Moving 2+TB Raid5 array to Windows x64

[civic00typer]

I have 8 * 320GB hard drives in RAID 5. I discovered there was a size limitation in windows xp pro (32-bit), no support for hard drive arrays larger than 2TB. I am assuming this is because of the 32bit, but not sure why. Anyways... I move to the 64-bit windows and now I have the array, which is still the same size, but the disk manager shows another 40GB or so that are unformatted. The question is now how do I merge that with the exisiting 2TB partition without any data loss? I know partition magic doesn't work in windows x64... so any thoughts? I was thinking about booting into Knoppix or something and using ntfsresize... but I wasn't sure if my raid controller card would be recognized.

 

[SJConsultant]

X64 is not going to help you in this case.

Read this page, particulary pay attention to the following information:

Partition Tables on MBR and GUID disks
Master boot record (MBR) disks use both basic and dynamic volumes. Because partition tables on MBR disks support partition sizes only up to 2 terabytes, you must use dynamic volumes to create NTFS volumes over 2 terabytes. Windows Server 2003 manages dynamic volumes in a special database instead of in the partition table; therefore dynamic volumes are not subject to the 2-terabyte physical limit imposed by the partition table. Dynamic NTFS volumes can be as large as the maximum volume size supported by NTFS. Itanium-based computers that use GUID partition table (GPT) disks also support NTFS volumes larger than 2 terabytes.

If you want a partition larger than 2TB using NTFS, your going to need to convert it to a dynamic disk. However be aware of the potential issues using dynamic disks

 

[dasaint]

where i work, i manage a 5TB JBOD System, very sweet but we use server 2k3 do a lot of backups on it

dynamic disks can be an arse to use sometimes, but then other times they work great..