Setting up a raid array.

[shilala]

I've got a K8V SE Deluxe mobo.
I've been running a pair of 160gb Maxtors. They are set up on the primary ide as master and slave.
Today I installed a pair of 200gb ide Maxtors to the primary raid.
I used the onboard Mbfastbuild feature to set the drives up as a RAID 0 array.
I understand I have to install the raid drivers prior to installing the OS on that array. I have the raid drivers on a cd and I'll copy them to a floppy.
Now here's the questions...
1.) Do the drivers need to be on a bootable floppy and how do I install them?
2.) Why do I need to format via fdisk, or don't I? How do I go about it?
3.) Can I somehow copy my existing OS (intact) onto the new raid array?
I know this is a lot. I'll keep researching and reading in the meantime.
Thanks!!!

 

[montag451]

Hi, in answer to your q's:

1 - The drivers can be slipstreamed into an installation of xp, but it is easier for a one off installation to press F6 at the beginning of the installation when asked to 'install third party SCSI' or whatever

2 - If you are installing XP, then it should do everything for you, including the format.

3 - No.

4 - You haven't asked this yet, but i know you were going to: RAID0 is a bullshit RAID to use as you have twice as much chance of losing all your data compared to not using RAID at all.
YES - RAID1 is much more reliable - but is still no excuse not to backup as it doesn't protect against virus/theft/fire etc.

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: montag451
Hi, in answer to your q's:

1 - The drivers can be slipstreamed into an installation of xp, but it is easier for a one off installation to press F6 at the beginning of the installation when asked to 'install third party SCSI' or whatever

2 - If you are installing XP, then it should do everything for you, including the format.

3 - No.

4 - You haven't asked this yet, but i know you were going to: RAID0 is a bullshit RAID to use as you have twice as much chance of losing all your data compared to not using RAID at all.
YES - RAID1 is much more reliable - but is still no excuse not to backup as it doesn't protect against virus/theft/fire etc.

Thanks montag!!!
The only reason I ended up setting these drives in raid is because I couldn't get the drivers for my ata 133 pci card installed. They were initially going to be for additional storage.
I ended up sidetracked.
I guessed I could set the drives up on raid and make use of the entire 400 gb, but that's not an option.
So...
I figured I'd set them up for performance and multiboot (leaving my original os and storage intact for the time being).
I'll look at the raid array and see what sort of performance I really do realize, then decide what I'm going to do.
I have a pile of 200 gb drives sitting here gathering dust, so I'm trying to put a few to use.
I can always add a couple more 200gb drives if I can get that god-forsaken ata card installed and backup everything that's important.
I currently backup everything that I don't want to lose to dvd. All the other stuff is negligible.

 

[sivart]

I still don't quite understand why an average home user would need a RAID setup. If your computer is your form of income, I can understand that.

I think that the motherboard makers have overhyped the "percieved need" for a RAID setup at home.

IMHO, it is better to have an external (offsite or at least in a fireproof safe) backup of your essential documents. If something crashes, you don't loose all those documents and family photos. You can always buy a new drive and re-install.

 

[mechBgon]

Also, if the two new drives are Parallel ATA, which it sounds like they are since you mention an ATA133 card, then they should not be on the same data cable in a RAID setup. Each drive should be on its own separate channel.

Since the K8V Deluxe has only one PATA RAID port, making it impossible to do PATA RAID with the drives on separate channels, you might want to reconsider all this, and just set the onboard Promise controller to standard IDE-style operation rather than its RAID mode (this option is in the BIOS). Then use the two drives as stand-alone drives. There is a separate Makedisk.exe on your K8V Deluxe CD-ROM to generate the appropriate driver floppy for the Promise controller in its non-RAID mode.

 

[montag451]

Also, if you have a bunch of 200 gig drives gathering dust, think about investing in a RAID5 card.
That way you can have 4 drives [or more if the card supports them] and only lose 1 drive's capacity.

Dont get a $/£20 one off Ebay - either spend a 'moderate' amount, or don't bother with it.

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Also, if the two new drives are Parallel ATA, which it sounds like they are since you mention an ATA133 card, then they should not be on the same data cable in a RAID setup. Each drive should be on its own separate channel.

Since the K8V Deluxe has only one PATA RAID port, making it impossible to do PATA RAID with the drives on separate channels, you might want to reconsider all this, and just set the onboard Promise controller to standard IDE-style operation rather than its RAID mode (this option is in the BIOS). Then use the two drives as stand-alone drives. There is a separate Makedisk.exe on your K8V Deluxe CD-ROM to generate the appropriate driver floppy for the Promise controller in its non-RAID mode.

That's good stuff mechBgon. You saved me tons of grief.
Thanks!!!

 

[imported_Phil]

Originally posted by: montag451
Also, if you have a bunch of 200 gig drives gathering dust, think about investing in a RAID5 card.
That way you can have 4 drives [or more if the card supports them] and only lose 1 drive's capacity.

Dont get a $/£20 one off Ebay - either spend a 'moderate' amount, or don't bother with it.

:thumbsup: