Intel ICHxR RAID Data Recovery 101

[FISKER_Q]

There is another way to restore your RAID array if a disk dropped out. If you have a hardware failure on one of your disks, this way won't work, otherwise it should be fine. It worked for me three times. Note that this way also won't work if your windows install is on the raid array you're trying to recover, because then your pc won't boot.

*I am not responsible for any data loss blablabla, I'm just giving you a possible sollution; from my experience it tends to work*
1) Enter the Ctrl-I configuration utility. Write your raid level, array size, stripe size and everything else that can be configured on a piece of paper, you'll need this info later.
2) Delete the Raid-array. Yup, that's right, just throw it away.
3) Reboot and create a new array just like your old one. If you do not use the full disk for your array, make the array slightly (0.5GB or so) larger than the old one, so you're sure the old one fits on the new one.
4) Reboot. Don't enter the drive system manger panel in windows. Download and install testdisk. http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
5) Start testdisk. The program ask you whether or not it should create a log file. It doesn't matter for all I know, so choose whatever you like. Select your brand new raid array. Select 'Intel partition' if you have a regular
Windows partition. Next choose 'Analyse', then 'Quick search'. If your old array doesn't show up, try 'Deeper search'. Now your partition should show. Select the old partition and press Enter, then 'Write'. Testdisk now
writes the old partition table on your new array.
6) Close the program, reboot and everything should be fine.

This is how I always do it, might be worth a try.

So i just updated my bios and for some reason that made the Intel Raid think my second member drive had the serial number D.... instead of WD....

I tried this method but after rebooting the drive still isn't recognized by Windows which suggests i should load the correct filesystem driver for it.

I don't know if this error was there the first time, but when i get to the drive and it lists the current partition it writes:
"Error: size boot_sector 3518814208 > partition 4294967295"

I can access the partition just fine, but unfortunately i have no drive to put the data on, so that doesn't do much good, any thoughts on what to do from here?

Edit: Managed to save it could get myself some spare harddrives for the backup.