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November 24th, 2025 13:59
Help Needed: Dell PowerEdge R740 RAID 5 Hot Spare Issue
Hi everyone,
I’m facing an issue with my Dell PowerEdge R740 RAIS. Here are the details:
Server: Dell PowerEdge R740
RAID: RAID 5, 6 disks + 1 Hot Spare (total 7 disks)
Issue:
One disk failed and I replaced it with a new disk.
After a few hours, I lost access to the ESXi datastore.
I left the server unchanged since it’s not my primary server.
Even after 4 days, the new HDD LED is blinking amber + green, and the datastore is still inaccessible.
I removed the disk and rebooted the server → datastore became accessible.
After that Checked iDRAC it shows virtual disk is healthy, but no dedicated Hot Spare.
When I reinsert the disk, the same issue occurs.
Question:
How can I properly add the new disk back to the RAID and restore it as a Hot Spare without losing data?
DELL-Charles R
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November 24th, 2025 19:06
Hello,
Amber/Green flashing drive usually indicates a Predictive Fail hard drive.
I would recommend trying a different disk.
If you do use this disk again then check physical disk section of the iDRAC.
Does it show failure predicted yes?
Also check the LifeCycle log for any disk errors.
bintopaul
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November 25th, 2025 09:50
Hello Charles ,
Thanks for the replay.
- I reinserted the same disk , in life cycle log no errors showing.
- In physical disks session the disk status shows as removed.
DELL-Erman O
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November 25th, 2025 10:34
Hi, if the drive never shows as Ready or keeps knocking your datastore offline, it’s probably either a bad disk or a firmware mismatch. Easiest fix: try a different drive. If you want to keep using this one, make sure its firmware is up to date and that it’s on Dell’s compatibility list for your RAID controller. Also double-check that the specs match the other disks in the array.
Hope that helps!