Returning to non-Raid config from Raid 0?

[Dave]

I'm using 2 - WD 36 gig Raptors in Raid 0, driven by the ICH5/R
controller (865PE, Epox 4PDA2+). I would like to eliminate the Raid
array and go to a conventional config using a single Raptor as the
Master boot drive containing the OS--Win2Kpro.

The single Raptor will be connected to Port 0 of the ICH5/R SATA
controller.

How exactly is this achieved? The "On chip serial ATA setting" in BIOS
will have to be changed from "RAID" to some IDE variant, obviously.

The primary question is what to do in the RAID utility? Should I chose
option #2: "Delete Raid Volume", or option #3: "Reset disks to
non-Raid"? Perhaps both, or neither. Maybe I can simply set BIOS to
IDE, shutdown, disconnect the 2nd Raptor, then boot with the Win2k CD
for a fresh install. (I suspect not)

It's been a long time since I've worked with raid features on this
machine and simply do not remember exactly how it behaves.
Dave

 

[willbill]

I'm using 2 - WD 36 gig Raptors in Raid 0, driven by the ICH5/R
controller (865PE, Epox 4PDA2+). I would like to eliminate the Raid
array and go to a conventional config using a single Raptor as the
Master boot drive containing the OS--Win2Kpro.

The single Raptor will be connected to Port 0 of the ICH5/R SATA
controller.

are you buying the current 150GB SATA raptor?

nice drive!

ICH5 suggests that your mobo/chipset/bios
will handle 150GB, but make sure about that

How exactly is this achieved? The "On chip serial ATA setting" in BIOS
will have to be changed from "RAID" to some IDE variant, obviously.

The primary question is what to do in the RAID utility? Should I chose
option #2: "Delete Raid Volume", or option #3: "Reset disks to
non-Raid"? Perhaps both, or neither. Maybe I can simply set BIOS to
IDE, shutdown, disconnect the 2nd Raptor, then boot with the Win2k CD
for a fresh install. (I suspect not)

once you're sure that your mobo/chipset/bios
is ok with a 150GB drive (whether boot or other),
buy the current 150 Raptor (the cheaper one) and
also Acronis True Image 9 and do a clone backup
of the current raid0 boot drive to the new 150
(odds are the new Acronis 10 will also work);
it's not a big deal; simply open the side of
the box and prop up and connect the new 150,
with some airspace

given that your current raid0 max size is 72GB,
i rather doubt that you have to worry about
heat buildup (for the 1st 20 minutes)

once you've done the clone, disconnect the still
extant two 36GB raid0 raptors and battle your
way thru getting the 150 to boot ok (meaning
that if it fails you can still fall back to
the raid0 with the two still extant 36's)

once that gets done, get a 3Ware
8006-2LP for the remaining two
36GB raptors

(this assumes that you won't be able
to run them off the ICH5 when you
are also running the new boot150
(i don't know that for sure; try it
before you buy the 8006-2LP))

i got my 8006-2LP from www.newegg.com

bill

 

[Dave]

are you buying the current 150GB SATA raptor?

nice drive!

ICH5 suggests that your mobo/chipset/bios
will handle 150GB, but make sure about that


once you're sure that your mobo/chipset/bios
is ok with a 150GB drive (whether boot or other),
buy the current 150 Raptor (the cheaper one) and
also Acronis True Image 9 and do a clone backup
of the current raid0 boot drive to the new 150
(odds are the new Acronis 10 will also work);
it's not a big deal; simply open the side of
the box and prop up and connect the new 150,
with some airspace

given that your current raid0 max size is 72GB,
i rather doubt that you have to worry about
heat buildup (for the 1st 20 minutes)

once you've done the clone, disconnect the still
extant two 36GB raid0 raptors and battle your
way thru getting the 150 to boot ok (meaning
that if it fails you can still fall back to
the raid0 with the two still extant 36's)

once that gets done, get a 3Ware
8006-2LP for the remaining two
36GB raptors

(this assumes that you won't be able
to run them off the ICH5 when you
are also running the new boot150
(i don't know that for sure; try it
before you buy the 8006-2LP))

i got my 8006-2LP from www.newegg.com

bill

Bill,
Thanks for your response. I was not planning on getting a new drive. I
was going to use the existing 36 gig Raptors. One as a conventional
IDE Master on ICH5/R port 0, and the other as a data drive slave on
port 1. (I also have 2 Maxtor ATA data drives on the ICH5/R Primary
master port.)

