Moving RAID Data?

RonH

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2004
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I have 2 80 gig Seagate ATA drives that I have setup using RAID 0,so OS read this as 1 160 gig drive. I have 5 Partitions(OS,Programs,Games,Music and Pictures)setup on this Array with Norton's Ghost backups made for this setup. I am really only using about 20 gigs of the Total available space with this setup. Here is my question,Can I go into my BIOS change this setup from RAID 0 to RAID 1 then use one of my Ghost backups to restore my system to the new Array?If so,would I need to restore to the 2nd HD in the Array also since it is an auto backup of the 1st HD?

Thanks
Ron
 

Chapbass

Diamond Member
May 31, 2004
3,147
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91
I could definitely be wrong on this...but...i want to say no you cant. simply because in theory, if you went from 0 to 1, then on each HD you would only have half the data....and i dont think the drives would put 1+1 together...

since its only 20gb, my plan would be to get some backups (you have a DVD RW drive?) then format everything and start over.


I also havent really used norton ghost, so i could definitely be wrong.
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
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Yes, you can do this. Better make certain your backup is a good one. Myself, I would ghost that backup to a HD and make certain it boots and is functional first.

But I've got a closet full of Hard Drives so it's not a problem for me.

As for the second question. Your RAID controller will take care of duplicating Drive 1 to Drive 2 while your ghost restoration is taking place. It will just see this as writing data and will automatically duplicate.

I don't use Ghost, I use Acronis so I can't give you any guidance in regards to the restoration of all those partitions. But if Ghost could back them up, it should be able to restore them also.
 

RonH

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2004
6
0
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Thanks for all the input. The Ghost images I have on are a 3rd HD have in my system not included in the RAID setup. The Images I have are good because I have had the the RAID 0 fail before and I have been able to restore using these images. It interesting about the link to Symantec,I use Ghost 8.0 and it does work with RAID even though they say it not supported.
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
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I had tried Ghost 2002 on my RAID 0 and it wouldn't recognize the array.

For some time I used Drive Image to create backup Images. One day I tried to restore from the image only to find out that I was unable to boot from the array afterwards. I spent a couple of days in my free time trying to get it to boot with no success. I had set up a new array on some other drives and still had my RAID 0 intact on my original drives so I was not in a bad situation by any means.

I switched to Acronis and have been very happy with the results.

It's good to know that the newer versions of Ghost will get the job done.
 

RonH

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2004
6
0
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Well I have hit a snag. I was able to reset to RAID 1,I used Ghost and restored the image to the 1st drive in the array. But when I reboot I get a Message from my Promise Controller that I have a Critiical Error but the Array is Functional but not Mirrored. I can hit "OK" and my Computer boots up Great and all things are there and functional.It seems that the 2nd drive not being Mirrored. So I reboot , go into my Promise Controller options,delete array,rebuild and then have 1st HD image copied to 2nd HD. But then if I reboot,I get don't Controller error messages,it shows a functional RAID 1 with 2 HDs but when Windows XP Pro gets to booting I get "BSOD". It no big deal to just clean install but it seems that this way wants to work but I maybe doing something wrong.

Thanks for input
Ron
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
There should be an option in the RAID BIOS for "rebuild array" or something similar. Instead of Hitting OK, enter the BIOS and see what you can see.

I've got a RAID 1 array set up at my wife's office. Once the mirrored array is set up, the data transfer to the array is a seamless operation. Data gets mirrored automatically with no warning prompts. I've had to replace both drives before and copied from a third drive with no problems once the array was set up correctly. Built it initially with two "Deathstars". One failed, so I jerked them both out.

It's been a while since I've used Ghost. Did you set the drive(s) as active or whatever terminology they use the second time around?

If the array is set up correctly you should only see one drive. Both in Ghost and Windows.

Edit: It is truly difficult to communicate through forums. I have a tendancy to read very quickly and not get a full understanding. The back and forth of posts can be very tedious at times. My mini rant for the day.
 

RonH

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2004
6
0
0
Yes..I only see I( drive in Ghost and Windows. I even checked Partitiion Magic and it just show the 1 drive. I'll keep tinkering and see.
 

RonH

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2004
6
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Ok..I rebuilt and I get No Errors on bootup. All programs are there and working. Ok one last question,how do I check to see if this array is setup correctly? How do I check to see if "Mirror" HD is mirrored and I am getting a backup?. Thanks again for all your help. I have posted this same question at 3 forums and this the 1st that has truely help me.

