Windows 2000 spanned volume failure recovery: One disk in a three-disk spanned volume failed and has been replaced. How do you recover the volume and its data from backup most efficiently?

Introduction / Context:
Windows 2000 spanned volumes provide capacity aggregation but no fault tolerance. If any disk in a spanned set fails, the entire volume becomes unreadable. Recovery relies on replacing failed hardware and restoring from a valid backup. Understanding the correct rebuild procedure avoids wasted steps and speeds restoration.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Three-disk spanned volume; one disk failed and was replaced.
• Hot-swap is supported; regular full backups exist.
• Goal: recover volume and data as soon as possible.

Concept / Approach:
Because a span lacks redundancy, the logical volume is lost after a member failure. The proper procedure is to recreate the spanned volume layout and then restore data from backup. Attempting to extend or rescan an already broken span does not reconstruct missing blocks. Formatting and restoring ensures a consistent file system.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
After restore, run chkdsk and validate application data integrity. Compare sizes/hashes for key data sets.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Extending or rescanning does not reconstruct lost span data.
• Rebooting does not change the fundamental loss condition.
• Formatting an invalid span without recreating it properly may fail or still leave an inconsistent layout.

Common Pitfalls:
Believing a span provides protection like RAID; only RAID 1/5/6/10 provide fault tolerance. Always maintain reliable backups for spanned volumes.

Final Answer:
Rescan disks, delete the failed spanned volume and create a new spanned volume including the new disk; format it, then restore data with Windows Backup