Upgrade to Win7, will it effect my RAID 5?

S

safehaven

Limp Gawd
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Apr 28, 2008
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I am going to upgrade from WinXP to Win7. I know that this will require a clean install and that my drives will need to be formatted. Admittedly, I know very little about RAID setup. I currently have a RAID 5 array of 3 X 250MB. I understand the basic principles of RAID and understand why I went with RAID 5. But, I did not set it up, so I am clueless to the actual "mechanics" of it all. So I have a couple or questions on how the OS upgrade is going to affect my array.

Will the array itself still be intact, or will I need to reset it up?

If I have to set them back up, is a RAID 5 array even worth the effort?
 
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software or hardware RAID 5?

if hardware, then no, it will not be affected as it's hardware that created and controls the array.

software-based RAID, I would say is, more or less, hit and miss, but also dependant on the software that controls the array.
 
Like I said, I know very little about RAID. But, I believe that it is hardware controlled by my mobo. Does that sound right?

Mobo is THIS. It says it has RAID support.

If it is hardware controlled, does that mean everything is handled in the BIOS? Is that why it won't be impacted when upgrading the OS?
 
Software Raid(Mobo based) scares me. Would be a good idea to back up your data and do a fresh install.
 
I plan to back up my data. And, I have to do a clean install because I am upgrading from XP.

So, since my RAID is on the mobo, that is software RAID? Should I abandon RAID then?
 
Knowing very little about RAID and trying to impliment it is very dangerous. I would do some more research before you continue to use RAID.
 
Ryan45 said:
Knowing very little about RAID and trying to impliment it is very dangerous. I would do some more research before you continue to use RAID.
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Well, that is what I am trying to get at. I know that RAID setup is probably above my head at the moment. But, it is already set up. I am trying to find out whether or not it will remain set up when I format the HDs and load the new OS.
 
OK, I have done some reading and now understand, as mentioned above, that mobo RAID is software based. I don't have any intention of adding a RAID controller. From my reading, running RAID 5 from software seems to be a waste and could even be slowing my system down.

SO, what the heck should I do with my 3 X 250 GB hard drives? I do not really need any drives for back up purposes, as I also have two 500 GB external HDs, one that I keep on site and one that I keep off site.

What are my options?
 
How much data do you actually have?

Do you have any budget for a new drive? An SSD would be a great bump up in performance. Even a newer drive with 500gb platter(s) would probably be okay. I ask because 250gb drives are probably getting a little long in the tooth, though they could be reused.
 
[LYL]Homer;1034817014 said:
How much data do you actually have?

Do you have any budget for a new drive? An SSD would be a great bump up in performance. Even a newer drive with 500gb platter(s) would probably be okay. I ask because 250gb drives are probably getting a little long in the tooth, though they could be reused.
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I am currently running at 500GB and I am at 56% full. However, recently I actually ran out of space and had to clean house a bit to free up some space.

I could swing something like a 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12. I am definitely not interested in spending enough for an SSD.

So, if I were to install a 500GB, what would I do with it? Obviously it would get the OS, but should it be used for any data storage? Would / should the OS be on its own partition? Would I reuse any of the other drives for anything?
 
Do you have any other hardware laying around? Enough to build a PC and put those 250's in? I'm getting around to WHS..... :D

Short of that, one of the 500gb 7200.12's would be great for the OS and maybe add in one or more 250gb drives for random storage space. You've got the external 500gb drive to cover backup - I'd just do one partition with the whole 500gb of the new drive.

Partitioning can be done though, if you do I'd suggest something like 100gb for the C: drive and the balance for storage. Install the OS, apps, games, etc on C: and don't worry about it. Smaller, say ~40gb, partitions are just data management hassles.
 
[LYL]Homer;1034817188 said:
Do you have any other hardware laying around? Enough to build a PC and put those 250's in? I'm getting around to WHS..... :D

Short of that, one of the 500gb 7200.12's would be great for the OS and maybe add in one or more 250gb drives for random storage space. You've got the external 500gb drive to cover backup - I'd just do one partition with the whole 500gb of the new drive.

Partitioning can be done though, if you do I'd suggest something like 100gb for the C: drive and the balance for storage. Install the OS, apps, games, etc on C: and don't worry about it. Smaller, say ~40gb, partitions are just data management hassles.
Click to expand...

I probably have enough parts to build an OLD PC, even older than the one I am currently using. But, I really have no use for another functioning PC. I don't think a WHS is really my thing either, at least not at this point.

I like the idea of the 500 + 250 extra for just in case purposes. Would using one of the spares as a scratch disk be of any benefit?

I am not trying to use all of the 250's, per se. But if there is a beneficial use for them, then, eh, why not use them.
 
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if all the data is backed up, then might as well (for the time being) use each drive as an individual disk.

being software RAID, it's a hit and miss that the array will still exist after upgrading and reinstalling the RAID software (or would that completely kill the array? I'm not positive).
 
j-sta said:
being software RAID, it's a hit and miss that the array will still exist after upgrading and reinstalling the RAID software (or would that completely kill the array? I'm not positive).
Click to expand...


Well, to enter the RAID manager, you do it during post by hitting Ctrl + I while the drives are being listed. Also, in the bios, there is a setting to turn RAID on/off. I don't know if that means much or not.
 
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Seeing as you dont need raid id say put the 3 disks you have in raid0 and enjoy the faster performance and increased capacity. You got external backups for sensitive data.

If you intend to keep raid5 on your windows 7 install just format the current array, when inserting the win7 install disc the array will probly be seen as 1 drive assuming you havent messed in the BIOS.
 
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