Migration to RAID 1

I'm tentatively considering getting a second HDD of identical capacity and re-installing the kernel (adding "raid" to hooks?) to be configured for mirroring so that my data is a bit more secure and disk reads can go faster. Would this be feasible, and not terribly convoluted/requiring hacks or following very, very verbose instructions?
My current Arch installation is on a single 1 TB partition formatted as JFS. My motherboard supports RAID 1, so I'm not sure whether software RAID is necessary, or if it would get me better performance.

I'm not sure what experiences apollokk has had, but I've found Software RAID and Hardware RAID both to be very well supported in Linux.
I'm running Software RAID-1 on my home desktop and home server at the moment. I've previously used Hardware RAID in server environments including Adaptec and HP RAID controllers without issue as long as you make sure the particular card has Linux drivers -- some of the cheaper 'hardware' RAID device don't. Yes, it can sometimes be fiddly to get it going when you're trying to RAID your system disk, but once it's running it's good.
Using your motherboard's RAID might be a little bit more difficult -- I've found BIOS RAID to be flaky before. I'd go with Linux Software RAID over your motherboard's RAID (which is software too btw). Chances are there's more people using Linux Software RAID than there are people using your motherboard's RAID -- ergo you'll get more support.
Last edited by fukawi2 (2009-09-02 01:11:45)

Similar Messages

Migrating Software RAID 1 ?!

Hello all, i just installed my new SSD on which i'm doing a fresh install of my OS, although have now run into an issue with regaining the software raid 1 i had setup on 2 external drives with the old OS. Can i possibly migrate this raid 1 to the fresh OS??the drives are not coming up at all at the moment but if i boot the old OS disk they appear as normal.
any help would be great
thanks

Did a bit more research, SCSI and storage use to be my hobby, and Mac Pro my passion. So I tried to dig into this further. SSD is very popular and people want to have 2 x SSDs along with 3-4 traditional mechanical hard drives. I just don't see going with an external type solution.
Short answer: ain't gonna boot.
You want a mirror - that should be fine.
I was not familiar at all with one item, but I advise people to not put USB/FW cases on SATA controllers, too many problems and issues.
*Raidon 4bay 19in 1ru esata enclusure*
Like this?
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Raidon/SR4WBS2/
Is the controller one of the very few that are bootable? most are not.
To be bootable, the card would have to have Mac EFI firmware. Also, the EFI ROM version can "interfere" with support for cards and being bootable.
There are always drivers and firmware when it comes to booting. It is suppose to be "driver-less." translation: built into OS X 10.5.x and later.
NewerTech use Marvell chipset. I can say their 6G chipset which you can google and see who else uses them. I just picked up Marvell based 6G 2-port. So interested in why MINE is having trouble (conflicts with Sonnet Silicon Image most likely). I have a couple Sonnet cards, E4P and E2P, and there are drivers.
the Caldigit Fasta-2E is not bootable with the Mac Pro. In addition, while most FirmTek controllers are bootable with the PowerMac G4 and G5, they are not bootable with the Apple Mac Pro. Bootable External drives Mac Pro?
*NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G*
+Does NOT support booting on any Macintosh platform.+
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MXPCIE6GS2/
Or this one,
*eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 RAID Capable Controller Card*
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MXPCIE6GRS/
http://www.newertech.com/products/pcieraidesata.php
Reviewed here (and this should be req'd site to check also for Mac Pro owners)
http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-MAXPowereSATA6G.html
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/IDE/NewerTech6GeSATA/Newertech6GeSataCard.html
There is also FirmTek.
http://firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2me4-e/perform/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Firmtek/SATAE6G/
Highpoint has always depended on driver.
Popular kit to install two SSDs in optical drive bay:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MM352A52MP9/
External dual drive (SATA only, which is what I use and want for native SATA speeds)
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MESATATBEK/?APC=XLR8You rMac09
The ideal would be to boot off the two SSDs, and yes it would help to have a PCIe with internal ports, then use them in stripe RAID, not mirror (you can backup the OS and have a clone on external FW800; on sparse disk image of 100GB; on a small internal drive even), and when it changes.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/IDE/SSDin_Mac_Pro/SSD_install_inMacPro.htm#storytop
For an internal controller, HPT RR640 IF it was supported at all on Mac
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816115077
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3309/highpointrocketraid_640_sata_6gb_s_4_port_pci_e_2_0controller/index.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2011/01/04/high-point-rocketraid-640-review/5
To boot in 64-bit mode, all drivers and even some application plug-ins I believe have to be 64-bit, but not everything is 64-bit mode compatible.
one SSD in optical drive bay for system
no need to mirror
no controller
use the 2nd for scratch or an expensive off line backup
If the SSD fails, swap out, use clone, rebuild and restore.
No meed for mirror, AND disks writes are where SSDs can suffer and slow down.
But DO consider SoftRAID 4.x, great support for SSDs and driver even for non-RAID, but their mirror RAID is a notch above.
http://www.softraid.com
I found Highpoint RR Quad on Apple Store:
Is this compatible with the new 2010 Mac Pros? bootable?
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1113LL/A#compatibility
I think you would get more mac pro owners to read and help in Mac Pro forum. And don't forget to stop by and check XLR8YOURMAC web site for news and tips about hardware upgrades and reports.

Migrate from Raid 1 to Raid 5 with IX4-300D

I am considering to buy a IX4-300D.
But what I would like to know: I might consider starting up with 2 drives in RAID-1, and later down the road buy a 3rd drive to upgrade my to RAID-5.
Can this be done on the fly, meaning I can just put in the 3rd drive, and I can upgrade to RAID-5 without data loss?
(Yes, I should certainly have a backup before doing that, but I would like to get around to create a new RAID-5 and having to copy back the data from the backup)
And will I be able to upgrade my 3 drive RAID-5 later to 4 drives?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Have not tried / seen this yet. All lenovo pieces with raid 5 had 4 disks in, although theoretically it would work with 3, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
If you think that deeply into it you should also spend the 90 Euro for another e.g. 2 TB WD RED
Various PCs / Laptops ( sorry I still really love Dell and Fujitsu ;-))
Supporting Customers ix2s and ix4s -- Love Networking ( not only technically ).
I am not a Lenovo Employee.
If you find a post helpful and it answers your question, please mark it as an "Accepted Solution"!

