Moving an XP install to a completely different array?

rudeboymcc · 4 Apr 2006 at 20:41

Hi. I currently have an XP instal and want to keep it but i need a more secure setup so i bought two identical hard disks.

What I want to do is get a ghost image of my current windosw setup, take the old hard disk out, ptu the two new hard disks in and setup the raid in bios, and then just copy the ghost image over.

Will this work?

I;ve found loads of guides about adding a second hard drive but none about moving to two differnet hard disks.

One thing I've thought may be a problem, If i add the two hard disks and raid them, they're probably gonna come up as C:\, whereas at the moment windows is installed on a partition called D:\. so all the shortcuts in windows will look for D. is there any way to change the drive letter from Bios?

jbloggs · 5 Apr 2006 at 02:40

rudeboymcc:

Will this work?

To my knowledge, NO, it won't work, because the drivers for the RAID array need to be installed during the Windows XP installation, using the F6 method. Well certainly this was the case when I set it up on an Intel ICH5R con.

I suggest you back up the data you want to keep, from your present Windows XP/HDD setup and then do a clean install of Windows XP, at which time you can setup the RAID array and load the drivers for it.

I'm sure if I have got this wrong, someone will correct me, or maybe will have a suggestion by which it can work.

binaryknight · 5 Apr 2006 at 03:11

as above no it wont for the above reasons but......

enable your raid controlle in the bios, it will ask for the drivers next windows boot, install them

now make the ghost image etc when the new drives have the image copied over windows will detect the os on the controller and load the drivers

Rambaud · 5 Apr 2006 at 09:00

Clean Install is the best option, if you have the time and patience.

What I do (for a RAID0 array) is to add the RAID Drivers via Device Manager from my current XP system. Then clone the old drive with either Ghost, Acronis True Image (I have both) etc to the new RAID array. Remove old drive. Some people say that Acronis is more stable than Ghost for RAID,

Skilldibop · 5 Apr 2006 at 09:48

I believe if you can do a soft install of the RAID drivers in the old XP install then you can do that and then clone it and all should be fine and dandy.

rudeboymcc · 5 Apr 2006 at 13:03

SOrry i didn't; give more details.
I've got an Asus K8VSE which has two raid controllers, one promise and one via, both of which are sata.

At the moment, I have the via one off and use both channels on the promise one for the two hard disks I have but they're not in raid. Surely if windows is running off the promise controller it has all *** necessary drivers? I'm thinking of making the ghost image, installing the two new hardidks as raid on the promise controller, and then transferring the ghost over to the new setup.

Will that work?

I've got Acronis to do the cloning, but oen thing I've wondered is how to do it from boot. Or does it have to be done through windows?

The problem with starting from a fresh install is it's extrememly time consuming and will take ages to set evertyhing up. THEre's webserver, all the codign porgrams I use and it all seems unnecessary if there's any chance of a 1hour solution using ghost.

Rambaud · 5 Apr 2006 at 13:10

Acronis starts within Windows (although it drops down to DOS).

I am just about to clone a 74Gb Raptor to a 2x 250Gb drives in a RAID0 array, using the 2 different SATA Controllers on my mobo.

rudeboymcc · 5 Apr 2006 at 17:21

ANy detials as to how you're going to do that?

At the moment I'm thinking I'll install one of the new hard disks with the current one, ghost the image over, and hten start windows on the new hard disk. and then just add the second hard disk (after i know windows starts without the raid setup) and setup the raid 1 array.

Of course you're doing raid 0 so you have to setup the array before putting anything on the disks.