Setting up RAID 0 on an exsiting machine

[Peterbilt]

Hi,

I'm trying to set up a Raid 0 array on a computer that already has the OS installed. The problem is when I try to switch the Bios drive configuration to "Raid", my computer wont boot windows.

I installed Windows XP pro on a 250 Gig Maxtor drive, planning on using it for my boot drive. I also have two 400 Gigs which I wanted to set up with Raid 0, but there weren't enough SATA cables coming from my power supply. So I thought it would be easy enough to strip them together after set up. Well, now with power to the drives, I'm stuck with a computer that doesn't boot.

My question is, is there a simple way to set up Raid 0 with the 400 gigs without reinstalling the OS? If I do reinstall the OS, will it erase the 250 GB drive and require me to start over? By the way, at start up, I am able to get into the matrix storage manager, and I see all my drives there.

I would appreciate some help. This is my first attempt at Raid and my first DIY system.

Peter.

[Paul Komski]

The two 400s should certainly be configurable as a RAID 0 (assuming your chipsets support RAID). They shouldn't interfere with the 250 nor erase it nor (if properly setup) prevent the old OS from starting up normally.

We assume the 250 will boot normally when no SATAs are attached.

If so, add both SATAs and go into the BIOS and add them to a RAID array and ensure the 250 is not included in any arrays. Then check the boot order to ensure the non-RAID 250 is the boot hard drive.

Some BIOS do all this from a single setup BIOS others have an additional RAID BIOS accessed by a different keypress during boot time.

Your PC's make and model could be helpful to know.

[Peterbilt]

My mobo is an intel DG965WH that supports Raid 0, 1, 5, and 10.

I can set up the Raid array with the two 400s very easily in the Matrix Storage Bios (Ctrl i), but windows still doesn't boot. And I checked the boot order and the 250 is still first.

You see, my motherboard did come with a Raid Driver floppy disk but I didn't use it at setup because I didn't have power to the 400s yet. And I can't install it now because I believe it wants me to have the drive configuration in the Bios set to "Raid", which, when I try to switch, windows wont boot :confused: .

What shall I do? Am I now required to reinstall windows and insert that floppy thing?

[Paul Komski]

Intel says (http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-020811.htm):
Configuring RAID on an Existing PC
Intel’s RAID configuration utilities offer the flexibility to upgrade from a single Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive to a two drive RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration when an additional SATA hard drive is added to an existing PC. Beginning with Intel Matrix Storage Manager, you can also migrate to a 3 or 4-drive RAID 5 or a 4-drive RAID 10 configuration on ICH7R systems.

Refer to the User’s Manual for complete steps.
I think you need to first set the Bios drive configuration to "Raid". Then go to each of the sata drives (is the 250gig boot drive also SATA) and individually change the options for the SATAs appropriately:

SATA Modes (AHCI; Hot Swap)
The SATA controller has three modes of operation:

* IDE mode - no AHCI, no RAID
* SATA mode (sometimes called AHCI mode) - AHCI enabled, no RAID
* RAID mode - AHCI enabled, RAID enabled

AHCI mode also allows for Hot Swapping drives.

Switching SATA modes in the BIOS after installing the operating system is not recommended when a SATA drive is the boot drive. Switching modes may cause an immediate blue screen with an 0x0000007b error code, followed by a reboot.

For complete information on the SATA Mode, refer to Changing and/or choosing SATA modes.
Since their may be problems with the boot drive after switching SATA modes it could be wise to backup an image of the current sata before going any further. This could be to DVD or an external drive - (perhaps one of the 400s temporarily in an enclosure till you get the current boot drive working again after enabling the BIOS for RAID).

If after enabling RAID you still cannot boot to the 250 you could try a repair installation including using the F6 key at the start of the install to allow you to add the RAID drivers from a floppy.

[Peterbilt]

Thank you for your help Paul...the repair install in Raid mode with the F6 installation of the raid driver did the trick. Thanks again. :)