RAID for Consumer PCs

If you have an interest in using RAID, then the MS Word document attached to this post may be useful information. Scroll all the way to the bottom for the attachment.
RAID for Consumer PCs
Table of Contents
RAID
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10 (0+1)
INTEL Controller Support for Different RAID Configurations
Background Information for Creating a RAID configuration.
Considerations:
Performance comparisons
Creating a RAID 0 Array
Creating a RAID 1 Array
Creating a RAID 5 Array
Creating a RAID 10 (0+1) Array
Conversion from RAID 0 to RAID 5
RAID 0 to RAID 5 Observations
Other RAID Migrations
*************DISCLAIMER***********
RAID
RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks and also commonly called Redundant Array of Independent Disks. A RAID array is created when one or more hard disks or one or more solid state disks (SSD) are combined to form a logical volume using one of several different configurations. Consumer level PCs typically use RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and occasionally RAID 10 (0+1). The RAID configuration choice is dependent on the requirements for redundancy, speed and capacity. The choice of a RAID configuration will be a compromise between speed, redundancy, capacity and cost. The different RAID configuration options can be restricted by hardware limitations.
RAID 0
A RAID 0 volume is created when 2 hard disks are used and then data is spanned or striped across the different hard disks. The process of spanning data across different hard disks is also called scatter loading. By spreading data across multiple hard disks, a significant performance improvement can be gained. However, should one of the hard disks fail, then the entire RAID 0 configuration becomes unusable. A RAID 0 volume combines the capacity of the hard drives being used in the configuration.
RAID 1
A RAID 1 configuration is created when 2 hard disks are used and then data on hard drive 1 is replicated to hard drive 2. The process is also called data mirroring. This configuration provides for redundancy in the event of a single hard drive failure but at the expensive of a degradation to write performance as data has to be written to multiple hard drives. Since the data is being replicated between two volumes the overall capacity is limited to that of one hard drive.
RAID 5
A RAID 5 configuration is similar to a RAID 0 array except RAID 5 deploys distributed parity also referred to as checksum data. Blocks of data are stripped across three or more hard drives and each hard drive contains block level recreation data (parity). In the event of a hard drive failure, parity will allow for the data to be accessed through a dynamic data creation process. The downside to the dynamic data creation process is a reduction in performance until the failing hard drive can be replaced. RAID 5 performs best for supporting read accesses as write operations will be slower while the parity blocks are being updated. Parity data does consume disk space. A three hard drive RAID 5 array will have about the same total data capacity as a two hard drive RAID 0 array.
RAID 10 (0+1)
A RAID 10 configuration also called RAID 0+1 can be implemented in two different methods depending on the hardware being used. The below left configuration is a striped RAID 1 array being replicated and the below right configuration is a RAID 0 array being replicated. A RAID 10 configuration can provide a RAID 0 performance level even with the loss of one hard disk. The downside to RAID 10 is the reduced configuration capacity.
INTEL Controller Support for Different RAID Configurations.
The RAID configurations used in this document are based on the INTEL SATA controller.
See the below table.
NOTE: Even though your system board may have the appropriate Intel controller,
not all system boards will provide RAID functionality.
Background Information for Creating a RAID configuration.
You can create a RAID configuration provided that:
The PC cabinet can accommodate additional hard drive(s) if needed.
The system board has the necessary open SATA port(s) if needed.
A SATA controller that can support the desired RAID configuration.
You can determine the status of your RAID configuration by using the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) software. If you don’t have this software on your PC then you can download IRST from the Intel web site. I recommend that you use the latest version available from Intel. Background information can be obtained from the IRST User Guide. When you launch IRST, the help topics are an excellent source of information. You can access IRST by going into the Control Panel and select Intel Rapid Storage Technology. You can also access IRST from the lower right Task Bar location. IRST should resemble a hard drive icon and normally it has a green check mark. By default IRST is set as delayed startup so don’t expect to see it active right after boot up. The Intel images being used in this document are from IRST version 11.1.0.1006.
If the SATA controller in your PC is not set to RAID then read this Microsoft article if you are running VISTA or Windows 7. You need to run the MrFixIT script before you reboot your PC in the bios and make the SATA controller mode change to RAID. The script will then allow Windows to choose the correct driver when you reboot your PC. If you plan on using a boot drive image restore then be sure to run the script just prior to making taking your image backup. That way your backup image is set to allow Windows to choose the correct SATA driver.
Before creating any RAID configuration, always make backups of your data and image the boot hard disk to external media such as an USB drive. Additionally, be sure that your imaging product boot disk is functional, particularly if the PC’s boot hard disk is part of the RAID configuration. Its best to use a commercial hard disk imaging product as support and functionality is generally better than the “freebie” software.
Be sure that your PC is running the latest available BIOS. BIOS updates are used to update the Intel ROM firmware. Additionally, check for hard drive and SSD firmware updates.
Summary of preparation steps in priority order:
Backup your data.
Test out your recovery and restore procedures.
Update the following: BIOS, hard drive firmware, SSD firmware
Update IRST
Execute the Microsoft MrFixIt if your PC is not set to RAID mode in the bios.
Create an image of your boot hard drive.
Considerations:
After replacing a failed hard drive, don’t expect the rebuild process to be fast. All of the data that existed on the failed hard drive must be either regenerated using parity data or replicated to the new hard drive.
I recommend that you use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) when using RAID 5. Cached write data needs to be written to hard drive in the event of a power failure to avoid the loss of data. You might want to consider disabling write back cache if you are not using an UPS. There is a performance reduction by doing so at the expense of improving data integrity.
If you need a RAID array over 2 TB then your PC needs: UEFI bios, 64 bit operating system, GPT formated hard drives. Review this Microsoft article on Windows and GPT FAQs.
Since a MBR formated array will limit the useable space to 2 TB it’s therefore best to use hard drives that are 1 TB or less for RAID 0, 5 and 10.
Consider the data growth rate and the size of the array. The Intel controller will limit the number of hard drives. The size of the PC cabinet and available system board SATA ports will also be growth constraints. It’s not uncommon for a business to experience an annual data growth rate of 20 percent.
If you need a RAID solution beyond the typical consumer level RAID configurations, then you should review the RAID options available from HP.
RAID technology in not infalible so you need to consider backups. A voltage spike inside your PC could render the RAID unusable and unrecoverable. Corrupted data or a virus are other reasons for keeping backups. An external USB connected hard drive might be sufficient for backups.
Throughly test your backup and restore software. Always keep more than one backup copy of your data.
Performance comparisons:
All of the hard drives benchmarked are Hitachi 1.5 TB SATA III hard drives connected as SATA II devices. HD Tune was used to benchmark the seniaros using default settings.
Configuration
Average MB/s
Maximum MB/s
Single hard drive
113
152
RAID 0
222
289
RAID 1
104
142
RAID 5
221
288
RAID 10 (0+1)
220
274
Creating a RAID 0 Array.
If you are configuring the Windows boot drive into a RAID 0 array, then you need to use the Intel option ROM method for creating the array. Tapping Cntl-i at boot up will get you into the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Once the array has been created then boot up your image recovery disk and load the array from your image backup.
If you are creating a RAID 0 data only array then you can use the IRST when running Windows to create the array. You can also use the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Even though this HP VISTA RAID setup article is dated, it does have some excellent information.