I probably know a smidge more than I implied in the original post.
I've used Ghost 2003 extensively for imaging and cloning the extant
Raid 0 array (and other machines) and think it will serve the purpose
you suggest, but I'm planning on doing a fresh Win2K installation on
the single 36 gig Raptor once I figure out what to do in the Raid
utility. I will take a Ghost image of that once completed.

I do understand that True Image is generally considered to be superior
to Ghost. I have no allegiance to ghost; but as long as the drives
show up in Ghost, I've never really had a problem with it with the
exception of an occasional false corrupt image indication.

Coincidentally, I have entertained the possibility of simply getting
new Sata drives for this purpose and ditching the 2 - 36 gig Raptors.
I'll keep the new 150 in mind for this purpose. Additionally, I'm sure
a 36 to 150 cloning won't be a problem should I decide to upgrade in
the future after this current change I'm contemplating.

I was kind of thinking Seagate, WD or Samsung for new Sata drives, but
at least in the case of Seagate I've read about the China QC prob and
hideous customer support. Thanks for the 150 heads up.

Dave

d d h a r t w i c k
e a r t h l i nk
(fill in the rest to e-mail)

 

[willbill]

willbill wrote:



Bill,
Thanks for your response. I was not planning on getting a new drive.

fwiw, you'd likely be better off all around
to get a new bigger/faster SATA drive
as your boot drive (easier and more likely
to work without problems all around)

I was going to use the existing 36 gig Raptors. One as a conventional
IDE Master

the WD Raptors are all SATA (afaik)

trying to switch a boot drive from SATA
to PATA (or vice versa) is iffy at best

on ICH5/R port 0, and the other as a data drive slave on
port 1. (I also have 2 Maxtor ATA data drives on the ICH5/R Primary
master port.)

I probably know a smidge more than I implied in the original post.
I've used Ghost 2003 extensively for imaging and cloning the extant
Raid 0 array (and other machines) and think it will serve the purpose
you suggest,

maybe but then again maybe not

fwiw i've used Ghost 2003 (booted from DOS)
to a large amount, but not from within
a current Windows OS (XP or 2K)

but I'm planning on doing a fresh Win2K installation on the

in my experience and fwiw, you don't need to do a fresh
2k install; it's a pain, not to mention that you'll
have to do all of the Win2k fixit updates from bloody
M$ again; whereas if you do a clone of the boot drive
you'll avoid that

single 36 gig Raptor once I figure out what to do in the Raid
utility. I will take a Ghost image of that once completed.

I do understand that True Image is generally considered to be superior
to Ghost.

depends on exactly what you want to do (G/DOS'03 vs TI9)

cloning a boot drive across mixed hard drives,
different PATA/SATA/sizes, TI9 gets my vote
(vs. Ghost DOS '03)

I have no allegiance to ghost; but as long as the drives
show up in Ghost, I've never really had a problem with it with the
exception of an occasional false corrupt image indication.

Coincidentally, I have entertained the possibility of simply getting
new Sata drives for this purpose and ditching the 2 - 36 gig Raptors.
I'll keep the new 150 in mind for this purpose.

to my view, that's your 1st choice and
gives the best overall performance increase

Additionally, I'm sure
a 36 to 150 cloning won't be a problem should I decide to upgrade in
the future after this current change I'm contemplating.

