When SmartArray Sees Every Disk — Yet Refuses to Rebuild the RAID You Know Should Be There
You open the HP Smart Storage Administrator (SSA) expecting a quick confirmation.
All the physical drives are present.
All show “OK.”
The wiring is untouched.
But the logical volume — the RAID itself — is nowhere to be found.
This is one of the most confusing SmartArray failure moments:
Everything looks healthy… except the array that holds your data.
When metadata falls even slightly out of alignment, SmartArray hides the logical volume to prevent unintentional initialization or parity overwrite. Understanding why this happens is the key to recovering safely.
1. What You See
- All physical drives appear Online / OK in SSA
- No Logical Drive listed, despite being present before
- System boots but OS shows no storage
- “Configuration Incomplete” or “Previous Configuration Not Found” warnings
- Controller health OK, cache module OK — yet no RAID
- Unexpected prompt to create a new array
2. Why It Happens (HP SmartArray–Specific Behavior)
- Metadata headers on one or more drives no longer match SmartArray’s expected configuration
- Cache module (BBWC/FBWC) detected an incomplete write cycle during a power or reset event
- Failed metadata revalidation when drives spun up at slightly different times
- Drives appear healthy, but identity markers (sequence ID, timestamps) do not align
- SmartArray will NOT present the logical volume until identity consistency is confirmed
- Cache-to-disk checkpoint mismatch is interpreted as potential parity corruption
- Rebuild logic stays locked because controller cannot determine the “trusted” version
SmartArray hides the array rather than risk writing wrong metadata.
3. What NOT To Do
- Do not create a new logical drive
- Do not initialize any drive
- Do not use “Re-enable” or “Mark Good” blindly
- Do not change drive ordering or swap bays
- Do not update firmware before capturing current metadata
- Do not attempt filesystem repair tools — no RAID = no FS integrity
Even a single wrong step may overwrite your last intact parity map.
4. What You CAN Do
- Record slot → serial → WWN mapping before making changes
- Export controller configuration from SSA or BIOS
- Check cache module (FBWC/BBWC) status: OK / Inconsistent Data / Rebuild Required
- Review the IML (Integrated Management Log) for metadata or cache warnings
- Clone/image all member drives before performing controller operations
- Capture SmartArray diagnostic package (“ADU Report”) for metadata analysis
- Validate expected RAID geometry: level, stripe size, parity rotation, block size
5. What This Means for Your Data
- Drives appearing healthy does not mean metadata is healthy
- Most cases are recoverable because the underlying data is still intact
- SmartArray’s refusal to mount the volume is a protective move
- Layout can typically be reconstructed through imaging + parity analysis
- With correct steps, original RAID parameters can be recovered precisely
Diagnostic Overview
- Controller: HP SmartArray (P400/P410/P420/P440-Series)
- Observed State: Physical Drives Present — Logical Drive Missing
- Likely Cause: Metadata header mismatch or cache-to-disk checkpoint failure
- Do NOT: Create or initialize a new logical drive
- Recommended Action: Export config; verify cache module; capture diagnostics; image drives for metadata & layout reconstruction
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