Raid 1 question for raid noob

[Liquidity]

I have 2 200gb Seagate drives I want to use for data storage (NOT to boot from, I use an 80gb Seagate for that...yes, that's right, 480gb of yummy goodness . So I have 160gb of data on one already, and I don't want to lose it, that's kind of the point of setting up the raid. Can I set the two drives up Raid 1 without destroying the data on the first drive (the other drive is blank)?

Thanks in advance.

-Liquidity

 

[orion7144]

I am pretty sure that it is not possible. When setting up a raid array you have to configure the drives. You might try the search button and maybe there is more info.

 

[HardWarrior]

Based on the 2x120 WD RAID 0 I have running, yes you can. The setup utility made sure I knew that setting up for RAID 0 would trash all pre-existing data, but would preserve all data on a drive that was to be mirrored. Just go into your setup screen and take a hard look at everything before you pull the trigger. And while >I< don't, it's always a good idea to backup your important stuff prior to tricks like this.

 

[Liquidity]

Thanks for the replies.

Of course, if I had *another* 200gb drive to back it up to, I would do that.

And yes, I used the search button first, there is not a single question on Raid 1. The setup utility for my raid card is less than helpful, but I will give it a try.

 

[HardWarrior]

Good luck!

You know, it's funny that no companies seem to be interested in producing consumer-level backup devices. I'd just love to be able to produce fast, offline backups. I just can't justify spending a grand or more for it right now.

Maybe it's a MS conspiracy!

 

[Zinn2b]

YES you can on all the the PC'S i have set up its know problem read your M/B instructions YOU have to tell it which drive has info you want and configure it accordingly

 

[Metron]

Liquidity,

Should be no problem. The mechanics will vary depending upon the type of RAID controller you have (Highpoint, Promise, etc), but it is definitely possible to set up without destroying your existing data. Usually they have a utility that runs prior to booting Windows. Just be careful which drive you use for data source!

Also bear in mind, you want to set up RAID mirroring (RAID 1). Since the 2 200 Gb drives will be exact copies of one another, your total storage will be 280 Gb, not 480.

Metron

 

[Liquidity]

Ok, thanks for your replies everyone. I'll give it a shot.

-Liquidity

 

[mamisano]

How did it go? Getting a Highpoint based Raid motherboard and I have 2x 250GB Western Digitals. They will be set up in Raid 1 with one drive already containing 120+ GB of data.

 

[vshah]

agreeing with all the above, its definately possible
you create the mirror, when the raidbios asks for a source drive, point it to the original volume
good luck
-Vivan

 

[Boogak]

The RAID controller should prompt you for the source drive and create a mirror on the 2nd drive w/o losing your data. This only works for RAID1, with RAID0 you will lose all your data.