Launch IRST.
You can observe in the above image the status of the hard drives attached to the Intel SATA controller. Now click on Create. Select Optimized Disk (RAID 0) then click on Next.
Configure the RAID 0 array by selecting two hard drives of the same size and click on Next.
Next click on Create Volume.
A warning window will appear. Click on OK.
The new RAID volume is now created. However, you now need to use Windows Disk Management to ready the volume for use.
Creating a RAID 1 Array.
If you are configuring the Windows boot drive into a RAID 1 array, then you need to use the Intel option ROM method for creating the array. Tapping Cntl-i at boot up will get you into the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Once the array has been created then boot up your image recovery disk and load the array from your image backup.
If you are creating a RAID 1 data only array then you can use the IRST when running Windows to create the array. You can also use the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Even though this HP VISTA RAID setup article is dated, it does have some excellent information.
Launch IRST.
You can observe the above status of the hard drives attached to the Intel SATA controller. Now click on Create.
Select Real-time data protection (RAID 1) and click NEXT.
Configure the RAID 1 array by selecting two hard drives of the same size and click on Next.
Next click on Create Volume.
The new RAID volume is now created. However, you now need to use Windows Disk Management to ready the volume for use.
Creating a RAID 5 Array.
A RAID 5 array will require three to four hard drives. While it is possible to convert a RAID 0 to a RAID 5 array, I recommended that you consider building the RAID 5 array from scratch rather than use a conversion method.
If you are configuring the Windows boot drive into the RAID 5 array, then you need to use the Intel option ROM method for creating the array. Tapping Cntl-i at boot up will get you into the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Once the array has been created then boot up your image recovery disk and load the array from your image backup.
If you are creating a RAID 5 data only array then you can use the IRST when running Windows to create the array. You can also use the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Even though this HP VISTA RAID setup article is dated, it does have some excellent information.
The following procedure will build the RAID 5 array with three hard drives using IRST.
Launch IRST.
During this create process, I will be using the last three hard drives
listed in the above image under Storage System View. Now click Create.
Select Efficient data hosting and protection (RAID 5) and click
On Next.
Select the three hard drives for RAID 5 and click on Next.
Review the volume creation selections then click on Create Volume.
Review the final warning then click on OK.
Now click on OK and review the final array status.
Creating a RAID 10 (0+1) Array.
A RAID 10 (0+1) array will require four hard drives.
If you are configuring the Windows boot drive into the RAID 10 (0+1) array, then you need to use the Intel option ROM method for creating the array. Tapping Cntl-i at boot up will get you into the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Once the array has been created then boot up your image recovery disk and load the array from your image backup.
If you are creating a RAID 10 (0+1) data only array then you can use the IRST when running Windows to create the array. You can also use the Intel option ROM firmware setup utility. Even though this HP VISTA RAID setup article is dated, it does have some excellent information.
The following procedure will build the RAID 10 (0+1) array using four hard drives using IRST.
Launch IRST.
This create process will be using the last four hard drives listed in the above image under Storage System View. Notice that the hard drives are not the same size. Two of the hard drives are 1.5 TB and two hard drives are 2 TB. While it’s recommended to use all hard drives of the same size, it’s not required. The RAID 10 creation progam will pick to two smallest hard drives for the striped pair and then the two largest hard drives for replication pair but not the opposite as the two largest hard drives if used as the striped pair would not fit on the two smaller hard drives for replication. Now click Create.
Select Balanced performance and data protection (RAID 10) and click
on Next.
Select the four hard drives for RAID 10 and click on Next.
Notice that IRST is set to create a RAID 10 volume with the capacity of 2.7 TB.
Review the volume creation selections then click on Create Volume.
Review the final warning then click on OK.
Now click on OK and review the final array status.
Conversion from RAID 0 to RAID 5
If you have a RAID 0 hard disk configuration and you are concerned that a hard drive failure will cause your PC to crash or results in data loss then you might have an option to use RAID 5. A RAID 5 three drive configuration can survive a single hard drive failure but not two failing hard drives. While there are other RAID configurations possible, this document will only be addressing a three hard drive configuration using the Intel SATA controller. Some of the newer HP PCs can accommodate three hard drives and can be configured when ordered with RAID 5.
Observe the below image. This PC has a RAID 0 2.7 TB array. To build the RAID 5 array, you will need to add (configure) an additional hard drive into the array. Click on Manage and then add an eligible hard drive to the array.
Note: all data on the hard drive to be added to the array will be lost since parity and data from the existing array needs to be written to the added hard drive to create the RAID 5 array. Take backups of your existing array in case something goes wrong.
Once you are on the Manage screen then click on Change type.
The following screen will appear:
Select the drive to be included into the array and click on OK.
When the migration process begins, the Status is now indicating migrating and the Type is RAID 5. The hard drive added was 2 TB which meets the minimum amount. BE PATIENT! The migration process will take a very long time for an in place migration to complete.
It’s much faster to delete out the original RAID 0 volume, create the new RAID 5 volume and then reload the original RAID 0 image from your backups. I recommend that you consider
this method verses the in place approach.
Click on Status to show the migration progress.
RAID 0 to RAID 5 Observations
I was able to shut down and boot the RAID configuration before the migration process had completed. The in place migration method was very slow, about 3% per hour and hence my recommendation to use a differnet method. Booting up from different hard drive before the migration process has completed results in a BSOD on boot up.
After completing the RAID 5 conversion, I did receive a message from IRST indicating that one or more volumes is protected against a hard drive failure.
Other RAID Migrations
While there are other RAID migrations options available, they can be platform (chipset) specific. Review this Intel Chipset article on supported RAID migrations. Even though the Intel RAID migration has a safety function built into the process in the event of a power loss or shutdown, it’s always best to have a complete set of up-to-date backups.
The migration process can be painfully slow. The migration time is largely dependent on the hard drive sizes and the number of hard drives involved in the overall migration. In some cases it might be faster to build the RAID array from scratch and then load the data back to the array verses using an in place migration process.
It is possible to increase the overall RAID array (volume) size with some RAID configurations by adding hard drives to the array. The overall size of the array may be limited by how the array had been previously formatted by Windows. Review the information under the Considerations topic in this document.
*********updated August 21, 2013
If you are using SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration then you will need to have the Intel 7 or 8 chipset plus Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) version 11 or higher to get Windows TRIM support to function. The latest version of IRST as of 8/21/2013 that I have seen is 12.7.1036.
*************DISCLAIMER***********
There may be inaccuracies with the information contained in this document so please consider that when using RAID.
*************DISCLAIMER***********
HP DV9700, t9300, Nvidia 8600, 4GB, Crucial C300 128GB SSD
HP Photosmart Premium C309G, HP Photosmart 6520
HP Touchpad, HP Chromebook 11
Custom i7-4770k,Z-87, 8GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650,GTX 760
Custom i7-4790k,Z-97, 16GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Plextor M.2 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650, GTX 660TI
Windows 7/8 UEFI/Legacy mode, MBR/GPT
Attachments:
RAID for Consumer PCs.doc ‏3761 KB

