Setting up a Raid0 scratch drive

[unholy414]

I want to set up a RAID0 array for my video work for storage and speed purposes. I'm trying to find a guide on the net, but the only ones I've been able to find cover setting up the array and installing an OS on it. I already have Windows XP Home installed (single drive) and just want secondary speed-storage with RAID0. Are there any guides you guys can point me to? I don't want to go into this blindly and wreck my primary drive somehow.

-thanks

 

[brxndxn]

If you don't want to buy a controller card, just add two or more hard drives in your system.. then boot to windows.. then right click my computer and click manage.. then go to disk management.. a wizard will pop up..

use the wizard to make all the new drives 'dynamic' and then right-click one of the drives and click 'create'. You want a 'striped' drive. Add all the available drives to the 'stripe' and boom.. you got a fast hard drive. As long as you don't touch your C: drive, you should be fine.

It uses a little CPU for the built-in windows raid.. but in my experience, it hardly uses any more cpu than 'add on' controller cards that do not have their own processors. A true raid controller card (even for raid 0 or 1) usually costs upwards of $300.

 

[Blain]

Just install a VelociRaptor for the speed-storage and not worry about one drive in a RAID 0 array failing.

 

[unholy414]

Originally posted by: brxndxn
If you don't want to buy a controller card, just add two or more hard drives in your system.. then boot to windows.. then right click my computer and click manage.. then go to disk management.. a wizard will pop up..

use the wizard to make all the new drives 'dynamic' and then right-click one of the drives and click 'create'. You want a 'striped' drive. Add all the available drives to the 'stripe' and boom.. you got a fast hard drive. As long as you don't touch your C: drive, you should be fine.

It uses a little CPU for the built-in windows raid.. but in my experience, it hardly uses any more cpu than 'add on' controller cards that do not have their own processors. A true raid controller card (even for raid 0 or 1) usually costs upwards of $300.

I do have an integrated raid controller, would I have to go into its BIOS during startup and create my array in there? And also when you say "windows raid", is that some sort of emulated raid with no controller required?

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: Blain
Just install a VelociRaptor for the speed-storage and not worry about one drive in a RAID 0 array failing.

^^This.

If you insist on raid, get a true controller card. Otherwise if your motherboard dies - there goes all your data.

 

[imported_wired247]

check out the Areca1210 raid card (in my signature), it's very affordable for how good it is. if you hook up 4 good drives your speed will be amazing. hell it's even fast in raid-5 but it would be even better for raid-0

don't be fooled, there is no single drive performance that can come even close to a good raid controller and ~4 drives...

I'd say the 1210 is easy enough to use that anyone savvy enough to build their own PC can figure it out. it's child's play nowadays. at the worst, you'd have to download and install drivers from areca's website.