How to Recover a Windows Server 2003 Software RAID Mirror After Losing the Primary Drive

If you’ve lost the primary drive in a Windows Server 2003 software RAID mirror, on purpose or not, you can get the server booting again from the Recovery Console.

Steps

1. Boot from the Windows Server 2003 installation disc.
2. Press R to start the Recovery Console.
3. Select your Windows installation and enter the Administrator password.
4. Check the disk, then rebuild the boot configuration:

chkdsk /p
bootcfg /rebuild

Reboot, and Windows should start from the remaining mirror drive. You can then replace the failed disk and re-add the mirror in Disk Management.