IDE RAID Setup

[CrazyKillerMan 0]

I was really looking into getting an IDE RAID setup in my computer. Basiclly what i want to do is upgrade cpu and mobo and instead of just throwing a 7200 20 gig hd in...i could get another one and set em up in RAID. Is this a good option to go for? I have a friend that has raid 0 set up and he claims everything is faster. I have absolute none exp in raid configs....i just know what they do...not how to set em up.

 

 

OK...

basiclly what im asking is:

Has anybody set up an IDE raid before...and if so was it worth it and what kinda hardware did you use?

[Igor 0]

MSI board with build in Raid-0

2 x 30 Gig 7200 rpd maxtor drives.

 

Setup = easy

performance = kewl

[CrazyKillerMan 0]

so how exactly do u install an OS to a raid array?

My understnaing is that (your mobo) has the auto detect when there are 2 of the same HD's installed and sets them up as one drive. Then when installing....can you just simply install to the "raid" drive...say c: or something???

[BlaZeR2 0]

I have done this several times on two different raid controllers:

 

Abit BP6 using a hacked Promise Ultra 66 => fasttrack 66 card with two WD 7200 20 GB drives in Raid 0

 

Abit KT7A-Raid on the onboard HPT-370 controller with the same drives

 

connect both drives to the controller, for better performance, connect each as master to the seperate channels.

 

The controller has it's own bios, just like a scsi card. When the controller's bios flashes on screen, it will have instructions on what keys to press to set it up, usually Ctrl-H

 

pressing those keys gets you into the bios. There is usually an option to create array. select that. Choose the two drives you want to include in the array (the two connected to the controller will be the only ones listed)

 

then tell it what kind of array to make, either Striped or Mirrored. Then choose your Stripe size, if you chose striping. the defualt seems to be 64k, but you can choose anywhere from 4k up to 256k. I normally do 16k or 64k. Slight performance variations, not nothing too noticable.

 

then select "create array" and it should do. Exit the bios, and it iwill reboot

 

if you are installing Windows 2000, then you will need the drivers of your raid controller (on floppy) when you boot to the 2000 disk. When it first starts, hit F6 to install the drivers. follow the directions to install the drivers and you are good to go. Windows will see your array as 1 large drive (40 GB in my example). You can then partition the array into any combination you want during the 2000 setup process.

 

That is all there is to do in 2000

 

Windows 9x, Me is a little different, but just as easy. Once you created the array in the bios. Boot to boot disk, and run Fdisk. partition your array anyway you like.

 

reboot to the boot disk and then format. Formatting is important for performance. If you selected 16k stripes, then you want to format with "format c: /Z:32"

 

(32 * 512 bytes = 16 kB) => this sets your block size to match your stripe size. if you did 64 then use "format c: /Z:128"

 

then it will format, reboot and install the 9x or Me. that is all there is to it.

 

If you need more help, let me know. Good Luck

 

BlaZeR2

[CrazyKillerMan 0]

BlaZeR2

 

I am in yer debt

 

thanks alot....this cleared up so many question

!!!

[BlaZeR2 0]

Good Luck. You will not regret going to a rad setup.