Retrieving data on raid 1 setting drive

I have a Duo Premier 4TB set to raid 1 on Windows 7 x64 and use it only for backup up files via software/syncing and Acronis TrueImage (purchased version). It is connected via a USB 3. I have only installed the WD Drive Utilities software at this time as I don’t need the backup software.

I have a question about recovery of data.

In a forum post I saw that the drives are only recognized if in the Duo enclosure.  If one of the drives is bad (as an example #1) will Windows still see #2 so that files can be recovered?  Is that how I would retrieve files if one drive fails or are there other options?

A second question would be If I replace the bad drive will the data on the other drive be copied/mirrored to the new drive automatically?

Welcome to the Community.

Are you able to share your drive’s Model Number? WD has produced several Duo drives and they all behave differently. If the hard drive uses a USB connection, was using a RAID 1 configuration, and formatted NTFS then Windows should be able to detect the internal drives within the case if connected directly to the computer for data access. Additionally, even if 1 drive is faulty the operational drive should be accessible as normal as long as the RAID level was RAID 1 (Mirror). This also applies to hard drive replacement.

Hi,

The model is WDBLWE0040JCH-00

As I understand it the drives come preformated NTFS - correct?  In that case it doesn’t look like I’d have any problems recovering data.

Will this model then mirror the data back to the new drive?  IE, if #1 fails and I replace #1 will the data on #2 be copied to #1 without my intervention?

That drive would be a My Book Duo, and it does ship NTFS.

Once the unit is configured as RAID 1 (Factory configuration is RAID 0), yes, the array can be rebuilt if a hard drive fails. This process is managed under the RAID Settings of WD Drive Utilities.