My computer is having trouble at the Detecting Arrays screen on startup.  Normally, I see "0 Healthy Nvidia Stripe 931.52G", however I am now reading "0 Error Nvidia Stripe 931.52G".  I have seen this error before and checking the cables (unplugging, replugging) has always done the trick.  Not this time.  I assume one of my HDs has gone bad.  If that is an incorrect assumption...
 
3 questions:
1. Is there a way to find out which of my 2 HDs has gone bad?
2. If I choose to utilize only 1 HD going forward, would a HD wipe using a Windows installation disc be the best way to go?
3. Are there any steps to include or pitfalls to avoid using #2?
 
Actually 4 questions:  Is there a way to recover my RAID0 and fix this situation without wiping anything?
 
My configuration:
EVGA 790i Ultra Mobo (BIOS P10)
EVGA GeForce 8800GT 1G Akimbo vid card
Q9450 CPU
4G OCZ RAM
2 Seagate Barracuda 500G HDs
 

VistaHead

Do you have a recent image of the array and/or current complete file backup?

No, but I'm not overly concerned if I have to start over.  I'd certainly prefer not to, but would "bite the bullet" to get back up and running.

VistaHead

Leaving the drives plugged in the ports that are currently in, I would break the array and then test each drive individually with the manufacturer's bootable diagnostic utility.  If they both pass the tests, I would then create the array again using the same settings as before, and see if it boots into the currently installed OS.

Are you speaking to a disc that came with the HDs?  If so, I don't recall receiving one and am certain that I don't have it.  Option B?

VistaHead 
I am speaking of the hard drive manufacturer's website that should have a bootable diagnostic utility that you can download and burn to CD to run.

Ahh, heading there right now.

Nope.  Changed out SATA cables on both HDs with no change.  BIOS recognizes the full stripe, but the Seagate diagnostic utility did not.  Did I miss something while running it?
 
Back to square one. 

STrandedtexan
Ok, ran the iso boot disc.  It is only recognizing 1 of my HDs.  I ran the short test (DST) on the one it could find and it passed without errors.  Could this be as simple as a bad SATA cable?  Is that common or near impossible?

Did you break the array prior to testing the drives?  If you did not, it will read as one large drive.

Please try what I posted in #4...verbatim.

Since it appears that you will have to perform a fresh install anyway, you might as well delete the array and try plugging the drives into different ports to see if you can run the diagnostic utility.

Wih RAID0 disabled in the BIOS, the computer starts differently.  As mentioned above, it pauses listing peripherals while it finds the HDs.  After maybe 20 seconds it finds and moves forward.
 
Here's what it finds:
SATA 1 (A0) = None
SATA 2 (A1) = None
SATA 3 (B0) = None
SATA 4 (B1) = Hard drive 
SATA 5 (C0) = DVD
SATA 6 (C1) = DVD
 
I have HDs plugged into B0 and B1 for certain. My RAID in BIOS is set as such.  On the mobo C0 and C1 would be DVDs as they are right above the HDs.  So B1, C0 and C1 are working properly.  My question is B0.  There IS a HD plugged into B0, but it is not listed.  The BIOS is not seeing it?  The HD is bad?  The B0 port is bad?  That might also explain why the Seagate diagnostic tool only finds 1 HD as well.
 
As I mentioned previously I have seen the "Detecting Arrays" problem before and it was always easily fixed by unplugging and replugging in the SATA cables to the HDs.  No idea why that was ever necessary, but there it is.  I have always expected that the problem stemmed somehow from that base issue.  Now, through this process, I see that the B0 port has been the culprit.  Maybe it has been slowly going bad for over a year and just now failed causing my RAID array to error.
 
Is that a valid assumption or am I missing something?  If that is likely the issue, how would I fix it?
 
My initial thought would be to unplug both DVDs and plug in the HDs.  Do not use port B0 and go forward with only 1 of my 2 DVDs in port B1.  Then go into BIOS, set RAID 0 as ports C0 and C1 and boot from there with minimal downtime.  If I need 2 DVDs (which I really haven't in 3 years since I built this thing), then I can plug into A0 or A1 for 2.
 
Is that process sound?  Am I missing something?  From my limited knowledge, that should absolutely work, but.....?

Yeah....plug that drive into a known "good" port and see if it is detected by the BIOS and if it can be accessd by SeaTools.
 
Plug one of your optical drives into the suspected "bad" port. If the BIOS can detect it....the port is not bad.
 
EDIT: Even though you enabled the BIOS for RAID....did you also Enable for RAID the individual ports that you want to use? I use the two sideways mounted ports (SATA Ports 0 and 1) for my two 500GB RAID 0 HDD's. 

Set it up as RAID-Ready.....that way; if you get a replacement for the bad one, you can plug it in and create a new array and migrate your OS onto it from within Windows.

STrandedtexan

It's the HD.  Plug it into any port and it is not found.  DVDs are always found, the other HD is always found, but that one doesn't exist.  B0 is fine, 3 sets of cables made no difference...it's the HD.

 
HEHE....  now how hard was that to figure out?