SiKing-You are on the same type of problem but it can create problems when trying to remember just who has wrote what. ( My be just my opinion only )
My knowledge of RAID is zero , so any suggestions could make things worse.


For both- would use the hdd's manufacture's test program and verify if the hdd is good or bad. Only if it tests good then one can try methods for recovery with out a waste of time.

AlanDavidson- if you are running FDISK -L under linux and get that error , would say bad hdd, IDE cable,bios battery (if laptop has one). Does the post screen or if you enter bios, is the hdd identified correctly ?