Setting up Raid-1 AFTER installing windows

[Frostscythe]

Can it be done? Every guide I see shows how to set up raid, THEN install windows. I just want to add another identical hard drive and get raid-1 functionality.

[red930]

So you have one "250GB WD HD WD2500KS" and have already installed Windows on that partition? Now you want to add another "250GB WD HD WD2500KS" and go Raid-1 (Mirrior)? You'll need to enable Raid Controller for the specific SATA ports you have the harddrives connected to, maybe one more option in there as well (Can't remember man sorry). You'll have to press F10 right after the POST, might have to reformat that partition (the one that you have Windows Installed on already).

Maybe you can setup the RAID-1 through the F10 Menu, and when you get into Windows install the RAID DRIVERS, and maybe it might mirrior copy your existing image onto the other drive. Hmmm......

[Scott P]

I don't thnk you can as I tried it earlier this year. I ended up giving up and reformatting and starting from scratch with a RAID-enabled slipstreamed install disc.

[zkissane]

I don't know if you can use hardware RAID1 on the NVRAID controller after you've designated it as a single drive and installed an OS on it. I do know that it is possible, but tricky, to enable software mirroring (RAID1) in Windows XP. I would be willing to bet that it will let you mirror your install after the fact (I know it let me mirror the drive that my profile is stored on several days after I installed XP).

 

If all of the following are true, you might want to try this mod to Windows:

1) You are OK with running an OS with an unsupported hack on it, which may affect your ability to install Windows Updates, or may render your new mirror unusable after a Windows Update.

 

2) You are OK with the tradeoff between hardware and software mirroring. The major points are that software mirroring increases your CPU overhead a bit, but you are not tied down to a specific hardware controller. In other words, with hardware RAID, if your controller dies, you have to find a controller that's exactly the same as the dead one to recover your data. With software RAID, if the controller dies, you can simply move your array to another controller and recover your data.

 

3) You have (or can get) a hex editor and are comfortable editing files in hex mode.

 

This is what you will need:

A Windows XP install CD (I have XP Pro; I am not certain if you can do this mod with any other flavor of XP).

 

Access to your SATA drivers, if necessary. This can either be through the floppy that came with your board or through a slipstreamed CD.

 

A hex editor. I used a (fairly crummy, but it got the job done) plug in for the Eclipse Integrated Developing Environment (IDE). Eclipse is fairly bulky if all you want to do is this mod, but if you're in to programming you might want to check it out if you haven't already; it's pretty cool. Eclipse requires a Java Run Time; you can get that at http://java.sun.com . You can get Eclipse from http://www.eclipse.org . I can't remember the name of the hex editor, but if you Google for "hex editor eclipse" you'll probably find one.

 

A blank hard drive that's the same model/make/etc. as the one you want to mirror. You can still do it if they're not similar, but that requires a bit more work. If it's not blank be willing to wipe out any and all data on it.

 

The drive that you want to make a mirror of must be a dynamic disk. Use Disk Manager to make it a Dynamic Disk (look up "Dynamic Disks" in Windows help if you don't know how to do this).

 

Short version:

 

Go visit the link in my sig about the mod. Copy the 3 files he lists to a seperate location. Edit them with your hex editor as he shows. Put them somewhere that's easy to get to (but not in your Windows directory; the system file protector will wipe out your changes).

 

Boot from your Windows CD. Feed the Windows installer your SATA drivers if necessary (using F6 and all that jazz). Run the recovery console by pressing R when it asks you if you want to install or repair an existing installation. Navigate to the Windows directory. Rename the original files (something like dmio.sys to dmio.sys.bak ) . Copy your modified files to their proper places and names. Eject your XP CD and reboot.

 

Open the XP disk manager. Delete all partitions/volumes on the drive that you want to make the mirror on (the "destination drive", I'll call it). Make that disk a dynamic disk if necessary. Right click on your source volume (i.e. the one you want to make a mirror of) and choose "Add mirror" (this option is normally greyed out in XP, but your hacked drivers make Disk Manager think it's running on Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server). Follow the directions, telling Windows to mirror it on your destination. It will take some time for Windows to build the mirror on the blank drive. I let it do this undisturbed; YMMV. Once that's done, you're good as gold.

 

Long version will come when I have time.