I have a failing RAID controller that started a rebuild process on a drive on bootup. I am needing to replace the controller but the rebuild is in process. I can select the drive that is being rebuilt and mark is offline to then power down the server to replace the RAID controller. By doing that during the rebuild process, would that erase copies on both drives? I need to keep the OS on the first drive and if I need to replace the SSD to rebuild after.<\/p>\n
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Thank you for your help in advance.<\/p>","upvoteCount":7,"answerCount":5,"datePublished":"2025-07-21T20:27:23.595Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"spiceuser-yc0ct","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/spiceuser-yc0ct"},"suggestedAnswer":[{"@type":"Answer","text":"
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I have a failing RAID controller that started a rebuild process on a drive on bootup. I am needing to replace the controller but the rebuild is in process. I can select the drive that is being rebuilt and mark is offline to then power down the server to replace the RAID controller. By doing that during the rebuild process, would that erase copies on both drives? I need to keep the OS on the first drive and if I need to replace the SSD to rebuild after.<\/p>\n
Thank you for your help in advance.<\/p>","upvoteCount":7,"datePublished":"2025-07-21T20:27:23.665Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/raid-rebuild-failing-raid-controller/1225597/1","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"spiceuser-yc0ct","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/spiceuser-yc0ct"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
How do you know you need to replace the controller?<\/p>\n
Depending on the size of the disks and RAID array, by the time you get an answer, the rebuild may have finished.<\/p>\n
What is the RAID type, disk size and type and how many in the RAID set?<\/p>","upvoteCount":7,"datePublished":"2025-07-21T21:26:13.107Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/raid-rebuild-failing-raid-controller/1225597/2","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Rod-IT","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/Rod-IT"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
It sounds like the first drive (the OS drive) is still intact and healthy, especially since the system is rebooting and starting the rebuild process—that usually means the drive is functioning properly. If this is RAID 1 it sounds like its fine to me. Marking the rebuilding drive as offline and powering down the server to replace the RAID controller should not erase data on the drives themselves. The rebuild process mainly syncs data between drives.<\/p>\n
To be safe:<\/p>\n
\n
Confirm the first drive is healthy and contains the OS data.<\/li>\n
Fail or remove the rebuilding drive from the RAID array before replacing the controller.<\/li>\n
After installing the new RAID controller, you can add a replacement SSD and rebuild the array without losing the OS on the first drive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Always ensure you have a recent backup before making changes, as RAID controller replacements and rebuilds carry some risk.<\/p>","upvoteCount":4,"datePublished":"2025-07-22T17:10:28.932Z","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/t/raid-rebuild-failing-raid-controller/1225597/3","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"ekeyes","url":"https://community.spiceworks.com/u/ekeyes"}},{"@type":"Answer","text":"
