RAID Verification Errors

[Sigmatic.Minor]

Hi all!!

I have a problem with my RAID1 (Mirror) Array; Last night I replaced my RAID5 array with 2 new 1TB WD raid drives in RAID1, formatted with Windows7x64 and installed Intel Rapid Storage Technology 9.6 (the software that replaced Intel Matrix Storage Manager).

I had both arrays active on the same controller and copied all my old data from the old array to the new one, no problems, rebooted and the raid BIOS came up saying the new array was in the "Verify" state, which I've had a few times after crashes etc, however, when windows booted and it did the verify, when I left this morning it was up to 19percent and had 900+ verification errors (but no "media block errors").. These drives were absoultely fine with a surface test, so does anyone know what could be causing the errors?

My old RAID5 array has since been formatted and removed, so only the mirror array is on the controller now.

I did a quick google search, apparently some people have also had this problem on win7 x64 in mirror.. Perhaps I should give the older drivers a try when I get home? (i've heard most people say 8.8 is still the best to stick to...?)

My most important question really is do verification errors mean software or hardware problems? or perhaps just a bug? In these new drivers it doesnt really have an option to view more details about the errors..

Anyone else had the same sort of issues?

Thank you all for your help! :)

~Sig

[jimx]

I have been experiencing the Intel Rapid Storage Technology verification errors issue since September 2010 and have been battling with Intel Support about this since about December 2010. I first notified Intel Support via e-mail (systemsw@mailbox.intel.com) on 12/16/2010 about this. Below is an updated version of the e-mail contents:

Begin e-mail contents:

I have Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) 10.1.0.1008 running on my Intel DP55WG, Core I5 680, 4 GB, Windows 7 Professional 64 bit machine. It is configured as RAID 1 (mirroring) using two Western Digital 360 GB SATA drives, model WD3200AAJS. I periodically launch Intel Rapid Storage Technology from the notification area on the task bar, open the Manage (volume) tab, click Advanced, and then click Verify to run the Verify tool with the Automatically Repair Errors box checked. More often than not, it always finds some verification errors, most recently it was 33.

This is bothering me and I have become exhausted trying to find documentation on this.

What exactly are "Verification errors"? How do I find out where they are? What causes verification errors? How do I correct whatever is causing verification errors so no more verification errors occur? If the source master drive fails and I have to revert to the destination recovery drive, will verification errors cause any problems?

My machine has all the latest drivers including the latest BIOS version.

End e-mail contents.

Since then, I have exchanged more than 50 e-mails with Intel Support, Western Digital, and my computer provider about this, and the problem still is unresolved. I have spent about 50 hours troubleshooting this. I have recently run the Verify and Repair tool about 25 times, 11 of those times it found zero verification errors, the other times it found as many as 54 verification errors. Intel is blaming Western Digital while Western Digital tells me the drives will work in a RAID 1 environment. I ran the Western Digital disk diagnostic tool on each drive, no errors. I ran the Windows 7 CHKDSK tool (in dedicated mode at boot time), no errors. My computer provider even replaced the DP55WG board, but to no avail. All drivers and Windows 7 updates (including Windows 7 service pack 1) are up to date on the machine. I can go on and on about all the wild goose chases Intel Support tried to send me on just to keep me busy and get me off their back. I would like to get this resolved. I am learning that I am not the only one suffering with this issue. If enough customers notify Intel about the problem at systemsw@mailbox.intel.com, then they may have no choice but to fix the problem.