Vista - Mirror RAID

I had Vista Home premium installed on my computer and was told by the
installer that mirror RAID was not supported by Vista. I had it B4 Vista with
XP SP2. Can I change my setup without reinstalling or not to enable my 2
HDD's to operate in mirror configuration?
--
Peter

"Peter" <Peter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:84221754-216B-4C1D-90E4-3DD81ECD843C@microsoft.com...
>I had Vista Home premium installed on my computer and was told by the
> installer that mirror RAID was not supported by Vista. I had it B4 Vista
> with
> XP SP2. Can I change my setup without reinstalling or not to enable my 2
> HDD's to operate in mirror configuration?


A lot of motherboards these days have hardware RAID controllers. Why not
use that instead? What motherboard do you have?

ss.

Hi Peter,

It wouldn't matter if Vista supported a RAID1 configuration as long as the
hardware does and a supporting driver is available. Vista itself does not
offer a software version of mirroring, but it certainly can be installed on
a hardware mirror. To change the current drive configuration, you will
likely need to destroy the existing setup and start fresh.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Peter" <Peter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:84221754-216B-4C1D-90E4-3DD81ECD843C@microsoft.com...
>I had Vista Home premium installed on my computer and was told by the
> installer that mirror RAID was not supported by Vista. I had it B4 Vista
> with
> XP SP2. Can I change my setup without reinstalling or not to enable my 2
> HDD's to operate in mirror configuration?
> --
> Peter

"Peter" <Peter@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:84221754-216B-4C1D-90E4-3DD81ECD843C@microsoft.com...
>I had Vista Home premium installed on my computer and was told by the
> installer that mirror RAID was not supported by Vista. I had it B4 Vista
> with
> XP SP2. Can I change my setup without reinstalling or not to enable my 2
> HDD's to operate in mirror configuration?
> --
> Peter


You will need a Vista driver for your RAID controller. Software RAID 1
(mirroring) is not supported in Vista but it wasn't in XP either so you must
be using hardware RAID which is supported if you have a driver for the
controller card. I'm a little confused about your question. Did someone
install Vista for you and break the mirror in the process? Do you now want
to recreate the mirror? If this is what you are trying to do then you'd have
to check the documentation for your hard drive controller. Some will build a
mirror of an existing drive some won't. Whatever you do make sure you have a
backup before trying it.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

"Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:u1B8%23PW2HHA.728@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> To change the current drive configuration, you will likely need to destroy
> the existing setup and start fresh.


You can build a two drive RAID-1 array from one drive. There is no need to
start fresh. You can even clone a single drive onto a hardware controlled
RAID-0 striped array.

ss.

"Kerry Brown" <kerry@kdbNOSPAMsys-tems.c*a*m> wrote in message
news:uJMCpRW2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>
> You will need a Vista driver for your RAID controller. Software RAID 1
> (mirroring) is not supported in Vista but it wasn't in XP either...

IIRC, the code for software RAID configurations is there in XP, like the
server editions, but you needed to use a hack or registry edit.

ss.

Hi,

A lot depends on how the system is set up now. If it's in a RAID 0 now, then
an image backup may be necessary to make the switch. Backup, make the
change, replace the image. If it's a non-RAIDed standard 2 drive setup, then
switching to the hardware RAID will likely require a reinstall so the
supporting driver is incorporated and underlying HAL can be created. I
wouldn't count on being able to make the switch without a fresh install.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Synapse Syndrome" <synapse@NOSPAMgomez404.elitemail.org> wrote in message
news:uNR$EUW2HHA.5116@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:u1B8%23PW2HHA.728@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> To change the current drive configuration, you will likely need to
>> destroy the existing setup and start fresh.
>
>
> You can build a two drive RAID-1 array from one drive. There is no need
> to start fresh. You can even clone a single drive onto a hardware
> controlled RAID-0 striped array.
>
> ss.
>

"Synapse Syndrome" <synapse@NOSPAMgomez404.elitemail.org> wrote in message
news:OdN5DXW2HHA.4712@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Kerry Brown" <kerry@kdbNOSPAMsys-tems.c*a*m> wrote in message
> news:uJMCpRW2HHA.748@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>
>> You will need a Vista driver for your RAID controller. Software RAID 1
>> (mirroring) is not supported in Vista but it wasn't in XP either...
>
> IIRC, the code for software RAID configurations is there in XP, like the
> server editions, but you needed to use a hack or registry edit.
>


This puts you in an unsupported state if something goes wrong. I wouldn't
recommend software RAID in any case. You have to use dynamic disks which are
not supported by most 3rd party tools for data recovery, imaging etc..

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca

"Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:u%23Db2Wa2HHA.464@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> If it's a non-RAIDed standard 2 drive setup, then switching to the
> hardware RAID will likely require a reinstall so the supporting driver is
> incorporated and underlying HAL can be created. I wouldn't count on being
> able to make the switch without a fresh install


This is not true. Assuming the second drive is empty (this has nothing to
do with it, but essential from a practical point) there is no need to do
anything but plug it in and build the array. You never need to reinstall
the OS for RAID-1. The drivers can be installed while the OS is on a single
drive. The HAL will not change.

After the drivers are installed, which is not even necessary on my
motherboard, the operation is no different to rebuilding the array after one
drive fails, which is the whole reason for wanting to RAID-1 in the first
place.

ss.

"Synapse Syndrome" <synapse@NOSPAMgomez404.elitemail.org> wrote in message
news:OisqXtc2HHA.1168@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> "Rick Rogers" <rick@mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:u%23Db2Wa2HHA.464@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> If it's a non-RAIDed standard 2 drive setup, then switching to the
>> hardware RAID will likely require a reinstall so the supporting driver is
>> incorporated and underlying HAL can be created. I wouldn't count on being
>> able to make the switch without a fresh install
>
>
> This is not true. Assuming the second drive is empty (this has nothing to
> do with it, but essential from a practical point) there is no need to do
> anything but plug it in and build the array. You never need to reinstall
> the OS for RAID-1. The drivers can be installed while the OS is on a
> single drive. The HAL will not change.
>
> After the drivers are installed, which is not even necessary on my
> motherboard, the operation is no different to rebuilding the array after
> one drive fails, which is the whole reason for wanting to RAID-1 in the
> first place.
>


Not all controllers can build a new array on the fly. Even with those that
can the process is not very intuitive. It is very easy for someone not
familiar with the process to accidently erase the existing drive. It is also
very likely that if the array is built successfully Windows won't boot until
the driver is installed by booting from the Vista DVD which again is not an
intuitive process for many people. Changing from one drive to a mirror is
not a trivial task for most people. You are assuming everyone has your skill
and knowledge. Without knowing which controller the OP is using and their
skill level erring on the side of safety is appropriate. There is a very
good chance of data loss and a possibility that Windows may need to be
repaired or even reinstalled if something goes wrong.

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca