look for. Since there's no real way to determine what the damaged directory is referencing, you'd be chancing something's going to get missed and leave you with apps that won't run. The only way I've ever been able to find what directory erorrs were pointing to was to copy files to another drive one chunk at a time until I found the offending directory and then narrow down the search by copying files individually. Given the nature of OS X to store files in directories that are otherwise hidden from the user, this can be a complicated and tedious process.
Since Disk Utility running from the install disk can't repair the damaged directoy record, I'd go to the Disk Warrior repair strategy next.
-Douggo

Disk utility can't repair this disk.... Is it still possible to back up my files?

I was just on Word earlier and the mac crashed, I restarted it and it wouldn't load past the grey screen. I then used my install disc to go into disk utility, where it tried to verify and repair my Macintosh HD but failed to do both. I don't know what's cause this but more importantly I need to know where it's still possible to back up my files without having to purchase Disk Warrior. If I was to take it to the Apple store, what would they suggest?
I don't know what my operating system is, I recently did a system update last week I believe if that means anything?
Thanks for your time
Luke

Okay thanks Thomas Reed, it's a shame this has happened. It was so sudden...one minute I'm typing on word, the next minute it's broke beyond repair?
It's peculiar how it says Disk Ultility can't repair the drive but to try and back up your files...when it's actually impossible to do so without any software. I'm assuming things like creating a new image etc. won't help at all.
I'm hoping the Apple Store people will be able to help me out, I've heard DiskWarrior is good so I may check that out.

RAID won't unmount...can't repair

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