RAID 0

[blinkingpeak649]

Hey all,

 

I'm helping someone set up a RAID 0 configuration with 2 Velociraptors as slaves and a SSD as a master drive with W7 on it. We're working with W7 Pro and an ASUS Rampage IV which has RAID 0 capability. From what I'm gathering the set up should be as so:

 

Install W7 on the SSD and configure the two Velociraptors within W7 as a RAID 0 config.

Of course, I would have to plug the SSD in the appropriate SATA slot and the two Velociraptors would be connected to the RAID config slots on the Rampage.

 

or

 

Would I have to config the set up within BIOS first, in addition to setting it up within W7?

 

Any help would be great.

[stackrainer]

I'm not a pro when it comes to raid arrays but my guess is that it would be better to do it in the bios.

[blinkingpeak649]

UPDATE: In ASUS UEFI, I set the SATA mode to RAID, saved and exited. Next I set up the drives for the RAID 0 array and booted into windows. Windows repair asked me to install the Intel RAID drivers but I can't install without being in windows. What gives?

[Waco]

Boot up in AHCI mode. Use Windows to set up the RAID 0 in software. Done.

[bigball1]

Boot up in AHCI mode. Use Windows to set up the RAID 0 in software. Done.

 

 

That works too

[wevsspot]

BP - this isn't the only way to do it, but I'll give you my recommendation.

 

Disconnect the RAID array for now. Leave the SSD connected to SATA port 1 or SATA port 2. Boot into the BIOS and set your SATA storage configuration to RAID mode.

 

Install Windows on the SSD. Go ahead and install all your drivers and windows updates etc. The reason I recommend disconnecting all other drives during the Windows installation is that Windows always wants to right about 100Mb of boot configuration data to secondary drives if they are connected.

 

Once Windows is installed and updated, shut down the PC and connect your two Raptors to SATA ports 3 & 4. Boot again and enter the RAID BIOS (Ctrl-I) if on an Intel board. Choose the two Raptor drives as member drives, set type to RAID 0, set stripe size (we can discuss for days the best stripe size) but for most folks a stripe size of 64Kb or 128Kb will give the best all around performance.

 

Boot into Windows, go to the disk management utility and intialize then quick format. If you're running an Intel board, install the Intel RST drivers. You're good to go.