Thanks again

Ron
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
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At boot-up you will see the RAID BIOS going through a detection process. There will be a message stating something along the lines of "array functional" or something to that effect. That's not what it says, but I'm at work right now and can't reboot to see what it actually says.

As long as you are not receiving an error message, you are OK.

The true test would be to disconnect one of the drives. The system will boot and you will get an error message that there is a problem with the array. You can continue on and the system will boot off the single drive. Do nothing except turn the system off at this time. This is one of the niceties of RAID 1. If a drive fails, you can still function.

You should then try this with the other drive. You'll get same error message and it should boot. Now you know for sure your array is functioning as it should.

You need to rebuild the array however. The controller knows that you had a HD "failure" and should actually prompt you for a rebuild. The reason being that if data has changed, you would obviously need to duplicate those changes on the other drive. Synchronization is the proper term for this I believe.

Now, there should be a utility that will run in Windows that will verify all this for you without going through all this rigamarole. It may be on the CD that came with your board or add-in card. It most definately will be available at the website of the manufacturer of the chipset, motherboard or card.

These can be run as a service or put in your start up menu, whichever suits you. I find them to be resource hogs and generally do not install them. I will get a message at boot-up if there is a problem and rely on that in it's place. I'm not running any "mission critical" software at my house, or my wife's business for that matter. I don't need to continuously monitor the array.

I'd install the utility, verify that all is OK and remove it. But that's just me.

Glad we could help you out! :)
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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Ok. OT, but On T at the same time.

Assuming Ghost does NOT support RAID and Drive Image is now owned by Symantec so it's no longer a different option... I have a SATA RAID5 that I want to image over to another RAID5 controller. Essentially, I have a Highpoint that's crapping out. And it's my second one. So this time around I want to use a Promise controller.

What options are out there other than Ghost?
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
No, No. True Image 8.0. It's $49.99.

If you're not in a tremendous hurry, download the demo. You have to register to download it. In about three weeks, they'll email you and offer you a discount to purchase. I think it was $10, but might have been $20.

The demo is crippled, but others have said that the disks you can create from it are fully functional. I do not know if this is true though.

It works on my SATA RAID 0. I have no experience with RAID 5, but I can't see how it would be different from the perpective of the software.
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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Oh. Whew! I didn't see that first time around. Thanks! :)
 

esemones

Junior Member
Sep 9, 2004
5
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I appreciated your in depth input re RAID 1, which I would like in my forthcoming new computer for the security if offers. Question: how does DEFRAGMENTATION work (or does it?) especially if it finds any defective sectors in one and not the other drive? Thanks.
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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Originally posted by: esemones
I appreciated your in depth input re RAID 1, which I would like in my forthcoming new computer for the security if offers. Question: how does DEFRAGMENTATION work (or does it?) especially if it finds any defective sectors in one and not the other drive? Thanks.

Since the OS only sees one drive, it's only going to defrag one drive. And then the RAID controller will mirror the newly defragged drive over to the second drive.

 

esemones

Junior Member
Sep 9, 2004
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Thanks for clarification. So, Scandisk can't be run on HD #2 to be sure that the mirror of HD# won't be incorrectly written after the defrag?
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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Originally posted by: esemones
Thanks for clarification. So, Scandisk can't be run on HD #2 to be sure that the mirror of HD# won't be incorrectly written after the defrag?

Nope. Scandisk will only run on the source drive.

 

XMan

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
12,513
49
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Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Originally posted by: esemones
Thanks for clarification. So, Scandisk can't be run on HD #2 to be sure that the mirror of HD# won't be incorrectly written after the defrag?

Nope. Scandisk will only run on the source drive.

:Q

Blast from the past!
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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Originally posted by: X-Man

:Q

Blast from the past!

Scandisk? Yeah.

Anyhoo... Update for those of you looking to clone RAID arrays:

Ghost only works half of the time with RAID0 and 1 arrays. Couldn't get to work at all with a couple RAID5 cards.

TrueImage works better, but didn't work with RAID5.

The $700 TrueImage Server cloned EVERYTHING! Even the freeware version worked! The free trial allows you to make images, but you can't restore those images, but the trial does allow for disk cloning. So I cloned a Promise SATA RAID5 to a single IDE drive and then back to the Promise and the over to a Highpoint RAID5 and Windows 2000 never skipped a beat. Very nice!!!! I can't justify the cost, but I have the download of the freeware version burned to CD in case I never need it again. ;)