Detect drives done, no any drive found

(actual diagnostic message from the on-board JMicron RAID controller on an Asus P5B-V motherboard)

I learned a few lessons on Monday:

Lesson the first

If you have a RAID 1 array, and one of the drives suddenly drops out of it, do not simply assume it was a software error and reassign it, or you will be very unhappy a few months later when that drive really fails.

Lesson the second

Take off that wool sweater before you open the case to fiddle with those damn SATA connectors to make sure that it really is a failed drive and not just a loose connector.

Lesson the third

It is perfectly possible to remove a Socket 940 CPU without first unlatching the socket. All you need to do is 1) install the CPU, apply heat transfer compound and install the heat sink; 2) wait a couple of years for the heat transfer compound to dry out; 3) apply force to the heat sink in an attempt to remove it in order to move the CPU from the board you just fritzed to a spare board you happen to have lying around; 4) observe that the heat transfer compound has practically welded the CPU to the heat sink, so the CPU was pulled out of its socket when you removed the heat sink.

Lesson the fourth

However, it is not possible to insert a CPU without first unlatching the socket (at least, I didn’t dare try too hard).

Lesson the fifth

Socket 940 motherboards and CPUs aren’t commonly available these days.

Lesson the sixth

Luckily, Socket 775 motherboards and CPUs are (relatively) cheap and plentiful.