Great document
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Raid Setup Guide 865/875 LSR/FIS2R Rev 1.04

On-Board Raid Setup MSI 865PE/875P
Revision History
Revision 1.0 (January 2004)
- Original Raid Article
Revision 1.01 (February 2004)
- Reformatted text and fixed spelling/grammar
Revision 1.02 (October 2004)
- Added warnings to temporarily disconnect ALL drives including Zip drives during formatting Raid drives for WinXP.
Revision 1.03 (October 2005)
- Reformatted text and added links to download Promise/Intel Raid floppies if user is missing them.
Revision1.04 (February 2006)
- Minor BB reformatting
Intro
Equipment List For Tests
Description of Tests
Pre-Raid Setup Bios Tweaks
Raid Setup On Promise Controller
Raid Setup On Intel Controller
--->Intel- Migrating from single SATA to Full Raid Array
Intro
This guide is intended to help people configure their Bios and setup Windows for Raid using the Intel ICH5R controller and the Promise FastTrak 378 controller. Although all the tests were done using Raid-0 the methods described should be virtually identical to setting up Raid-1 provided the user is aware of the fundamental differences between the two. It should be useful for anyone with an MSI 865PE/875P chipset on motherboards with LSR and FIS2R suffixes. Before continuing, please read the FAQ thread posted by Maesus and the Raid manual(s) that came with your motherboard. There's also some good info regarding Raid Here and Here and Here
Keep in mind this guide is intended as a reference to help you. It is not a manual. I do not work for MSI and my equipment and time are limited. You will have different equipment and different versions of software.
All the data below is based on tests that I ran and I tried to avoid using any theory that I did not test. If you feel I’ve missed something obvious or if you have something you feel should be added to make this guide clearer or simpler, please PM me with your thoughts. If you have a specific problem that this guide does not help you with, post a detailed thread in the forum on the main page.
Equipment List For Tests
MSI 875P FIS2R Motherboard
Bios 1.8
Enermax EG365P-VE (350w) PSU
P4 2.6c CPU
Kingston KHX-3200A2 2x512MB Memory
Radeon 9800Pro AIW Video Card
WD 400JB 40GB/8MB cache IDE Hdd
2-Seagate 80GB 7200.7 SATA Hdd's
Liteon 52x32x52 CDRW
Floppy Drive
Tests
Generally, tests were as follows:
Configure 2 SATA on Promise controller(serial3&4) as Raid0 and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on Raid
Configure 2 SATA on Promise controller(serial3&4) as Raid0 and add Raid to an existing WindowsXP installation on IDE drive(IDE1)
Configure 2 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1&2) as Raid0 and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on Raid
Configure 2 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1&2) as Raid0 and add Raid to an existing WindowsXP installation on IDE drive(IDE1)
Configure 1 SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial1) and install WindowsXP Home SP1a on it. Then add 2nd SATA on Intel Raid controller(serial2) and migrate to Raid0 using Intel Application Accelerator-Raid edition.
IDE drive used in these tests was pre-installed with a fresh copy of WinXP Home SP1a using default settings and the following drivers all from MSI setup CD and Raid Floppy Disks that came with motherboard:
Intel INF files - version 1002
Gigabit Lan drivers - 7.0.37.0
SoundMax drivers - 5.12.1.3538
Catalyst 3.7 & Multimedia Center drivers from standard ATI CD came with video card.
Pre-Raid BIOS Tweaks
Before I continue, I'd like to point out a few changes from the defaults that I alway make to Bios before I attempt a WinXP install or hardware change. I can't guarantee that they all apply to you but none should make things worse. If anything differs from a setting that you feel is fixing another problem you're having, by all means leave at your prefferred setting. Anything related to performance and overclocking can be raised again AFTER the Raid is all setup and everything is running smoothly.
Standard Cmos Features
The only thing I change here is to enable "32bit transfer mode" whenever I connect new devices to the Intel IDE controller.
Note: Devices attached to the Promise controller and the Intel Raid(when it is enabled) will NOT appear in the standard Cmos page
Advanced Bios Features
Everything on defaults is usually fine except I always change the following for WinXP:
APIC ACPI SCI IRQ - Enabled
Boot Device select is also on this page and you'll be changing it after all the hardware is setup; more later.
Advanced Cipset Features
Confirm that the memory timing "by SPD" is enabled
PNP/PCI Configurations
Clear NVRam option I always set to "YES" before the first boot after making hardware changes. I'm not sure how important this is but I understand that's what you're supposed to do. I believe it forces the motherboard to detect hardware changes. It reverts to "NO" after the reboot.
PCI/IDE Busmaster set to "enabled" to speed things up outside of Windows.
Integrated Peripherals (Before Raid for most flexibilty)
Onboard Promise IDE - Disabled if you have nothing attached to IDE3 and Serial 3&4
ON-Chip IDE Configuration:
Native Mode (Supported by WinXP- Allows all devices connected to IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 to be detected)
SATA Only or PATA Only (select the one that you boot XP with)
Keep SATA Active - Yes (if option available)
Keep PATA Active - Yes (if option available)
PATA Channel selection - Both (if option available)
Configure SATA as Raid - No (if option available)
Leave other settings here at default
Note: Some older Bios versions may appear different than above
Frequency/Voltage Control
Dynamic Overclocking - Disabled
Performance Mode - Slow
Dram Frequency - Auto
Adjust CPU Bus - 201 (for "c" type cpu's)
DDR Voltage - 2.65 (minimum for Dual-Channel Mem stability)
AGP Voltage - 1.55
Note: some features above may not appear with your Bios
Note: performance & overclocking features can be increased again AFTER the Raid array has been setup and is stable with Windows.
Raid On Promise Controller
This procedure should work for anyone adding a Raid array to a system already having XP installed on another drive on the Intel controller or intending to install Windows XP on the new Raid array.
Note: IDE 3 and Serial 3&4 connectors are controlled by the Promise controller.
Note: It is possible to setup Raid arrays using 2 IDE drives on IDE3 or even 2 SATA & 2 IDE drives. I only tested 2 SATA drives on Serial 3&4 connectors.
Note: It is possible to setup Raid 0+1 using 2 IDE drives on IDE3 and 2 SATA drives on Serial 3&4. See HERE for a related thread.
Note: It is possible to setup SATA or IDE drives on the Promise controller as separate drives NOT using Raid but I did not test this. See your manual.
- Attach the SATA drives to Serial 3&4 connectors and ensure that both power and data cables are securely connected. Most SATA drives do NOT need any changes to default jumper positions if any(check Hdd installation instructions).
- Boot into Bios
Integrated Peripherals:
Set Onboard Promise IDE - As Raid
- Save and reboot computer
- Use control-F keys during the boot(when prompted-goes by quickly) to enter the Promise Raid Bios.
Note: You will only be able to enter the promise Bios if you have set the Promise controller to "As Raid" AND there are devices connected and detected by the Promise Bios.
- Use the menus to configure the Raid for your preferences.
Note: I can't say which settings you should use for creating the Raid. It depends on many things. Do some research.
- After saving the Raid array, reboot to Bios.(you should see the configured array for a second or two during the post and it should be "functional")
