DMP - RAID 5 Foreign Configuration Cannot Be Imported

Summary

Server fails to boot with error "No boot device available". The RAID configuration is no longer visible under Virtual Disk Management and attempts to import the Foreign Configuration fail with an error indicating that offline virtual disks could not be imported.

The issue was ultimately resolved by reseating the drive showing offline in the Foreign Config View, after which the controller successfully imported the Foreign Configuration and prompted to force the virtual disk online.

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Symptoms

• No virtual disks present under Virtual Disk Management.
• Controller detects all RAID member drives.
• Foreign Configuration detected.
• Key Indicator: If all RAID member drives are detected as Foreign, RAID metadata likely still exists and recovery may be possible without rebuilding the array.

Foreign Configuration Import Error

When attempting to import the foreign configuration:

 

Foreign View

The Foreign Configuration Preview displays:

• RAID 5 Disk Group
• All physical drives present in PD Management
• Foreign View showed:
  • 1 Online member
  • 1 Offline member
  • 2 Missing members

This creates a discrepancy where all drives were physically detected but the foreign configuration metadata described an incomplete RAID set.

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Resolution

1. Reseat the offline drive again.
2. Refresh and rescan the array through the PERC BIOS utility.
3. Navigate to Foreign View
4. Import the Foreign Configuration. Following the additional reseat, the controller successfully recognizes the RAID metadata and proceeds with the import.
5. Force the virtual disk Online. After the virtual disk is brought online, normal access to the RAID configuration should be restored.