RAID

[Minimite11]

Ok, so ive been reading about RAID and i think i want to do RAID 1, but i have a few questions. First off, i want to get my understanding of RAID 1 correct, it will have 2 hds, and both will have the exact same data on it. So when it reads data, its twice as fast, and if one drive were to fail, the other would still have all the same data, kind of like a backup.

Now, first question, how do i setup RAID?

Second, how will i know when one of the hds dies, because aren't they shown as 1 drive?

Lastly, if i added a third hd, a 250GB purely for video recording storage, would this affect the RAID in any way. And i would have to use IDE for the 3rd drive, and SATA for the 2 RAID hds, can i do that? will my motherboard be able to have 2 primary SATA hds on RAID, and 1 storage hd on IDE, and is that IDE hd set as a master or a slave or wtf, i got so many things running through my mind >_<

 

[SlitheryDee]

I know you CAN mix and match SATA and IDE HDs in a RAID array. As for the rest of your questions Nvidia offers a great RAID explanation here.

Edit: Its in pdf format so you might need adobe reader.

Edit for the edit: Er...WILL need adobe reader.

 

[Stas]

With RAID 1 (or any other kind for that matter) you just use the configuration utility buit in your mobo (if RAID is integrated). For instance, on my machine I just press Ctrl+F4 during the boot process and get to the screen where I can choose what kind of RAID I want and I can also format my drives. Then I go into the BIOS and choose the "NVIDIA STRIPE 149.3GB" (or something like that) for my 1st boot device and I have my IDE 20GB as a master on the 2nd IDE channel (the RAID 0 or stripe is of 2 SATA drives).
Now, as for how many drives the OS sees, it depends on the RAID driver. Mine shows up as one drive (Disk drive) but I can see both of them in the SATA disk controller properties.
Finally, for your setup, you simply put the SATA drives on SATA controller and IDE on the IDE controller (does not matter if it is the master or the slave).

 

[bob4432]

what mobo do you have? does it have built in raid or is this an addin card?

also remember raid 1 is for mirroring which is for safety, where raid 0 is for speed.

you wil have to see what your m/b says if it is a onboard sata raid controller because sometimes the raid controller may take the place of the one of the ide channels.