- In Advanced bios Features>>Boot Device Select:
Set the order you prefer to boot from
- If you already have XP installed on another drive and are just adding the Raid for an extra drive, Ensure that the list is still appropriate and includes your XP drive.
- If you will be installing XP on the new Raid, make sure the new Raid array is in the boot list and any other hard drives are NOT.
Note: Typically, I put the disk with XP first and use F11 key during post to boot from another device. This is not required though.
- Save bios
Important!: If you are installing XP on the new Raid array, you should now shutdown and either disconnect or disable any other drives connected until AFTER XP is installed. This includes USB/Zip drives.(See "Bugs" below).
If Installing XP On The New Raid Array(others skip to below):
- Boot from the Windows XP Setup CD and use F6 key when prompted(at the beginning).
- Follow prompts to load the WinXP Promise FastTrack 376/378 Controller from the floppy that came with motherboard(If Required Download Floppy Here). There are a number of different choices on the floppy. PICK THE RIGHT ONE.
Note: if using Win2K with the floppy, you can scroll down to get more driver options on this screen. It's not readily apparent on the screen.
- Continue setup and Windows should now show you the new Raid array as a single drive available to install to. If it shows other drives that you have connected, re-read the "important" note above and the related section on "Bugs" below.
- When XP setup makes its first re-boot, make sure the floppy has been removed or depending on your settings it may give you a scary moment. Yes I did this(tries to boot from floppy).
- After XP is up and running, you can re-connect/re-enable any drives you disconnected earlier. If they have been formatted, they should show up immediately and be assigned letters after your CD/DVD drives.
- You can also install the Promise Array Manager software(from MSI CD utilities tab or download) which adds some array management settings.
If XP Already Installed On Another Drive(and you're just adding the Raid as an extra storage disk):
- Boot into WindowsXP.
- As Windows starts, it should detect a new Raid device and offer to install drivers.
- Select Cancel. It will tell you that it was unable to install new device. If you want you can confirm the new device is present by checking Windows device Manager. It should show the new device with a yellow exclamation mark beside it since the drivers aren't installed yet.
- Download the appropriate drivers or use the MSI CD that came with motherboard.
Note: The MSI CD detects devices connected and shows available drivers/utilities depending on what it sees. You might not have seen the Promise drivers when using the CD before but now that you have a Raid array connected to it, the drivers will be availble from the MSI setup CD.
- Install the drivers and re-boot
- Device Manager should now show the Raid properly identified by XP.
- If the Raid array was not previously formatted, you can now use Windows Disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to Initialize and then format the Raid array.
- The Raid array should now show in Windows Explorer with it's own drive letter.
Bugs/Surprises
- Trying to install WinXP on the Promise Raid while my IDE drive was connected to the Intel IDE connector resulted in Windows installing boot files to the IDE drive and the rest on the Raid drives. This was especially bad since I had another installation of XP on the IDE drive which was overwritten. The work-around was to disable the IDE drive until AFTER XP was setup on the Raid array.
Update: There have been a few posts on the forum since I wrote this guide where people installing XP have had problems similar to the one above with USB/Zip drives connected so i am adding them to the list of drives to disconnect while installing XP.
- When setting "Boot Device Select", if I selected "NO" for "boot from other devices", the motherboard would ignore my selection and still boot from other devices if the ones in the list were unusable.
- Be gentle with SATA connectors on the motherboard. They can stand firm downward pressure but not a lot of side-to-side pressure.
Raid On Intel Controller
This procedure should work for anyone adding 2 SATA hard drives for a Raid array on a system already having XP installed on another drive or intending to install XP on the new Raid array.
Note: IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 connectors are controlled by the Intel ICH5R controller. Only Serial 1&2 can be configured for Raid arrays.
You can also install a single SATA drive and configure the system for Raid BEFORE installing XP on this drive if you intend to add another SATA drive later to form a Raid array. This method was also tested. I will refer to this for the rest of the thread as the Raid-Ready Method.
Note: If you install WinXP on a single SATA drive without enabling Raid and loading Raid drivers, you will NOT be able to migrate the XP disk to a Raid array at a later date. Reinstalling XP would be required.
Note: There is no performance advantage to having a single drive with Raid enabled. But doing so makes the disk Raid-ready and XP reinstall unnecessary.
- Attach the SATA drive(s) to Serial 1&2 connectors and ensure that both power and data cables are securely connected. Most SATA drives do NOT need any changes to default jumper positions if any(check Hdd installation instructions).
- Boot into Bios
- In "Integrated Peripherals>>On-Chip IDE Configuration" set:
Native Mode (Supported by WinXP- Allows all devices connected to IDE 1&2 and Serial 1&2 to be detected)
SATA Only (Even if you will be booting XP from a PATA drive)
Keep PATA Active - Yes
PATA Channel selection - Both
Configure SATA as Raid - Yes
Leave other settings here at default
Note: Some older Bios versions may appear different than above.
- Save Bios and reboot computer
- Use control-I keys during post(when prompted-goes by quickly) to enter the Intel Raid Bios Utility.
Note: If you are using the single SATA Raid-Ready Method, you can skip the steps involving the Intel Raid utility. Go to the step for setting Boot device select in main Bios.
Note: You will only be able to enter the Intel Raid Bios if you have set the "Configure SATA as Raid" option to "YES" AND there are devices connected and detected by the Intel Raid Bios.
- Use the menus to configure the Raid for your preferences.
Note: I can't say which settings you should use for creating the Raid. It depends on many things. The Intel utility does describe the different options well though.
- After saving the Raid array, reboot to Bios.(you should see the configured array for a second or two during the post and it should be "functional")
- In Advanced bios Features>>Boot Device Select:
Set the order you prefer to boot from;
If you already have XP installed on another drive and are just adding the Raid for an extra drive, Ensure that the list is still appropriate and includes your XP drive.
If you will be installing XP on the new Raid or using Raid-Ready Method, make sure the new Raid array or raid-ready drive is in the boot list and any other hard drives are NOT.
Note: Typically, I put the disk with XP first and use F11 key during post to boot from another device. This is not required though.
- Save bios
Important!: If you are installing XP on the new Raid array or using the Raid-Ready Method, you should now shutdown and either disconnect or disable any other hard drives connected until AFTER XP is installed. This includes Zip/USB drives. (See "Bugs" below).
If Installing XP On The New Raid Array Or Using Raid-Ready Method(others skip to below):
- Boot from the Windows XP Setup CD and use F6 key when prompted(at the beginning).
