Would letting it cool off fix things, or should I call in for warranty?
Array creation creates a lot of activity for the drives, and it could cause them to overheat. Or cause energy flutuation if the PSU isn't powerfull enough, but I'd expect PSU problems when booting, not when writing/reading.
I have an older system where I have to keep DMA disabled for my drives or the system locks when cron starts updatedb or someone copies a large file, thus my suspicion that your drives are also overheating.
About calling in for the warranty, I'd first try hddtemp (http://www.guzu.net/linux/hddtemp.php) and if the temperature does rise, then some more fans. :)
I tried to get hddtemp, but alas, no compiler available in rescue mode. I will try Knoppix.
I just ran Knoppix and ran hddtemp, and it says that the drive is not in the DB, but is reporting a temperature of 36C for that drive, which is within the normal operating temperature of 32° F to 140° F.
Russ