D20 (4158) Marvell no RAID - RAID 0 preserve partitions?

I added a second SAS HD to my setup and am intending to create a RAID 0 (the second drive is the same type, size, and speed).
Does the Marvell BIOS utility preserve partitions while creating a RAID 0? Or do they all get destroyed and I'll end up with a single, unpartitioned space?
If it destroys everything, what would be the simplest way to preserve them? Any utilities you can recommend that would allow me to (a) copy out my partitions into files on a server on the network, (b) create partitions after RAID 0 created, and (c) copy back from file on the server into the partitions?
Thanks in advance!
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i'm using a 160GB intel G2 SSD. any commercially-purchased 2.5" SSD would work in your system.   all you need is a 3.5" to 2.5" tray.   intel's retail boxed SSDs come with such an adapter.
i posted a few benchmarks last year comparing RAID 1 to a single intel SSD.   i'll hunt around for my RAID 1E bench.   it honestly wasn't much better.
here is my post: /t5/ThinkStation/D10-SAS-HDD/m-p/313106/message-uid/313106#U313106
two 15K SAS drives in RAID 1 (same as RAID 0 for read speeds) booted and launched apps in the same amount of time as the SSD.   the difference is that you're using less power, creating less heat, and dealing with less noise.   when copying files and performing normal tasks, the SSD feels a little quicker.   at a minimum, you aren't losing anything by going with an SSD -- it's a gain all-around.
after switching to an SSD and two 7200 RPM SAS drives, the loudest components in my D10 are the system fans.
ThinkStation C20
ThinkPad X1C · X220 · X60T · s30 · 600

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D20 (4158-48G) RAID driver -problem / Win 7

Hello,
I've created an array (RAID1) using two identical 500GB hd's. Marvell's raid bios (?) gives me the long awaited info that the RAID1 is online and ready to be used. The problem is with Win 7.
I've downloaded "drivers" that I need from here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-73716
When I boot my system, Win 7 tells me that RAID driver is not installed correctly. When I go to the device manager and try to update the driver from specific location W7 doesn't find the drivers at all.
No luck.
Getting pissed off
And as much as I have tried to use google and this forum to solve my problem - i'm starting to feel I'm all alone with this problem (
Solved!
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Thanks!
the problem was that I followed too blindly Lenovos homepage and assumed that the right driver was located where I thought It should be.
I went to Support -> ThinkBrand -> Quick Path
Typed my model D20's model number (4158-48G)
Chose a link "Downloads & drivers"
From "Refine results" -box I chose "RAID" - and it only gave intel Matrix driver support..
The correct one was found from here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=TSTN-MATRIX
->
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-72280

Software RAID setup by partition or by drive?

I've outgrown my ext FW drive that has served me well. May I still use it in a RAID 1 with a partition from a larger drive I am going to get?
I've spent the last few years backing up a TiBook to an ext FW 120GB Maxtor drive, which has worked well. I use SuperDuper to create the bootable backup every week or two and usually keep one or two old versions. It also holds my music and photo libraries, which are multi-GB.
With that said, I now have a MBP w/100GB int HD, so the 20GB partitions will no longer suffice. I've been thinking of getting a Maxtor 600GB RAID 0 as an upgrade. I like the speed but remain concerned about the risk of RAID 0. If SW RAID is by partition, it recently occurred to me that I can RAID 1 mirror the ext FW 120 GB drive and one 120 GB partition of the RAID 0 600GB dirve. Is that possible?
These appear to be the advantages: 1. RAID 1 on the backup, so if either the old drive fails or one of the drive in the RAID fails, the data is still fine. 2. Still get speed on the new RAID 0 ext. drive.
Please advise.
fellow

Hi fellow;
With the experience I have had supporting servers with RAID for IBM, I personally would try to find a different solution. I see too many variables, such as the buses and drives, to make me think it is going to be worth the effort. About the only RAID solution that were worthwhile were those that followed the rules.
Allan

RAID 5 re-partition

I'm running OSX 10.5.8 Server on a MacPro with RAID 5 running across 3 x 300 GB drives. The RAID was originally partitioned into 2 equal volumes; I now want to re-partition those volumes dynamically. Can anyone give me advice on how to do this?
Thanks!