- Follow prompts to load the IAA Raid Driver for ICH5R (If Required Download Floppy Here) from the floppy that came with motherboard. I only had 1 driver to choose from on my floppy but if you have more, CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE!
- Continue and Windows Setup should now show you the new Raid array or Raid Ready drive as a single drive available to install to. If it shows other drives that you have connected, re-read the "important" note above and the related section on "Bugs" below.
- When XP setup makes its first re-boot, make sure the floppy has been removed or depending on your settings it may give you a scary moment. Yes I did this(tries to boot from floppy).
- After XP is up and running and INF files and other important drivers installed, you can re-connect/re-enable any hard drives you disconnected earlier. If they have been formatted, they should show up immediately and be assigned letters after your CD/DVD drives.
- You can also install the Intel IAA-Raid Program(from MSI CD utilities tab or download) which gives some info and adds the array management settings(Not many. Just the enable/disable cache setting and the migrate to raid option).
If XP Already Installed On Another Drive(and you're just adding the Raid as an extra storage disk):
- Boot into WindowsXP.
- As Windows starts, it should detect a new Raid device and offer to install drivers. Select Cancel. It will tell you that it was unable to install new device. If you want you can confirm the new device is present by checking Windows device Manager. It should show the new device with a yellow exclamation mark beside it since the drivers aren't installed yet.
- Download the appropriate drivers or use the MSI CD that came with motherboard.
Note: The MSI CD detects devices connected and shows available drivers/utilities depending on what it sees. You might not have seen the IAA Raid drivers when using the CD before but now that you have a Raid array connected to it, the drivers will be availble from the MSI setup CD.
- Install the drivers and re-boot
Note: If the IAA Raid program detects that the Raid controller is not enabled or no device is present, it will NOT allow you to install the drivers/utility.
- Using Windows Device Manager should now show the Raid device properly with no problems.
- If the Raid array has not been formatted, you can now use Windows Disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to Initialize and then format the Raid array.
- The new drive should now appear in Windows Explorer with it's own drive letter.
Bugs/Surprises
- Trying to install WinXP on the Promise Raid while my IDE drive was connected to the Intel IDE connector resulted in Windows installing boot files to the IDE drive and the rest on the Raid drives. This was especially bad since I had another installation of XP on the IDE drive which was overwritten. The work-around was to disable the IDE drive until AFTER XP was setup on the Raid array. It is safe to assume this can occur with the Intel controller as well since I believe the problem occurs because of how WinXP setup addresses the hard drives.
Update: There have been a few posts on the forum since I wrote this guide where people installing XP have had problems similar to the one above with USB/Zip drives connected so i am adding them to the list of drives to disconnect while installing XP.
- Be gentle with SATA connectors on the motherboard. They can stand firm downward pressure but not a lot of side-to-side pressure.
Migrating XP System Disk To Raid On Raid-Ready System
This part describes how to use the Intel Application Accelerator-Raid edition to migrate an existing WinXP system disk (1-SATA) to a 2-SATA Raid array.
This procedure is actually very well documented in the last part of the Intel SATA Raid manual that ships with the motherboard but I thought I’d add it to make this thread more complete.
Please note that to use this feature of the Intel raid software the disk you are migrating FROM must have been made Raid-Ready as described above. Basically, this means that Raid should have been enabled in the Bios and the drivers installed from floppy during the WinXP install.
Note: I tested this by migrating to a Raid0 array but Raid1 should work also if the latest Bios and version of Intel-Raid application used.
- Open the Intel Application Accelerator Raid utility.
- With the “Raid” tab window open, right-click on “Raid volume” and select “Create from Existing Disk” as seen below.
- Follow the next several steps to choose the type of Raid array and the strip size.
Note: 64kb strip size is good for general purpose and 128kb best for most desktops and work stations according to Intel. Anything smaller is for specialized purposes. You should research this a little because you can’t change it after easily.
- After configuring the array for your preferences, you will face a couple of warnings telling you that “All data will be deleted from the Raid-controlled drive(s) and is unrecoverable” and ask if you want to continue. Obviously all data(if any) on the new drive you’re adding will be lost but the OS and other data on the disk you’re migrating FROM will be striped to the new array and will remain intact.
Note: Any complex disk procedure such as this carries the risk of losing data. A backup of the disk is important BEFORE beginning the migration process. Don't say I didn't warn you.
- The migration process can take a long time. You should see the window below during the operation.
Note: With just a default WinXP installation, migrating to 2-80Gb drives took about an hour for me.
- After the migration is complete, you will be prompted to re-boot to complete the process.
- During the reboot, as the Intel Bios comes up for a couple of seconds(don’t blink) you will see the 2 drives configured as an array and they will be listed as “functional”.
- After the reboot, you should have a fully functional Raid array with 2 SATA drives and all data from the single drive will have been striped or mirrored into the second one. Check Windows Disk manager(Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc) to see the status of the new drive. See bugs/surprises below.
Bugs/Surprises
The only problem I had with this test came in the form of a small surprise after everything was completed and the computer had rebooted. Although the Intel Application Accelerator showed everything functioning normally, Windows explorer showed my Raid drive as 74Gb in size instead of the 150Gb or so that I expected. After checking Windows disk Manager (Start > Run and type diskmgmt.msc), I found that the missing GB’s were in fact there but were unformatted. Unfortunately, Disk Manager does not seem to allow merging or extending partitions so I ended up using Partition Magic 8 to format the empty space and merge it with the rest of the partition. This seemed to work fine and I ended up with a single 150Gb drive showing up in Windows Explorer. I also briefly tested the performance to confirm that it was operating as a Raid array.
I know there is a utility for Win2K called DiskPart.exe that is run from command console to extend NTFS partitions but if anyone knows of an easier way or a FREE utility that will format/merge NTFS partitions that they have confirmed works, please PM me so that I can include a reference to it here.
All the data above is based on tests that I ran and I tried to avoid using any theory that I did not test. If you feel I’ve missed something obvious or if you have something you feel should be added to make this guide clearer or simpler, please PM me with your thoughts. If you have a specific problem that this guide does not help you with, post a detailed thread in the forum on the main page.
Vango44

