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What do I need to run disks in RAID ?

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Hello All,
I am looking to run two SATA drives in RAID1 -> Im just curios what I need to accomplish this ? Does my motherboard need to support raid or something of the sort ? Thnx

– Widows XP Professional SP3

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Clarifications

In reply to What do I need to run disks in RAID ?

Clarifications

RAID Support / Controller

In reply to What do I need to run disks in RAID ?

Some motherboards do support RAID on some or all of the SATA drive connectors. Check the manual for your motherboard for details on if it has RAID support, and how to configure the array.

If your motherboard does not have RAID support, you need a RAID SATA controller card. Note, you cannot get full speed SATA II (ATA300) support on a PCI SATA card. You will need a PCIe card and a motherboard with at least 1 PCIe slot.

WARNING: When you configure your existing disks into a RAID array, expect that all data and files on the drive will be lost. While this is not always true, make sure that you have good backups just in case.

When you are ready, follow the instructions for your RAID controller to configure the array.

Chas

Thnx – one more question

In reply to RAID Support / Controller

Thnx ! Is it possible to run disks in raid with a motherboard that doesn’t support RAID and without a RAID controller ?

Yes it is Possible to run a RAID with a Controller Card

In reply to Thnx – one more question

But you have to install the RAID Driver before loading the OS.

In the case of Windows this involves pressing the [b]F6 Key[/b] when the first Blue Screen appears on the Windows Installer and waiting till you are prompted to insert the RAID Driver.

You also need to [b]Read The Manual[/b] that comes with the Controller Card and follow the Directions in that to correctly Configure the RAID Array.

Col

…Without a controller card ?

In reply to Yes it is Possible to run a RAID with a Controller Card

Thnx for your reply. @ questions:

1. Without a RAID controller card or without built in support for RAID on my motherboard is is possible to run disks in RAID ?

2. Assuming I had RAID support on my motherboard can I install the motherboard RAID drivers from windows – as opposed to during Windows install as described above in your post ?

Answers

In reply to …Without a controller card ?

1. Only if you are running a server OS. Windows XP does not have software RAID capability.

2. If you already have RAID support on your motherboard, it is probably disabled in BIOS. It would have to be enabled in BIOS first, at which time you would most likely not be able to boot from your current build. You would then have to reload Windows from scratch.

Thnx!

In reply to Answers

Thnx – that answers all my questions!

[Author]

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