You may not need commercial apps - Disk Utility can dynamically repartition drives, but there are some caveats.
The biggest question is how you created the partitions.
Did you create them at the hardware level (using raidutil)? or did you create one RAID 5 volume at the hardware level and use DiskUtil to partition it in two?
If the former then I think you're out of luck - raidutil can expand a volume, but not shrink it, so your only option is to delete one of the volumes, expand the other one, then create a new volume in the remaining space.
If you just created a single volume that you then soft-partitioned via Disk Utility, then you can resize the partitions if you used GUID as the partition format. The older APT can't be resized - at least that's what I recall... 10.5.8 is a little fuzzy now). If the disk is using GUID (and selecting it in Disk Utility will tell you) then you should be able to resize the partitions in the Partitions tab, otherwise it's a reformat and re-create job.

Raid 0 disk partitioning

Anyone know how to create a new partiition once up and running. 2 sata 80 gig maxtor's running in raid 0. Partition magic 8 doesn't work and windows won't do it.
any suggestions?

Do you really need to partition a RAID 0 array?
I'm asking because I found it just complicated things un-necessarily when I tried it with x2 160G Samsung SATA drives.
Firstly,a Raid 0 array offers no protection anyway so a Partition isn't going to make any difference to disk failure or data loss.
Also,the real benefit from Raid 0 is speed,not security,hence the trade off with Raid 1 Mirroring.
Last,Windows does allow you to change disk status through Disk Management .
Try it anyway and let me know how you get on.

D20 4158 D34 Freezes

Hi! I'm running a D20-4158 model D34 and it hangs/freezes after an apparenlty random amount of time. I'm rendering hi-res images and animation, so both processors are fully loaded during these tasks. The screen freezes and keyboard/mouse don't work, and only solution is to power off and start again. I have latest BIOS installed and all drivers appear current. This machine sits in a network and is the ONLY machine doing this. Desperately looking for some direction as to what may be wrong??? I've ran memory and disk checks, all seem OK.
Win7 Professional, 16GB memory, CorerTemp is reporting an average temp of 68-69 degrees under full load. Any help/pointers as to what may be causing this would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Alan

Ruh-roh....going backwards here!
Can you describe the process you took to try to clear CMOS?
You might want to try a boot block recovery, but I'm not sure if your system is even getting far enough in POST now to pull that off.
It's something to try though:
1. Dowload the .iso for the latest BIOS for your system, burn it to a CD.
2. Put the CD in the drive (use a paperclip to open the drive tray manually if you have to with the power removed).
3. Find the clear CMOS jumper...it should be to the left of the CMOS battery.
4. Normal position should be a jumper on pins 1 and 2 (the left most pin and the center pin of the 3 pin header). Clear position should be the center pin and right most pin of the 3 pin header. Move the jumper to the clear position.
5. Boot the system. I forget exactly how boot block recovery is implemented on 20 series off the top of my head, but I think you'll start hearing a sequence of beeps. You won't get a video sync. Let the system continue until the beeps stop (the system might even shut off on it's own when done). Just make sure you don't shut it off while it's still beeping as you could corrupt things even worse.
6. Once the beeps stop completely or the system shuts off, with power disconnected...move the jumper back to the normal position (left most and center pin). Then reconnect everything and try to boot again.
This procedure might leave some items like machine type, serial number, and MAC address(es) with generic info, but all that should be recoverable/reprogrammable.

D20 - 4158 with Marvel Raid + windows 7 failed to restart (Blue screen) after installation

I installed Windows 7 64 bit by providing the Marvell RAID driver downloaded from http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-73716. The installation goes fine, when the computer restarts, the windows 7 logo flashes and then immediately the blue screen comes and then the computer restarts. This continues repeatedly.
I checked the Raid, we have one array with Raid 0 configuration. I could not find out why the OS installation goes fine but it fails to restart
Kindly provide some technical input.
Solved!
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After double checking the link you provided....I'm confused on your setup. Can you reiterate which drives you have in the system and which ports they are connected to?
For a D20, you should have all HDDs attached to the blue ports. These ports route directly back to the Marvell controller. Then during the OS install, you need to supply the Marvell driver (not the Intel RAID driver that you specified in your link).
The only reason you would supply the drive you listed in your link is if you're attempting to run HDDs off the black ports on the system. This will work (but is not supported) for regualar HDDs in a non-RAID config. The D20 utilizes the ICH10, not the ICH10R, so there is no way to utilize RAID off these ports. The black ports are intended for ODD use only.
So I'm guessing you either have drives connected incorrectly, or you were attempting to provide the incorrect driver during the OS installation.

