How to create a Mirror in XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Peikert
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Chris Peikert

I have two 250 GB SATA hard drives in my computer. I could use Hardware Raid
but that would wipe out all my information . I added the 2nd drive with the
intention to use XP Disk manager and create a Mirror. But the ADD MIRROR is
greyed out. I already upgraded both drives to Dynamic and they show they
have the same amount of space. I followed the procedurs set out in the HELP
and SUPPORT but for some reason the ADD MIRROR stays Greyed out. Any
suggestions?
 
Chris Peikert said:
I have two 250 GB SATA hard drives in my computer. I could use Hardware Raid
but that would wipe out all my information .
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. My Promise FastTrak100 TX2 (IDE) doesn't, in fact, all it
does is configure the array, then ask which HD is the source, which is the
target, than takes several hours to initialize the mirror copying source to
target. Granted, perhaps *some* RAID controllers may work this way, but
it's NOT a given, don't assume this is the case w/o checking the
documentation. Suprisingly, even creating a RAID0 (stripped) array w/ my
controller doesn't touch the data, only thing that happens is, data on the
HD PRIOR to array creation is not optimized across ALL HDs, it remains
written to the one HD. Again, this may be unique to the Promise controller,
but it's worth checking.

In general, hardware RAID is superior in terms of reliability and
performance to software RAID. It also means you have protection regardless
of OS, since the mirroring occurs even below the PC BIOS.

Jim


I added the 2nd drive with the
 
Btw, don't hold me to this, but I *think* dynamic discs can't be managed by
things like Partition Manager or other common utilties. It uses a
completely different HD structure than the typical HD. So unless things
have changed recently (who knows, could be), running w/ dynamic discs can be
a pain in the long run. If you want to use a boot manager, partition
manager, resize partitions, etc., anything like that, you'll be stuck w/
whatever tools are available for dynamic disc management, which may be few.

Jim
 
Intel ICH5R (& r & 7) have the ability to configure Hot Raid which proovides
for online RAID 1 (or 0) creation when you get the 2nd disc.

Go to www.Intel.com and get the latest documentation on these chips and how
to go about it.

Not all controllers do provide for this... check as above by going to the
chipset vendors site for latest info.

I would check Bios and RAID firmware versions & notes for both for all
interveening versions to those you are on prior to starting any
configuration. RAID Firmware updates are a solid reason for a BIOS Update -
esp. if the RAID is On Chip, not so much so for PCI or On-board, but still
check.

HTH
 
Well I would do the hardware Raid and the Raid is built into the
motherboard. Im just worried that it will wipe the information off. It has
done that in the past so im not taking any chances. I will stick to one
drive for now. As for other utilities I stay away from 3rd party utilities
that changes anything. I dont trust Microsoft being stable enough to have a
3rd party to tinker with it.
 
I wouldnt bother with software RAIDs they are very slow since they use CPU
power to operate rather then the a raid controller itself. Because of the
limitations, I havent used them for some time. It use to be that the second
drive was not bootable in a software mirror. This may have changed by now
though. Anyone know for sure? Id be interested in knowing.

The Woodpile
 
What is your h/w? Motherboardmake model,add in cards etc. This is a very
good starting point. The more details the better.

RAID is a horse race - what one vendor does,others do sooner or later or
better. This is why you won'tfind raid drivers for SATA on XPMedia -
changing too far & too fast.

So details *really* help. What your system could do when purchased may be
less than what it can do now better with a couple of firmware and driver
updates...
 
Chris said:
I have two 250 GB SATA hard drives in my computer. I could use
Hardware Raid but that would wipe out all my information . I added
the 2nd drive with the intention to use XP Disk manager and create a
Mirror. But the ADD MIRROR is greyed out. I already upgraded both
drives to Dynamic and they show they have the same amount of space. I
followed the procedurs set out in the HELP and SUPPORT but for some
reason the ADD MIRROR stays Greyed out. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Windows XP cannot create a software mirror except remotely on a server.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314343

" You cannot create mirrored volumes or RAID-5 volumes on Windows XP Home
Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition-based
computers. However, you can use a Windows XP Professional-based computer to
create a mirrored or RAID-5 volume on remote computers that are running
Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, or Windows 2000
Datacenter Server. You must have administrative privileges on the remote
computer to do this. "

Kerry
 
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