new raid 1 setup:primary or logical?
- Thread starter footman
- Start date
Can you explain a wee bit more about what you're wanting to achieve, I'm not quite following your post.
What level of RAID are you looking to set up - RAID0 (striping for speed) or RAID1 (mirroring for redundancy)?
Do you already have Windows installed on an exisiting disk?
What make and model of disks & motherboard do you currently have?
What level of RAID are you looking to set up - RAID0 (striping for speed) or RAID1 (mirroring for redundancy)?
Do you already have Windows installed on an exisiting disk?
What make and model of disks & motherboard do you currently have?
I have an existing WD 500 gb drive with WinXP and a 2nd much smaller Seagate drive used for backup.rpstewart said:
I am putting in a 500Gb Seagate drive to use in a raid 1 setup with my boot drive for mirroring and use the smaller drive for video storage.
I have a Seagate drive utility installed which I am using to format the new drive and it asks me whether this new drive should be primary or logical.
You don't need to format the new drive before creating the RAID array. The big problem is that you need to create the array in the RAID BIOS which normally will wipe both drives so you'll need to backup the contents of your existing drive and reinstall everything.
I see you are using an ASUS workstation board... are you using an add-in card like an Adaptec or something? Adaptec RAID cards (and most probably more) are the only RAID controllers that I know that allow you to build a RAID1 from a non-RAID, pre-installed environment. Otherwise, as rpstewart says, you will have to start from scratch. Onboard RAID controllers will not have this facility.
Ive just been investigating the Intel Matrix Storage manager Utility (both ROM and in a windows xp environment apparently) and found this:
Building or buying a PC with a single Serial ATA hard drive, then upgrading to RAID at a later date is typically not a simple task, as it requires the reinstallation of the OS and applications. However, an Intel Express chipset with Intel Matrix Storage Technology** can be more easily upgraded to RAID capabilities when adding one or more additional Serial ATA hard drive(s). The Intel® Matrix Storage Manager software (included with platforms supporting Intel Matrix Storage Technology) handles the configuration and migration while running in the background, allowing users to surf the Web or read e-mail during the process. Once the migration is complete, dramatic increases in data protection or storage performance are available.
So I may well give it a go!
Building or buying a PC with a single Serial ATA hard drive, then upgrading to RAID at a later date is typically not a simple task, as it requires the reinstallation of the OS and applications. However, an Intel Express chipset with Intel Matrix Storage Technology** can be more easily upgraded to RAID capabilities when adding one or more additional Serial ATA hard drive(s). The Intel® Matrix Storage Manager software (included with platforms supporting Intel Matrix Storage Technology) handles the configuration and migration while running in the background, allowing users to surf the Web or read e-mail during the process. Once the migration is complete, dramatic increases in data protection or storage performance are available.
So I may well give it a go!
Backup before going ahead!
I'll tell you one easy way of doing this.
1) Install the RAID drivers into your current installation.
2) Create an image using something like Acronis True Image
3) Create the RAID.
4) Restore the image to the newly created array.
If it doesn't work... you still have your image to restore to one drive. Simple.
My experience with Acronis tells me this will work though...
I'll tell you one easy way of doing this.
1) Install the RAID drivers into your current installation.
2) Create an image using something like Acronis True Image
3) Create the RAID.
4) Restore the image to the newly created array.
If it doesn't work... you still have your image to restore to one drive. Simple.
My experience with Acronis tells me this will work though...
Well, I tried to load the Intel Matrix Storage manager Utility but it wouldnt load saying my hardware was unsupported.
I tried to enable RAID in the bios but windows wouldnt load! Ive discovered this is the case when an OS is already installed.
As a RAID card wont fit in my system because of water tubing etc I'm left with the only option of creating a RAID setup and reinstalling windows!
I tried to enable RAID in the bios but windows wouldnt load! Ive discovered this is the case when an OS is already installed.
As a RAID card wont fit in my system because of water tubing etc I'm left with the only option of creating a RAID setup and reinstalling windows!