Associate
- Joined
- 27 Apr 2004
- Posts
- 2,377
I currently have a 36.7gB Raptor and 200gB WD Caviar which is also SATA. Mobo is an Abit IC7-Max 3 and I've got them connected to the Intel controller. There is also a Silicon Image 4 port controller which means 6 ports in total.
With regard to data distribution, I use the Raptor for Windows, Programs, and Page File. The Caviar is partitioned in two, one of which is syncronised with my laptop - this is 'everyday' data. The other partition has disk images, backups, and some CD and DVD rips.
Anyway, I've been running out of space recently. Now, yesterday, just out of curiosity, I decided to see what advantages converting them both to 'dynamic drives' would do - done from the Windows XP disk manager. I learned that doing so would let me run a form of software RAID, so I made a striped drive using some space I made on the end of each drive. However, I wanted to make a few changes (resizing things to optimise space usage) and found that I could no longer do so with them being dynamic drives. And I can't convert them back to basic disks without first of all doing a complete format - but the problem is I don't have enough storage on other PCs to actually shunt the data off to. Anyway.
I'm considering buying a new drive or two, either one or two WD 250gB Caviars. My question is this; what is the best setup for all three or four drives, and should I get one or two new drives?
I don't have any experience of RAID at all so forgive any misunderstandings
I'm currently thinking the best idea would be putting the two 250gB drives in RAID 0. This could then be partitioned in three, one for everyday data, one for the high volume media, and one for program files (specifically Steam Caches). Then my existing WD 200gB drive could be used as a backup drive, not at hardware level but with daily run software backups, and finally, the Raptor could stay as is, with Windows on, though of course with the Steam caches on the RAID-0 array, and perhaps the page file on the 200gB drive. However, I'm thinking this may not be making the most of the RAID array, since Windows wouldn't be on it. Also, I have no idea which drives would be best used on which controllers.
My other alternative idea is that the two new drives would be put in RAID-0 as above, but my existing 200gB Caviar and the Raptor could be run as dynamic disks. This would allow me to run a software stripe, the full size of the Raptor, running Windows on it, and still have the rest of the 200gB Caviar usable for backups. However, I'm not entirely sure about how I would go about setting this up since the Windows installer doesn't have any options relating to dynamic drives afaik.
Advise please
Thanks, null
With regard to data distribution, I use the Raptor for Windows, Programs, and Page File. The Caviar is partitioned in two, one of which is syncronised with my laptop - this is 'everyday' data. The other partition has disk images, backups, and some CD and DVD rips.
Anyway, I've been running out of space recently. Now, yesterday, just out of curiosity, I decided to see what advantages converting them both to 'dynamic drives' would do - done from the Windows XP disk manager. I learned that doing so would let me run a form of software RAID, so I made a striped drive using some space I made on the end of each drive. However, I wanted to make a few changes (resizing things to optimise space usage) and found that I could no longer do so with them being dynamic drives. And I can't convert them back to basic disks without first of all doing a complete format - but the problem is I don't have enough storage on other PCs to actually shunt the data off to. Anyway.
I'm considering buying a new drive or two, either one or two WD 250gB Caviars. My question is this; what is the best setup for all three or four drives, and should I get one or two new drives?
I don't have any experience of RAID at all so forgive any misunderstandings
I'm currently thinking the best idea would be putting the two 250gB drives in RAID 0. This could then be partitioned in three, one for everyday data, one for the high volume media, and one for program files (specifically Steam Caches). Then my existing WD 200gB drive could be used as a backup drive, not at hardware level but with daily run software backups, and finally, the Raptor could stay as is, with Windows on, though of course with the Steam caches on the RAID-0 array, and perhaps the page file on the 200gB drive. However, I'm thinking this may not be making the most of the RAID array, since Windows wouldn't be on it. Also, I have no idea which drives would be best used on which controllers.My other alternative idea is that the two new drives would be put in RAID-0 as above, but my existing 200gB Caviar and the Raptor could be run as dynamic disks. This would allow me to run a software stripe, the full size of the Raptor, running Windows on it, and still have the rest of the 200gB Caviar usable for backups. However, I'm not entirely sure about how I would go about setting this up since the Windows installer doesn't have any options relating to dynamic drives afaik.
Advise please
Thanks, null