Help with Raid - Home Server

[indyjones]

Hi all,

I am currently running windows home server, however do to the data corruption bug I am thinking on changing my setup, Anandtech has a very good article on this problem WHS: A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the problem is unique to people running two or more drives as its related to the built in drive extender technology. Unfortunately the reason I built this server was for data security and I am not comfortable with the “possibility” of my data becoming corrupt. In the server I have two 500gb disks but luckily I am not using anything like the maximum capacity of them, due to this I am now looking into ditching to inbuilt drive extender technology to use instead RAID 1.

I have never used Raid 1 before, and I was hoping for some help from you all
My motherboard is a gigabyte board based on the Q965 Intel chipset, so I am planning on using its inbuilt raid software/hardware. Now can I format one of my two disk and leave the other full of data so that when I create the raid array it copies all the data from the primary to the secondary disk? Or will I lose all the data on both disks when I create the raid array?

Any help will be much appreciated

Thank you

 

[Dark Atheist]

short answer no - making the raid will destroy data on both disks, you will need to copy everything off the drives then make the raid, and then format the raid drive

 

[fitz]

actually it should depend on the smart the array is. Any array controller worth it's weight should be able to build a mirror off an existing drive and preserve the data..

But a lot of the onboard RAID controllers aren't very high-end and thus you may not be able to. Not sure on the specifics of your on-board so I can't comment for sure.

 

[Dark Atheist]

on board raid will not do what he requires, well all the on-board raid controllers i have used are very basic, norm its just a case of make the raid, build it, and destroy it, and that's about it

if you give us the board model number we can have a look

 

[fitz]

yeah.. but there really should be NO reason you can't build a mirror.. heck, even the built in windows software RAID can build a mirror/RAID1 without destroying data..

 

[Dark Atheist]

i shall rephrase - every time i have used on board raid there was a big ass message pop up on screen warning that all data on all drives will be wiped, no matter what raid set i was making

 

[fitz]

yeah.. i know what you meant carpo.. just had to rant a bit at how stupid most onboard RAID controllers are

 

[Dark Atheist]

as long as we are transparent about the situation

 

[indyjones]

Thansk for your help

My board is a Gigabyte GA-965QM-DS2 which I got as it has 6 built in serial ata ports. It is ment to be a good board though.

 

[Heeter]

I have a gigabyte board with RAID controller.

You will have to start with two fresh drives, if you to use that controller. That controller is okay for a mirrored setup.


Heeter

 

[indyjones]

I have a gigabyte board with RAID controller.

You will have to start with two fresh drives, if you to use that controller. That controller is okay for a mirrored setup.


Heeter

Hmm was that an intel chipset as well? As I was under the understanding that it was an intel feature rather than a motherboard manufacturer one. What about doing it once windows is installed though the intel matrix software?

 

[Dark Atheist]

yes i have just seen that in the manual - it will tell you when you make the raid that it will wipe all discs, and you will have to make the raid from the boards raid setup

 

[indyjones]

That is just plain rubbish I can obviously understand it if it was raid 0 but raid 1? why does it need to wipe both drives sure it just duplicates the first (with a bit of cleaver wizardry)

 

[Dark Atheist]

grab the manual from the gigabyte site and have a read if you think i am talking rubbish

 

[Heeter]

Carpo, I think that is saying this "rubbish" word at the situation, not at you directly.


Heeter

 

[indyjones]

Carpo, I think that is saying this "rubbish" word at the situation, not at you directly.


Heeter

Exactly you hit the nail on the head.

I was talking about the situation.