Raid Setup

[-(Xyphox)-]

Well with my new PC Build (see sig) I got 2 320 Segate 320GB 7200.10's
One was bad so i did a RMA, i got the 2nd drive back today and i was going to setup the raid. Is there anyway i can setup the Raid without losing everything? I already have everything loaded on the one drive.

 

[Sparkyy]

Since you only have 2 drives, I am going to guess you are trying to do either RAID 0 or RAID 1, both of which need the drives empty in order to set up RAID. So no, you can't set them up without losing everything.

 

[-(Xyphox)-]

Since you only have 2 drives, I am going to guess you are trying to do either RAID 0 or RAID 1, both of which need the drives empty in order to set up RAID. So no, you can't set them up without losing everything.

Yes sorry, Raid 0, ummm... I might make a image of my current drive and put it on an external, once the raid is built can i just reload the image?

 

[eth00]

Yes sorry, Raid 0, ummm... I might make a image of my current drive and put it on an external, once the raid is built can i just reload the image?

Sure that would work.

Why are you going with RAID in the first place? If it is not for performance you may just want to use that second drive as a backup and do daily backups. Then if you delete a file or have some corruption all is not lost. Still not ideal since its in the same computer but it is a good setup.

 

[-(Xyphox)-]

Sure that would work.

Why are you going with RAID in the first place? If it is not for performance you may just want to use that second drive as a backup and do daily backups. Then if you delete a file or have some corruption all is not lost. Still not ideal since its in the same computer but it is a good setup.

Eh, i always wanted to set up a small RAID at home, Just to see if i notice a difference or not. These are great drives and i figure it would be easy to have everything in one place over 2 drives, instead of stuff all over the place. What software should i use for the image, i was hoping to get something where i could boot from a CD after the RAID is setup so i dident have to reinstall windows, install the software then reload the image

 

[Creepingdeath1977]

Not trying to hijack thread but what's the difference in Raid 1 vs 0?

 

[Sparkyy]

What software should i use for the image, i was hoping to get something where i could boot from a CD after the RAID is setup so i didnt have to reinstall windows, install the software then reload the image

I think Acronis will allow you to restore without first installing Windows or else look at Norton Ghost.

Not trying to hijack thread but what's the difference in Raid 1 vs 0?

RAID 0 means data is spread across all drives, no redundancy at all in this form, meaning 1 drive dies, you lose ALL your data. Explains RAID 0 more.
RAID 1 is mirrored so you have a live image of your computer, 1 drive dies, you still have the other drive to to read from. Explains RAID 1 more.

 

[Drudenhaus]

Not trying to hijack thread but what's the difference in Raid 1 vs 0?

RAID 1 mirrors two hard drives allowing for a single drive failure without losing data.

RAID 0 is striping where it combines 2 or more drives drives into a single logical drive. This theoretically allows the controller to read and write off multiple drives, giving a speed increase. The downside of RAID 0 is that if you lose a single drive in the array, you lose everything.

 

[-(Xyphox)-]

I think Acronis will allow you to restore without first installing Windows or else look at Norton Ghost.



RAID 0 means data is spread across all drives, no redundancy at all in this form, meaning 1 drive dies, you lose ALL your data. Explains RAID 0 more.
RAID 1 is mirrored so you have a live image of your computer, 1 drive dies, you still have the other drive to to read from. Explains RAID 1 more.

Thanks, i am checking into Acronis now, I knew it was going to be ghost, or something else.

 

[Creepingdeath1977]

Last question
Just purchased a refurb dell and I haven't received it yet and it has 2 250gb sata's in raid 1, can I change it to zero or can I just format the second for storage purposes or do I have to reinstall vista premium because I don't care to have a backup image of the drive and would rather have the storage space.
Again last question.

 

[Drudenhaus]

Last question
Just purchased a refurb dell and I haven't received it yet and it has 2 250gb sata's in raid 1, can I change it to zero or can I just format the second for storage purposes or do I have to reinstall vista premium because I don't care to have a backup image of the drive and would rather have the storage space.
Again last question.

You would have to delete the existing RAID 1, and then create a new RAID 0 or set them as JBOD drives (whichever you end up doing).

 

[-(Xyphox)-]

Well i went with Acronis, did a full image to my external HDD, then setup the raid and redid the image, worked great

2xSegate 7200.10 320GB Sata 3.0GB in Raid0
I am keeping weekly backup's on my external, and also have 2 200GB extra drives also, So i think i am safe