D20 - 4284A13 Marvell RAID, Linux OS

I am trying to get RHEL5.4 to install and recogize my drives on a D20 (4284A13) ThinkStation. It seems that the RAID on the Marvell is causing an issue. I have 3 disk drives, 1 SATA and 2 SAS. I DO NOT have a RAID configured. I just want to install the OS on the SATA drive and mount the two SAS drives in the fstab file. When all of the drives are plugged into the "blue" SATA ports, the BIOS reports them with the Marvel controller but the OS only sees the SATA drive. I have tried moving the SAS drives over to the black SATA ports. Whne booting, it seems that the Marvell controller no longer sees them for it's "RAID" but the OS doesn't see them either. How do I "turn on" the black SATA ports in the BIOS so that it lets the OS see the drives?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

welcome to the forum!
to confirm that the marvell controller is enabled, you'll find it in the BIOS under the 'Devices' tab > Marvell SATA/SAS controller.   this should be set to [Enabled] along with the option ROM scan directly below it.
you won't see any SAS drives in your OS without the marvell drivers installed.   for this i would recommend installing your SATA drive on a black socket and the SAS drives on the blue sockets.   once your OS is installed then you should be able to install the array.
at any time you should be able to configure the array using the ROM controller option at POST.   the key combination to access it if ctrl+M if memory serves.   full instructions can be found in the D20 HMM: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-72117
ThinkStation C20
ThinkPad X1C · X220 · X60T · s30 · 600

Lenovo d20 and marvell raid

I cannot log into MRU with admiministrator rights and i don't know how to rebuild a volume disk. in raid 5.
Please help?
Lenovo D20 +windows seven+ mru 1.2.0.12 + marvel 88SE63/64
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hello,
you should use MRU Version 4.1.0.1610.
I had the same problem, this version ist the first working version
Works fine with user and admin account (ADS also).
"Google will help"

What is up with the Marvell 9123 Raid Controller? P55-GD85

Hi all,
I recently bought an MSI P55-GD85 - I updated the bios to the latest 1.3. Everything is good and I love it.
The problem came when I bought an SSD. First of all, I NEVER wanted to use the Marvell Sata ports (white one, Port 7 and 8) because I don't have any SATA III drives but right now It seems that I don't have a choice because of the SSD.
Originally, I ran Raid 0 on my 2 x Samsung F3 Spinpoint 500GB which is plugged on the P55 sata ports (ports 5 and 6). Of course that means that the P55 sata controller is running in Raid Mode.
Now the SSD came to play and wanted to use it as boot drive. I plugged it into SATA 0 (P55). I decided to run some benchmarks and tests BEFORE installing Windows 7 on it (still keeping my Raid 0 Samsungs). I ran some tests and it was amazing. ATTO and HD Tune pro hits the spec speeds of the SSD. For the sake of it I also ran test on the Samsung that I have. In raid 0, I hit 280mbps reads speeds/13.5ms seek which is very very good.
Now the problem:
Even though I have a Single SSD drive, TRIM does NOT work because it is connected to the same P55 SATA ports where my Samsung Raid is connected - which is of course, in Raid mode. As far as I know TRIM will only work in AHCI mode for the P55 ICH10R chip.
I don't want to give up my Raid setup so I though maybe I should connect it to the Marvell Raid. I had to reformat and rebuild the RAID volume in Marvell and reinstall Windows 7. This time I also installed Windows 7 on my SSD so I can benchmark my Raid 0 (marvell controller). To my shock these are the results:
Using HD Tune Pro:
P55 Raid - 2 x 500gb samsung F3s
Max Read - 280mbps
Min Read - 220mbps
Average - Around 240mbps
seek - 13.5
Marvell Raid 0 - 2 x 500gb samsung f3s
Max Read - 160mbps
Min Read - 113mbps
Average - Around 130mbps
seek - 15.6ms
I made sure that all drivers are updated (unless I need to flash the BIOS for the Marvell chip - is that possible)? I'm in the office right now as I can't remember the exact version of the marvell, I think it is 1.0.0.1013 (I'll edit as soon as I go home).
As you can see, the performance is like half! Which is unacceptable.
Then, just for tests, I tried to plug in my Single SSD to the Marvell white Port (port 7) and ran some benchmarks.
Here are the results:
P55 ports Single - Kingston 64gb SSDNow V series
Max reads: 180mbps
Min reads: 130mbps
Ave reads: 140ish
Seek: .2ms
- it did not hit the 210mbps theoretical speed that it pretty decent IMO
Marvell Sata ports - Single Kingston 64gb SSDNow V series
Max reads: 130mbps
Min reads: 110mbps
Ave reads: 120ish mbps
seek: .3
I also noticed real world performance (like boot times and application snappiness) differences between Marvell and the ICH p55 controllers. The Marvell does not perform well compared to the intel one.
BTW, I also tried the Jmicron 36x Sata port 9 and it is so much worse.
Is the Marvell Controller really that slower compared to the Intel Controllers?
Could any one please help me to improve my RAID and/or AHCI mode of my Marvel; controller? Also, does TRIM work with Marvell Controllers in AHCI mode?
Thank you!
Specs:
Core i7 870 @ stock
P55-GD85 BIOS 1.3 (from MSI website)
EVGA GTX 460 768mb SC
4 x 2gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 (XMP enabled) - runs fine
2 x 500GB Samsung F3 Spinpoint
1 x Kingston 64gb SSDNow V SSD
DVDrom
Corsair 650TX
Mugen 2 Rev B
Thermaltake Armor A90

