how to convert raid0 to raid5, 1/0, 0/1 rocket raid 404?

[sjnelson]

is it possible to convert a raid setup to another type without losing all data on the current drives?

situation:
i have rocket raid 404 setup with 2 drives in raid0 configuration and would like to change to a configuration with redundancy.

rocket raid 404:
newer drivers for rocket raid 404 appear to support raid0, raid1, raid10, raid5.
(current drivers support raid01 instead of raid10 and raid5)

question:
anyone know if by adding a few more drives i can make a change to raid5, raid10, or raid01 using these two drives without having to backup and reinstall everything?

alternatively, are there any good tools for doing something like this?

my (uninformed) thoughts so far:
without understanding this very well myself, it appears that one option is:
add 3 drives in a new (separate) raid5 configuration.
use some software (not sure what) and duplicate the current raid0 onto the new raid5.

that will work, but if i buy 3 new drives, i'd prefer to have all 5 in the raid5 setup for better storage efficiency (80% versus 66%). however it seems this method will leave me with 2 drives left out of the raid5, right? i guess i can't seem to see a good way to juggle the drives and current data so i end up with a 5 drive raid5 configuraiton.

any suggestions?
also - let me know if i'm making this too complicated. maybe there is no problem doing this. it just seems like a mess to me.

thanks,
steve

 

[sjnelson]

fyi - i received some info from highpoint regarding their rocket raid 404 product regarding the questions i've posted above.

seems i will need to backup and restore/reinstall, etc.

my raid0 drives are partitioned dual boot with xp pro and winserver2003 ops.

is there any good software for moving and restoring files including the os and all the settings like this?
i'm guessing i'll need to move stuff to a bunch of cds and/or another drive (smaller) on a networked pc.

thanks,
steve