RAID setup

[animatorbob]

if i already have a hard drive with an operating system, but want to upgrade to raid, do i need to do a fresh install, or can i leave my operating system intact and just select for RAID upon startup? will performance be lessened if i leave my OS there? thanks!

 

[DeviousTrap]

There are two types of RAID. If you are going to go raid 0 (stripping) you would need to format the drive. If you are going to do RAID 1 you dont have to reinstall anything. Youcould just tell it to set up the array.

 

[animatorbob]

sorry, but i forget which is which. i want the raid setup where it writes to 2 drives to increase performance...not the backup one. is that raid 1? thanks

 

[MrGrim]

No, you are refering to RAID0 which will force you to reinstall.

Don't get me wrong, but since you can't differenciate between the two are you sure you have done enough research? Are you sure you are going to benefit from it? I didn't ...

 

[Windogg]

Originally posted by: computer89
There are two types of RAID. If you are going to go raid 0 (stripping) you would need to format the drive. If you are going to do RAID 1 you dont have to reinstall anything. Youcould just tell it to set up the array.

Many more than two type.

 

[fastman]

It's been a while, but if I may, what ever you decide the O/S will only still install to one drive. You cannot span its installation to two drives, as it will only boot from one. Other programs and files can though.

 

[Ketchup]

Animatorbob, while it is true the are more than two types of RAID, you will probably only be dealing with 2 of them if you have two drives, RAID0 for performance and RAID1 for duplication. You said you want RAID0, so we'll go with that.

Are you working with onboard RAID or a RAID controller card? I have an onboard RAID controller on my Epox 4G4A+, and and this is how I set it up.

First, you want to back up because you are going to be re-partitioning and formatting your drives. Then you want to make sure you have the drivers for your RAID controller on a floppy (you will need them later.) Then you want to connect your drives on the RAID controller. There should be one drive on the primary master and one on the primary slave. Both drives should be set to master. Then you want to boot into the BIOS and enable the RAID controller if it is built into the board and tell it to boot from the RAID controller first (this may be different for you, so consult your motherboard manual and/or RAID user guide.)

After you do that, save your settings and reboot, then go into the RAID BIOS when it asks you to, (for a Highpoint controller you press Ctrl+H when it is detecting your drives) and set up your array.

Select "Create Array." Select RAID0 Mirroring, select the two drives you want to use, select a block size (this is the size of the "blocks" of data that are transferred to and from the RAID array. For most home users, 32k or 64k is a good value, but you should use whatever size you feel give the best performance.)

Now select "Start Creation Process." This should only take about two seconds. Now reboot your system, and set up your operating system, or partition and format your drives, whichever you do first. For Windows XP, I just insert the CD, and as soon as the blue screen comes up push F5 to install the third party RAID controller. It will prompt you for the drivers, at which time you install the floppy disk with your RAID controller drivers on them. Make sure you hit "S" and make windows use these drivers.

Then, Windows will partition and format the RAID0 array, Windows will install, and that is pretty much all there is to it. As far as Windows is concerned, the two drives in your RAID array are just one drive.

 

[animatorbob]

wow. you guys have been more than helpful. i have a built in raid controller--epox 8k3a+. i have always wanted faster performance with regard to the hard drives. that is why i purchased the RAID option. i just never got around to purchasing two fast identical HD's, until now. thanks all for your help.