Quote from: Jack t.N. on 11-September-10, 02:05:06
The Marvell Controller Firmware Updates will come as part of the system BIOS Update. I am not sure if this has to do with the Controller Firmware or the driver version used. But in any case, I suggest you contact MSI Technical Support and report your findings so they can check it:
http://support.msi.com/
Thank you for your reply.
I hope it is nothing serious. I have to make screenshots and make a better documentation of my findings before I send it to them.
How about the others that use Marvell 9123 in SATA II or SATA II RAID-0? Am I just alone?

P55-GD85 - Marvell 9128 RAID stuck in rebuild - paused

Testing the SATA III controller to see if its worth using in a real world RAID 1 config. I tested a disk loss and the RAID array properly went into degraded mode. When reattaching the second disk I entered the RAID BIOS and set it to rebuild the array. The rebuild started then paused at 1%. Its been paused for hours and won't continue. I've tried rebooting to Windows 7 and also let it sit in the RAID BIOS screen to see if it will rebuild with Windows not running. Same thing, stuck in paused.
I am aware that paused rebuilds has been a problem with other controllers in the past. Is this a RAID BIOS issue, Marvell driver issue??? Please help.
My P55-GD85 is running V1.1 BIOS and the latest Marvell driver from MSI downloaded yesterday.
I spoke with Marvell technical support and although unhelpful they did tell me that there is a newer version of the Marvell RAID BIOS that MSI should be using. That version ends in 1014. My board is using 1013 currently. Can someone look into this please???

Quote from: Mike on 22-March-10, 20:15:34
Claykin,
I emailed a contact within MSI and received the response below. The MSI contact asks that you try the 1.24 beta bios. You'll need contact MSI support. List what the issue is, link to this thread, and let them know about my contacting MSI and the response. Use this link for support: http://www.msicomputer.com/msi_user/ts_form.aspx
Hi Mike,
Can you ask him to try the latest beta bios v1.24 first?
If that doesn’t help, can you ask him his configuration details, maybe we can reproduce the issue here.
Best regards,
MSI Customer Service Dept.
I tried V1.24 beta BIOS and it has the same 1.0.0.1013 Marvell BIOS. MSI should consider upgrading to a new revision from Marvell.

Setting up a new raid and preserving disk contents

I have a Maxtor 250GB drive full of data. I just purchased a Maxtor 300GB drive that I am going to use as a RAID 1. Is it possible to set up the raid without formatting the 250GB and immediately have it mirrored to the 300? If so, what steps would I take?
Also can I set up two volumes on the 300 so that 250 is part of the raid and the extra 50 isn't?

yes I noticed that but I travel a lot and want to have then stored on the Ipad so I don't use 3G data usage unknowingly..Its good in a way cause music you don't really listen to does not waste space...I did notice that if you select "album" view there is a choice to "download all" in that album so that would be faster then one by one..I would think they have a "download all" for the whole libary.
Thanks

D20 - M4158 Marvell Controller, SAS Drives Linux OS

I am trying to get RHEL5.4 to recogize my SAS drives on a D20 (M4158) ThinkStation. It seems that the RAID on the Marvell is causing an issue. I have 3 disk drives, 1 SATA and 2 SAS. I DO NOT have a RAID configured for the MArvell controller. I have the SATA drive connected to the black IDE controller ports. The OS is installed on this drive.The 2 SAS drives are connected to the blue ports on the Marvell controller. I have the Lenovo Linux drivers for RHEL5.4 installed.
On boot, the BIOS sees all of the drives, the Marvell sees both of the SAS drives, it boots to the OS on the SATA drive fine. BUT - when I log in the SAS drives do not show up when I do a lsscsi and there are no block device files for them in /dev. IF I disconnect both SAS drives from the blue ports on the Marvell controller and plug them back in, the OS creates the block devices. lsscsi show that they are available, I can mount them, read and write data to them. When I reboot, they are gone. I can unplu/plug them in again, remount, everything is fine. How do I get the BIOS and OS to "talk" and have them available on startup?

