Question about how RAID 1 functions

BloodTotal · Dec 24, 2012, 02:15 AM

So far from my reading, I understand raid 1 to be a motherboard function.

I would go into my motherboard bios and setup two physical harddrives to function together in RAID 1.

Everything on the operating system level would recognize it as one harddrive. So if I'm installing windows, I would just choose the drive that I know is my RAID 1 drive.

Is this thinking correct?

Also, I will be quadroople booting windows, ubuntu, os x, and another windows. Will that be a problem?

newtekie1 · Dec 24, 2012, 02:50 AM

Pretty much correct.

However, usually you set the SATA controller to RAID mode. Then when the computer boots there will be a second screen that tells you to press a key combination to go into the RAID configuration section(Ctrl+I with Intel controllers). Once in that screen you can configure your RAID array and give it a name.

Then, yes, the OS will recognize the RAID array as one "drive"(however you might have to load a driver before the OS will recognize the array).

Quadruple booting shouldn't be an issue as long as you setup the partitions on the drive, which I assume you already know how to do if you are planning to quadruple boot.

W1zzard · Dec 24, 2012, 06:42 AM

personally i dont trust hardware raid 1. i prefer to use the operating system's software raid 1 solution, which means if a drive fails i could just take the other drive to any other random pc and it will be detected and i can get my data. migrating to a different motherboard/controller will also be a non issue

FordGT90Concept · Dec 24, 2012, 08:09 AM

Pretty sure hardware RAID1, you can pull any of the drives out of the array and use them just like you would a single drive. As such, RAID1 drives will work under virtually any hardware while the more complex RAIDs won't (like 5). If you're willing to spend the money to buy three+ hard drives for RAID5, you should really consider getting a dedicate card for it too that has more features (like hot spare and buzzer that sounds on drive failure).

newtekie1 · Dec 24, 2012, 02:52 PM

Yep, I've pulled drives out of RAID1 arrays and plugged them in as single drives to other PCs and they work just fine and I could read/write all the data.

Dec 24, 2012, 02:15 AM	#1
BloodTotal Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Canadia Posts: 670 (0.34/day) Thanks: 556 Thanked 49 Times in 48 Posts System Specs	Question about how RAID 1 functions So far from my reading, I understand raid 1 to be a motherboard function. I would go into my motherboard bios and setup two physical harddrives to function together in RAID 1. Everything on the operating system level would recognize it as one harddrive. So if I'm installing windows, I would just choose the drive that I know is my RAID 1 drive. Is this thinking correct? Also, I will be quadroople booting windows, ubuntu, os x, and another windows. Will that be a problem?

System Name:	Blood
Processor:	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
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Dec 24, 2012, 02:50 AM	#2
newtekie1 Semi-Retired Folder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 17,756 (6.48/day) Thanks: 780 Thanked 5,118 Times in 3,708 Posts System Specs	Pretty much correct. However, usually you set the SATA controller to RAID mode. Then when the computer boots there will be a second screen that tells you to press a key combination to go into the RAID configuration section(Ctrl+I with Intel controllers). Once in that screen you can configure your RAID array and give it a name. Then, yes, the OS will recognize the RAID array as one "drive"(however you might have to load a driver before the OS will recognize the array). Quadruple booting shouldn't be an issue as long as you setup the partitions on the drive, which I assume you already know how to do if you are planning to quadruple boot. __________________ Rig1: System Specs. Rig2: A8-5600K@4.4GHz / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 / HD7560D / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB WD Green + 3x3TB WD RED in RAID5 Rig3: Athlon X2 4200+ / M4A79 Deluxe / 4GB G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 / GT430 / Sony DVD-Burner / 500GB WD Rig4: Phenom II x6 1605T @ 3.6GHz / Asus M5A99X Evo / 8GB PNY DDR3-1600 9-9-9 / GTX470 & GTX470 / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB Seagate

Processor:	Intel Core i7 875K@4.0GHz(200x20)
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Dec 24, 2012, 06:42 AM	#3
W1zzard Benevolent Dictator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Posts: 13,791 (4.18/day) Thanks: 184 Thanked 10,283 Times in 3,175 Posts System Specs	personally i dont trust hardware raid 1. i prefer to use the operating system's software raid 1 solution, which means if a drive fails i could just take the other drive to any other random pc and it will be detected and i can get my data. migrating to a different motherboard/controller will also be a non issue

Dec 24, 2012, 08:09 AM	#4
FordGT90Concept "I go fast!1!11!1!" Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: IA, USA Posts: 10,583 (6.28/day) Thanks: 1,755 Thanked 2,599 Times in 1,962 Posts System Specs	Pretty sure hardware RAID1, you can pull any of the drives out of the array and use them just like you would a single drive. As such, RAID1 drives will work under virtually any hardware while the more complex RAIDs won't (like 5). If you're willing to spend the money to buy three+ hard drives for RAID5, you should really consider getting a dedicate card for it too that has more features (like hot spare and buzzer that sounds on drive failure). __________________ Golden Rule of Programming: Never assume. try { SteamDownload(); } catch (Steamception ex) { RageQuit(); }

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Dec 24, 2012, 02:52 PM	#5
newtekie1 Semi-Retired Folder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 17,756 (6.48/day) Thanks: 780 Thanked 5,118 Times in 3,708 Posts System Specs	Yep, I've pulled drives out of RAID1 arrays and plugged them in as single drives to other PCs and they work just fine and I could read/write all the data. __________________ Rig1: System Specs. Rig2: A8-5600K@4.4GHz / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 / HD7560D / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB WD Green + 3x3TB WD RED in RAID5 Rig3: Athlon X2 4200+ / M4A79 Deluxe / 4GB G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 / GT430 / Sony DVD-Burner / 500GB WD Rig4: Phenom II x6 1605T @ 3.6GHz / Asus M5A99X Evo / 8GB PNY DDR3-1600 9-9-9 / GTX470 & GTX470 / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB Seagate

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