[tlug] RAID not seen by system

[CL <az.4tlug@example.com>]

I ran into problems with my RAID a while back in which one member disk was acting wonky.  I FAILed the wonky disk, installed a brand new one (same maker and model number) and performed a full resynch, which took about 30 days. 

In the meantime, I discovered the reason for the FAILed HDD being intermittently bad was that I'd installed a data cable with an "L" end that kept slipping out due to the location of the HDD (bottom of the stack, at the crossbar, which did not allow the connector to fully seat).  Switching to a straight connector ended the problem.  Updating Lubuntu had also created a problem with the initramfs updating, which I was also able to manually correct.  So, I had a working RAID, a properly patched O/S, a spare disk, and a crying need for more storage, so I decided to resize the RAID. 

What could possibly go wrong?

I started the resize / reshape about 24 hours before Typhoon 15 struck.  Since I live in one of those inaka places ToDen considers expendable when power is in short supply, we awoke to no power and it remained off for more than a day.  When it came back on, the RAID was there, but not there and the situation has remained unchanged since.

I can provide full output of any / all of the following upon request.

1.  The RAID is "there", tests healthy but does not show up in my file manager -- it DOES appear if I open the file manager as root, but the contents cannot be viewed.

2.  /etc/fstab is properly configured and I have the RAID listed as /dev/md0 -- as I always have, instead of it's UUID.  Switching to the UUID provides no change.

3. /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf is properly configured

4.  At this time, the RAID starts from boot as inactive.  Performing a stop and assemble starts the reshape process, which is stuck around 1%.  Reshape speeds start out circa 33,000kbps and fall to 1kbps in around 4~6 hours.  After about 18~24 hours, the reshape stops completely and can be restarted from the command line.

5.  sudo mdadm -D /dev/md0 produces completely normal output.

6.  df -h -x devtmpfs -x tmpfs though, provides a list of all disks MINUS the RAID.  Running initramfs after assembling the RAID does not get it added to the list.

7. sudo mount /dev/md0 /mnt/CLU-00 produces a blank line and no new prompt after the enter key is pressed.  I have let it run for circa 36 hours and have yet to see a new prompt unless I close and reopen the terminal or a new tab.

I want to be able to mount and view the RAID without losing the data.  I have not manually created a new mount point nor have I deleted the present mount point out of fear of losing data. 

Any suggestions ... ?

CL