welcome to the forum!
to confirm that the marvell controller is enabled, you'll find it in the BIOS under the 'Devices' tab > Marvell SATA/SAS controller.   this should be set to [Enabled] along with the option ROM scan directly below it.
you won't see any SAS drives in your OS without the marvell drivers installed.   for this i would recommend installing your SATA drive on a black socket and the SAS drives on the blue sockets.   once your OS is installed then you should be able to install the array.
at any time you should be able to configure the array using the ROM controller option at POST.   the key combination to access it if ctrl+M if memory serves.   full instructions can be found in the D20 HMM: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-72117
ThinkStation C20
ThinkPad X1C · X220 · X60T · s30 · 600

RAID Mirror using partitions

Hi all,
I've got 3 Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB drives in my MacPro. One is dedicated entirely to Time Machine backup. The other two I would like to split into two equal partitions and then setup RAID (mirror) arrays using Disk Utility like this:
RAID 1 = Disk1,Partition1 + Disk2,Parition1
RAID 2 = Disk1,Partiton2 + Disk2,Partition2
The first RAID gets created without a hitch... but then the second RAID fails and won't create/mount.
Is this even possible on OS X 10.5.8? If so... I'd really appreciate any help, as it seems like this SHOULD work, but it just WON'T.
Thanks!
- John

Kappy,
Thanks for the additional info. I've got scads of backup going on... I regularly (like, hourly) use Chronosync to synchronize all of my important files between my Mac Pro and my MacBook Pro so there's one... I also user SuperDuper to maintain bootable backups on separate external drives for both computers... AND I've got two separate external backups of my important client files (backed up into a secure sparse disk image on two different external drives).
So... I came up with the scheme of having the RAID on the boot disk while I was trying to re-allocate some new drives from my MacPro and external drive enclosures. I realized that the original, 320GB drive that came in the MacPro was a dog and was significantly hampering performance (the MacBook Pro is actually faster at performing disk-related tasks!). So... I had a Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB drive that I was planning to put into an OWC FW800/400/USB2.0/eSATA drive enclosure to use as part of my external backup scheme that I thought would serve me better as my boot disk. But, since I've only got about 200GB of the 320GB filled on the current drive, I figured I had a lot of space on the 1TB drive that would go to waste.
Hence... I hatched the "brilliant scheme" of partitioning 2 of the 1TB drives in the MacPro equally and then creating a RAID... figuring that would provide at least some reason for having the overly-large drive for my boot disk. RAID mirroring would give me a level of protection against disk failure and would reduce the "clutter" of having too many drives/partitions showing up on the desktop and in Finder.
But... all of your comments are excellent ones. So, I'm sticking with the interim solution I posted earlier. No RAID on the boot disk partition, but a RAID on the important client files partition to provide drive-failure protection above-and-beyond my existing backup schemes.
Thanks, again, for all of your input.
Regards,
- John

Completely messed up Raid-Array and Partition! How to delete and create new Raid-Array?

Hello,
I am using Ideapad U310 and tried to clean install Windows 8 and use my SSD as CACHE and Hibernate-Partition.
So, I was able to get to the Intel CTRL+I-RAID Config Menu and there I was able to create and delete my RAIDS.
Unfortunately I did not setup the Partition Size correctly, thus I only have a 50 GB Partition combined with my SSD and my HDD. This is what it looks like in the Intel Storage Manager:
As you can see both, my SSD and HDD appears, but only have small partitions on the right. And Windows 8 only recognizes this small partitions, as you can see here:
And now I am NOT able to get to the Intel RAID CTRL+I-menu before Windows starts, where I could delete this array.
My Partitions are "empty", so I dont care if anything is delete. I just want to use raid with FULL CAPACITY of my harddrives. But how can I delete the RAID Arrays and reconfigure them correctly?
When I change in the BIOS from RAID to AHCI I am able to install Windows 8 again with the whol CAPACITY of my SSD and HDD. But then I will not be able to use the RAID via Intel Storage Manager...
Hopefully someone could help me.
Thank you in advance.

Hi
Please see this thread
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/IdeaPad-Y-U-V-Z-and-P-series/The-Guide-on-How-To-Reformat-Repartition-AN...
Hope this helps
Ishaan Ideapad Y560(i3 330m), Hp Elitebook 8460p!(i5-2520M) Hp Pavilion n208tx(i5-4200u)
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D20 (4158) Marvell no RAID - RAID 0 preserve partitions?

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