How To Un-RAID

  • Thread starter Thread starter shaka
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shaka

My system is set up for either RAID 0 or 1 with 320gb (160x2 SATA. It
is a WinXP MCE2005 machine. Right now I have it on a RAID 1
configuration. I would like to un-RAID it and just have two separate
drives. Inorder to do this are there any switching of cables required?
What procedures are involved, etc. Can anyone point me to the right
direction, please? TIA

shaka
 
Depends upon your setup.

Check with your motherboard manual (if it has onboard RAID), or check with
your RAID controller's manual to see if it supports setting up single drives
and not having a raid configuration.

But in doing this, you are more than likely going to lose your data you have
on your hard drive, so be sure to backup any important data (documents,
email addresses, etc) to disc and be prepared to reinstall the operating
system and all software.

Is there any specific reason why you want to do this? You COULD get
PartitionMagic (or other partition editing software) to resize the partition
and make it smaller... then create yourself another partition. That is, if
you just want to have two logical drives.

Just my $0.02

Tim
 
Two 160gb SATA drives,or 1 partitioned to 2.If the later,you dont have RAID
installed,if earlier,you should have a post BIOS screen that shows the conf-
iguration on every start-up,enter the menu,then select,disable RAID.However,
if youre system shows 2 hds,RAID is not installed,youre unable to view the
2nd
hd in the OS.If RAID is configured,uninstall the configuration from the menu,
then you'll need to boot to xp cd,press F6 for drivers,then at info
screen,select,
install xp,new copy,delete the partition (if one exist),create one,then let
xp format
and install.You can format the other in xp,diskmgmt.msc
 
Do you have a drive with 160GB of total space or 320GB or total space when
looking at the Raid drive in Explorer?
If 160GB of total space, then you have Raid 1 (Mirroring) and your PC
manufacturer should have instructions on their website or in your
documentation on how to break a Raid 1 Mirror. You can then format the old
mirror drive as you wish and store what you wish on the drive.
If you have 320GB of total space, you have Raid 0 (Stripping) and you
can only fix break the stripping by breaking the Raid connection, then
you'll need to reformat both drives and reinstall windows/apps clean.
Reason is a file may be stored in many pieces across both drives. Backup
any important data first, and make sure you have the non-raid drivers for
your motherboard/I-O controller before you start.
Raid 0 gives you speed, Raid 1 gives you mirroring... there are other
forms of Raid 5, 10 and 50, each builds redundancy and speed into the
process, especially when using SCSI 15/20k rpm drives, although the 7200/10k
available for SATA isn't bad for a desktop.

--

Star Fleet Admiral Q @ your Service!

http://www.google.com
Google is your "Friend"
 
Star said:
Do you have a drive with 160GB of total space or 320GB or total space when
looking at the Raid drive in Explorer?
If 160GB of total space, then you have Raid 1 (Mirroring) and your PC
manufacturer should have instructions on their website or in your
documentation on how to break a Raid 1 Mirror. You can then format the old
mirror drive as you wish and store what you wish on the drive.
If you have 320GB of total space, you have Raid 0 (Stripping) and you
can only fix break the stripping by breaking the Raid connection, then
you'll need to reformat both drives and reinstall windows/apps clean.
Reason is a file may be stored in many pieces across both drives. Backup
any important data first, and make sure you have the non-raid drivers for
your motherboard/I-O controller before you start.
Raid 0 gives you speed, Raid 1 gives you mirroring... there are other
forms of Raid 5, 10 and 50, each builds redundancy and speed into the
process, especially when using SCSI 15/20k rpm drives, although the 7200/10k
available for SATA isn't bad for a desktop.
Click to expand...

Tim, Andrew, and Admiral: This machine, which is a Sony VAIO, was
originally configured as RAID 0, onboard RAID controller (Intel 82801FR)
No WinXP CD came with it, instead it has a hidden partition for system
restore. I am having issues with the following disk imaging software:

Norton Ghost 2003 - will create backup but under RAID 0 it cannot find
some spanned images when restoring. Under RAID 1 it restores but with
errors.

Norton Ghost 9 - will create backups but cannnot locate files when
restore either in RAID 0 or 1.

Acronis True Image 8 - will create backup but "unable to load LINUX
kernel" comes up when trying to restore (This is not a LINUX machine)

I was hoping to set it up as:
Disk 1 (160gb divided into 3 partition, C - OS, D - Data, E = Games)
Disk 2 (160gb no partition for Media.

I have reformatted it before as non-RAID but the other disk does not
show up.

Hope this explains my situation well. Thanx for the responses.

shaka
 
Ed. said:
The Imaging Software from here:
http://terabyteunlimited.com/
They have free trials you can try. I would recommend Image For DOS or
BOOTITNG.
Click to expand...

Where are your backup files located?

Ghost 9 has a habit of shooting itself in the foot by setting incorrect
file permissions then complaining it can't find the backup files at
restore time, particularly if the backups are on a network drive.
Granting Full Control to Everyone usually fixes this problem.
 
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