[Job:FILLED] Help me recover my RAID array

[BitterTea]

I have a server running Ubuntu which had a software RAID 5 array of 3 640 GB drives. For some reason when I set it up, I created the array, then partitioned it and installed the system on one partition. This seemed really dumb to me, so when I tried to add another drive to the array, I also tried to move the system to a separate drive. I failed and have not booted the machine since.

What I am looking for is someone to walk me through reconfiguring the server through IRC or IM. I believe the data should be recoverable, since I have not touched the drives since they were last configured as an array. If you help me rebuild the array and I can recover the data, I will pay you 50 BTC. If the data is unrecoverable, I will still pay you 25 BTC for helping me rebuild the array.

If there is any information necessary to determine if the job is worth while, let me know.

[JoeyJo0]

I might be able to help: are you available now? Join me at #raidhelp in irc.esper.net

[BitterTea]

I might be able to help: are you available now? Join me at #raidhelp in irc.esper.net

sorry, I'm at work and don't have access to the machine. The earliest I'd be available is saturday.

[JoeyJo0]

I might be able to help: are you available now? Join me at #raidhelp in irc.esper.net

sorry, I'm at work and don't have access to the machine. The earliest I'd be available is saturday.

Alright, what timezone do you live in?

[error]

Sure, I can help you with this.

[BitterTea]

I'm in CST, GMT -6. I'll be available from 10am until 4pm tomorrow (Saturday).

I want to clarify the OP, here are the payment conditions:

• Unable to recover array - I'll pay what I feel is warranted
• Recover array - 25 BTC
• Recover array + data - 50 BTC

[Mahkul]

I love this forum.

[BitterTea]

Ok, I'm available, but I have to get the machine booted first. For some reason I was having problems booting from USB, but I'll try that again. Failing that, I'll have to install a CDRom drive.

If anyone is interested in doing this today, I'm online on Freenode, you can PM me, or reply in this thread.

[BitterTea]

BlueMatt helped me out over IRC and I wanted to thank him publicly. My disk array is restored and I have recovered the data.