Vista - RAID 1

I want to create a RAID 1 on my computer but have never done it before. I
have 2 drives which are exactly alike. They both have 2 partitions of
different sizes. So do I need to take the C drive and put it on a third hard
drive?. I need a C drive and a Data partition.(I can have as many equal
partitions on each drive which will be mirrored?) Then put the C drive back
into my Master drive and make the RAID 1? Or make the RAID 1 and then put
the C drive back? If the RAID controller fails won't I have 1 drive working
with no data lost?

Richard;664846 Wrote:What RAID controller are you using?


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Technologist
Posted via http://ms-os.com Forum to Usenet gateway

Richard wrote:Forget partitions as far as RAID is concerned - they are irrelevant. Have
them or no, makes no difference. RAID 1 operates at the hardware level and
has no knowledge of the logical contents of the drives.

RAID 1 is a mirror. The two drives will be, in all respects, identical. The
second drive will be an exact copy of the original and logically invisible
to you. That is, you cannot access the second drive via the OS.

Once you establish a RAID array, the controller takes over and begins
copying the master disk to the slave. Again, this is an exact copy, byte for
byte.

Thereafter, any changes made to the master are automatically echoed to the
slave.

The purpose of all this is to protect you against catastrophic hard drive
failure. If the master drive croaks, the RAID controller seamlessly switches
to the slave (while bitching like your ex-wife that something has gone
horribly wrong - I well remember her parting words: "Fiona, you tart, you
can't have Hubert!").

To review: If you have two 80GB drives in a RAID 1 array, your total usable
disk capacity is 80GB, but you have a dynamic backup.

If RAID1 "fails" then all is not lost. RAID1 is a drive mirror so if one
of the drives fails, the other will still hold all your data. I askeed
what your controller is cause that will help us set up the mirror. Each
controller has a different setup method, which can be accessed via
command line ro from within windows.


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Technologist
Posted via http://ms-os.com Forum to Usenet gateway

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:00:32 -0700, "Richard" <miller6708@xxxxxx>
wrote:

Why? Except for large corporations, it's almost always a mistake If
you are planning to do this instead of backup, I urge you to rethink
that plan.

RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses two or more
drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide redundancy, not
backup. It's used in situations (almost always within corporations,
not in homes) where any downtown can't be tolerated, because the way
it works is that if one drive fails the other takes over seamlessly.

Although some people thing of RAID 1 as a backup technique, that
is *not* what it is, since it's subject to simultaneous loss of the
original and the mirror to many of the most common dangers threatening
your data--severe power glitches, nearby lightning strikes, virus
attacks, theft of the computer, etc. Most companies that use RAID 1
also have a strong external backup plan in place.

You can read my general advice on backup here:

http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Ken Blake, MVP;665499 Wrote:I have been using RAID1 at my home for 3+ years and love it. It has
SAVED me twice from single hard drive failures. Worth its weight in
gold. I highly recommend it, BUT, educate yourself on how it works on
your system before you try it. You have taken the first step by coming
here.


--
Technologist
Posted via http://ms-os.com Forum to Usenet gateway

"Technologist" <Technologist.35cw8a@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Technologist.35cw8a@xxxxxxI could say exactly the same thing.

ss.