Great work vango44!
Here are some RAID performance statistics I gathered while testing RAID on my system. The testing software was Winbench 99. The hard drives tested were new Seagate ST380013AS drives, formatted NTFS. Winbench was running on a third drive that is not included in the tests and should not affect the results.
The drives were reformatted between tests and chkdsk'ed to try and keep things "apples to apples".
No hardware or software changes other than the RAID setup/connections were made between tests.
Higher numbers mean better performance.
I also ran the same tests on the newish WD Raptor 10K drives:
I couldn't stand all the noise the Raptors made, so I returned them.
On my motherboard:
SATA 1 & 2 = Intel RAID controller
SATA 3 & 4 = Promise RAID controller
If the test title does not include "RAID", then it was a single drive test.
Unfortunately, I don't have a spreadsheet version of the above stats. Otherwise I'd create nice bar charts for us and it's would be easier to deduce performance.
Perhaps some kind reader will OCR the pictures, put them into Excel, and make some nice bar charts for us?
Hope the info helps.

Mobo swap affect current RAID 0 Config??

Hi guys,
I need your help. I,ve just received this K8N Neo Plat mobo, currently i have an ABIT KV8 with RAID 0 enabled (VIA Chipset) 2x 120Mb Hardisk SATA 7200rpm, 8Mb cache both from Seagate & Maxtor. My question is, if change my old mobo (VIA K8T800) with this new MSI K8N (Nforce3), is there any chance that I could keep my current hardisk configuration with its whole contents intact during installation or do I have to re-format my hardisks with new Windows XP installation.
I surely want to keep my current configuration without have to re-format those hardisks. Is that possible considering I'll move to a different Chipset???
FYI : two months ago I've managed a mobo migration from Albatron K8X800 ProII (RMA this board) to ABIT KV8 without have to changed/re-format those hardisk config, but I'm assuming that was succesfull because those mobo were using the same VIA Chipset. So I'd no problem during installation and my RAID 0 config were going smooth as silk without any error found and my data still intact as before.
Thanks

You would be best served to back up all pertinent, and important data, then do a clean install.
Migration of RAID partitions from one chipset to another, be it the same manufacturer, or not, is not possible. All manufacturers use slightly different data structures, etc. when writing the data to the disk. Your Nvidia RAD chipset will not read the information.
The only reason it worked before, is because they were the same exact chipset.
The only other option would be to make an image of the drive using nortons Ghost, or an equivalent. This assumes you have acces to another drive with enough space to hold all your data. This route is not reccommended, because the leftover driver bits from you old VIA installation could cause instability down the line, and always at the worst time.

Promise Pegasus: migrated to larger array, Mac still sees smaller array.

On my R6 Pegasus, I migrated from a 4x1tb raid 5 (3tb capacity) to a 5x1tb raid 5 (4tb capacity) array. I did this with the Pegasus utility. I did not have to delete my old array, I just used Promise's utility to migrate the raid 5 array from 4 disks to 5 disks. When done i had the Promise utility expand the logical volume from 3tb to 4 tb. The array still shows up on my Mac, but only showing a 3tb size. Disk utility on Mac shows the drive as a 4tb drive, but with only a 3tb partition. I've tried using disk utility to expand the partition to 4tb, but it always reverts to 3tb. I know I could always delete the entire array (I have good backups) and rebuild from scratch, but don't want to go through the hassles if I can help it! Any ideas? Thanks!

I had foreseen such trouble, so when I received a fresh R6 x 1TB, I decided to experiment a bit. I deleted the factory installed 6-disk RAID5, had a 4-disk RAID5, a single global spare and a single disk partitioned and formatted by the Pegasus Utility as 500 MB. When extending the 500 MB to 1 TB, using the Promise utility, the utility says the logical drive has 1TB capacity.
As you indicate, Disk Utility cannot expand to the full 1TB logical drive size.
So part of the answer is 'it is independent of RAID configuration'.
To save other people the trouble of testing, I decided to consider my options.
To test if it has to do with the formatting by Pegasus Utility, I deleted the logical drive and made a new logical 500GB drive, this time with the 'format' option OFF. I then partitioned the 500 GB logical drive using Disk Utility and set it to 500 GB. In the Promise utility, I started the Background Activities Migration option and expanded the RAID0 500 GB volume to 1000GB. diskutil list shows
Unfortunately, Disk Utility still fails to extend the current partition layout from 500 GB to 1 TB. Restarting the subsystem/MacOS did not help.
Re-partitioning the logical volume in Disk Utility (and thus wiping all data on the partition) DOES work however. So it is "just" MacOS/Disk Utility not being able to expand the already present partition.
I notice that if you create another logical drive on the remaining space of the disk, it appears as a new partition on a new disk in Disk Utility(screenshot above then shows /dev/disk3/), not as a second partition on the same disk (as would have been the case on an internal disk or USB/FireWire external single disk). This even happens when you create both partitions on the same disk array at the same time.
Using diskutil I found out that even though Pegasus Utility and Disk Utility both report disk capacity to be 1 TB,
     diskutil resizeVolume disk2s2 limits
shows
     Current size: 499.7 GB (499656028160 Bytes)
     Minimum size: 5.8 GB (5816856576 Bytes)
     Maximum size: 499.7 GB (499656028160 Bytes)
The only way one can use the maximum capacity of new disks, seems to remove disk 6 from a 6-disk RAID5 (net capacity 5 TB), copy 1 TB to the now externally attached 1TB disk, swap disk 6 (auto rebuild off) with a 4 TB disk, copy all data to the 4TB disk, swap the remaining 5 disk with 4TB disks, make them RAID0, copy from disk 6 to RAID and then upgrade from RAID0 to RAID5 by adding disk 6 to the RAID. This adds redundancy but does not change the maximum disk size, hence does not require resizing the partition.
Finally copy the 1TB disk content back to the now 20 TB RAID5.

Best configuration for RAID-setup?

After reading the post about what FS would be best for 5x500GB, it occurred to me that I have to migrate my RAID-setup soonish and that I would like to hear some more opinions before doing so.
At the moment, my server is running 64bit Arch for 1.5 years now, and it is composed of new parts (C2D 8400, 4GB RAM and 3x320GB HD) with an 'old' 6-port SATA RAID-controller (HP-rebranded Adaptec 2605-card) that I recuperated from our previous office-server. Since I had never worked with RAID before in my life, I was very happy that installing an FS on it and installing arch on that FS went without a hassle.
Now I have to grow the capacity, and although I have some spare ports (3 out of 6 are free), I fear that I'll have to rebuild the FS, since I didn't install LVM. Rebuilding the array might include a risk to lose my data, so I'm thinking of just starting over and doing it right this time:
1. Separate disk for the OS, not in a RAID-array
2. 3-disk RAID-5 array, with LVM
3. Partition the LVM in two slices (1 for work and 1 for 'play').
Are there any considerations I have to think of before doing this? I think Ext4 is the FS-of-choice for a server that will be doing mainly NFS (media), CUPS, and some HTTP/PostgreSQL...

All sounds good to me... I'm not personally a fan of RAID-5 just due to personal preference, but with 3 disks it's your only option really.

Apple Hardware RAID 5 - Switch to 2GB HDD

I have an Intel Xserve, Apple RAID Card, 3 Apple 1TB HDD, RAID 5 configuration, 2 Volumes. I need to switch out the drives for 2TB HDD because storage is running low. What is the best approach with the least risk?

Your only safe option to migrate a RAID 5 array is to back up the data, build the new array, then restore the data to the new array.
You might get away with breaking the RAID (i.e. removing one of the drives/ADMs and replacing it with a 2TB drive) and copying the data off the degraded RAID, but I wouldn't recommend it.

K7T 266 PRO2 RU - RAID 0 Array to KT6 Delta-FIS2R

:confused2:Hi all,
I currently have a K7T266PRO2 RU board running 2x 80GB IBM drives in a RAID 0.
I'm looking to upgrade the board to a new KT6 Delta-FIS2R, but will I be able to migrate the RAID array to the new board without losing my data?
Its either that or a PCI Promise Fastrack PCI adapter, which I don't particularly want to do; and I cant back off the 120GB Im currently storing onto any other media (no splashing out on an LTO drive is out of the question)
Please help!

Well I went out and got the board and an upgraded PSU (my 300w Aopen wouldn't cut it). - Now a Tsunami 400W (3.3v/28a, 5v/40a, 12v/18a)
Configured the two 80GB drives on the P20378, and Presto! The stripe set is detected and all data accessible. Had some problems getting it to boot into XP even after a repair +all the new drivers, so I just rebuilt the OS.
However,
I am still experiencing some issues; every now and then XP seems to hang and on reboot the Promise bios cant find either one or both of the drives!
Weird I tell you.....
I am forced to wait a while (it seems to detect at least one drive after about 3mins), power up the machine, and then delete the raid set and recreate it in the Promise bios before it will boot to XP again!
I've work in IT for 8 years and never seen anything like this before on any HW platform. Has anyone seen anything like this before?

Mountain lion server reinstall

Hi there
Our college recently purchased a mac mini server which had Mountain Lion Server pre-installed to mange the iMacs we have in our classrooms. I setup the server as our requirements but noticed that it wasn't running a RAID setup. I followed instructions that I found online and restarted the mac mini server in Internet Recovery mode, opened Disk Utility and created a RAID set, then reinstalled OSX on that RAID set. When the installer had completed, I noticed that it had installed Mountain Lion and not Mountain Lion Server.
I went onto the App Store and looked in purchases for the Server App but it is not available for Mountain Lion.
OSX Server is available but I have to upgrade to 10.9 and install OSX Server at a cost of £13.99. This is not an option that we wish to pursue at this time
I have contacted Apple and the option they gave me was to upgrade to 10.9 and purchase OSX Server.
Is there any possibility of downloading Mountain Lion Server?
Regards
Noel

If you purchased the system with Mountain Lion and Server.app and related, then call up Apple Support and ask that the server be added to your Mac App Store purchase profile. (I have various earlier Server.app bundles available for installation because those versions of Server.app were registered with Apple.)
FWIW and should a similar case arise again in the future, another approach for the RAID migration would be to copy the current disk contents off of the disk, RAID the disks, and then copy the data back onto the disk. If there was a Time Machine or other off-host backup, that would be a candidate to restore OS X and OS X Server here. (If it's available, also look on that backup for a copy of Server.app.) It's also possible to migrate to RAID "hot", but that's not something that Apple supports.

How do I migrate the data on a RAID on my old Mac Pro to a new RAID array on my new Mac Pro?

We have an older Mac Pro (no Thunderbolt) with four drives (2 of which are configured RAID 0). The new machine has a LaCie RAID on it with 2 drives RAID 1 and 2 drives RAID 0. What's the best way to migrate the data from the old system to the new system? Do I use Migration asst to get the data and settings from the old main to the new main and then xfer the data from the ancillary drives over?

Read my post in this discussion.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3445538?start=0&tstart=0

I wish to migrate the software of my operating system into my raid disk array

I have not found anything
from Intel
orMicrosoft software to migrate my operating system and I was told that there were a couple other companies to
software to move my O.S. off the solid-state drive that it's on and put it on my RAID 5 array that's installed in my computer and working could you please give me a little adviceI have
software for conventional migration and will not work for this application.

Something here may help.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/data-center/how-to-restore-a-system-image-in-windows-server-2012/
Regards, Dave Patrick ....
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.

Migrating a Single 250GB Drive to 2TB RAID 5 Array

My Mac Pro has the original 250GB hard drive it came with. I just purchased a Mac Pro RAID Card. My intention is to install 2 1TB drives, and create a RAID 5 with the three drives. Obviously the new set will only use 250GB on each of the 2 new 1TB drives. Once the array is fully built out, I plan on removing the 250GB drive, and have the array rebuild on the 3rd 1TB drive. This should leave me at the same place i was with the 250GB drive installed.
What I am wondering is that will the RAID utility now see extra space on all three drives, and subsequently allow me to create an additional RAID 5 set with the available space? I'm doing this in lieu of cloning the 250GB to a 1TB drive, boot from the 1TB drive, and then migrating a single boot volume to a RAID set.
Any ideas is appreciated. Thanks.

A thread that looked into RAID5.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1070319&tstart=0
A good start, AMUG review of the Mac Pro 2008.
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/intel/macpro-2008/
NewerTech to use ODD SATA ports to attach your OEM and one other drive. Free up your four internal drive bays.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MPQXES2/
Alternative to Apple Pro RAID - HighPoint RocketRAID 3522
Barefeats: RAID 3 vs RAID 5 vs RAID 6
http://www.barefeats.com/hard101.html
AMUG Review HighPoint RocketRAID 3522
http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/reviews/articles/highpoint/3522/
4-drive RAID performance
http://www.barefeats.com/harper13.html
Estimating capacity:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306212
Personally, from using RAIDs, don't mix drives with different performance, platters, seek or firmware.

I would like to migrate from Aperture. What happens to my Masters which are on a RAID array and then what do I do with my Vault which is on a separate Drive please ?

I am sorry, but I do noisy understand what happens to my RAW original Master files, which I keep offline on a RAID array and then what I do with my Vault which as all my edited photos ? Sorry for such a simple question, but would someone please help my lift the fog ?
Thanks,
Rob

Dear John ,
Apologies, as I am attempting to get to the bottom of this migration for my wife ( who is away on assignment ) and I am not 100% certain on the technical aspects of Aperture, so excuse my ignorance.
She has about 6TB worth of RAW Master images ( several 100 thousand ) which, as explained, are on an external RAID drive. She uses a separate Drive as a Vault . Can I assume that this Vault contains all of her edits, file structures , Metadata, etc ?
So, step by step........She can Import into Lightroom her Referenced Masters from her RAID and still keep them there ? Is that correct ?
The Managed Files that are backed up by her Vault , are in the pictures folder of her MacPro, but not in a structure that looks like her Aperture library ? This means Lightroom will just organize all the Managed files, simply by the date in the Metadata ? Am I correct ( Sorry for being so tech illiterate ).
How do I ensure she imports into Lighgtroom in exactly the same format as she runs her workflow in Aperture ? ( Projects, that are organized by year and shoot location and Albums within those projects with sub-locations, or species , etc ). What exactly do I need to do in Aperture please to organize Managed Files to create a mirror structure of Aperture on my internal Hard Drive ?
There are a couple of points I am unsure about in regard to Lightroom. Does it work in the same way as Aperture ? Meaning, can she still keep Master Files on an external RAID and Lightroom will reference them ? If the answer is yes, how do you back up your Managed ( edited ) work in Lightroom ? ( Can you still use an external Drive as a Vault ? ) . Will the vault she uses now be able to continue to back up Managed Files post migration ?

Migration to RAID 1

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