I was kind of thinking Seagate, WD or Samsung for new Sata drives, but
at least in the case of Seagate I've read about the China QC prob and
hideous customer support. Thanks for the 150 heads up.

the WD 10k 150GB SATA is the hands down best

odds are you could move to it as your boot
drive with no worries

fwiw, i've tried to move two of my PATA boot
machines to boot with a faster 150GB SATA Raptor

one went to it with no problems

the other one didn't (with major time spent,
and finally a complete reinstall of Win XP SP/2)

so be careful what you decide to go to

bill

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

fwiw, you'd likely be better off all around
to get a new bigger/faster SATA drive
as your boot drive (easier and more likely
to work without problems all around)

I disagree. He wants to use Win2k. Since you're suggesting the OP gets
the 150GB Raptor, he'll run into the LBA48 problem unless he slipstreams
SP4 into his Win2k CD and includes the BigLBA registry fix.

He'd be safer doing what he originally suggested - breaking the array
and converting the disks into standalone drives, one for the OS and
another for data.

 

[Dave]

I disagree. He wants to use Win2k. Since you're suggesting the OP gets
the 150GB Raptor, he'll run into the LBA48 problem unless he slipstreams
SP4 into his Win2k CD and includes the BigLBA registry fix.

He'd be safer doing what he originally suggested - breaking the array
and converting the disks into standalone drives, one for the OS and
another for data.

Mike,
Do I have to slipstream SP4? I have the full network installation
version, 130 meg SP4 exe file. Can't I just run the executable while
in windows? I've done a bit of reading on Slipstreaming and it looks
daunting, though I can probably figure it out.

I have to say that I'm currently running SP2 because I've never been
able to run SP3 or SP4 without these SPs mucking up the works. This
has been true on various Epox boards and my wife's MSI K8T machine.

I am also thinking about getting a large (300 gig or something) PATA
storage drive to replace my 40 and 60 gig Maxtors, in addition to
possibly changing the boot drive arrangement. So, even though SP4 has
been a prob in the past, I thought I'd give it another shot to
facilitate such an upgrade (> 137 gig storage drive).

I've read the literature regarding the LBA48 prob and am familiar with
the registry mod.

I don't know though. It may be easier in the long run to get a couple
of 120 gig pata storage drives, which actually should be plenty.

Finally, I'm actually having second thoughts about ditching the raid 0
Array. I've got redundant back-ups so the loss of a Raptor won't be
catastrophic. When one goes I can go to a non-raid arrangement.
Thanks for your reply.
Dave

 

[Dave]

fwiw, you'd likely be better off all around
to get a new bigger/faster SATA drive
as your boot drive (easier and more likely
to work without problems all around)


the WD Raptors are all SATA (afaik)

trying to switch a boot drive from SATA
to PATA (or vice versa) is iffy at best

Right, my mistake. A single Raptor master would be run as a sata
drive.

maybe but then again maybe not

fwiw i've used Ghost 2003 (booted from DOS)
to a large amount, but not from within
a current Windows OS (XP or 2K)

Yes, I use Ghost 2003 as you do -- bootable CDROM in DOS, not within
windows.

in my experience and fwiw, you don't need to do a fresh
2k install; it's a pain, not to mention that you'll
have to do all of the Win2k fixit updates from bloody
M$ again; whereas if you do a clone of the boot drive
you'll avoid that

You're right about it being a pain--absolutely. But this particular
Win2k installation hangs on shut-down at the "Saving your settings"
stage--takes an eternity to shut-down. I've never been able to track
down the source of this.

 

[willbill]

Thanks for your input. Dave

thank you for your thank you

in my recent experience (last 9 months),
the whole thing of moving a boot drive
from PATA to SATA is not simple

my one PC that went to the 150GB
SATA Raptor as boot without problems
has been wonderful; the other one
was a negative learning experience

best wishes whatever you do

bill

 

[willbill]

Thanks for your input. Dave

good luck on what you do

as you know the current 150GB Raptor is
best (the cheaper one, not the glass window
one) gets my vote (i've got two of them)

bill

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

Do I have to slipstream SP4?

Yes, if you want to install Win2k from CD to a disk >137gb. It doesn't
matter whether it's PATA or SATA.

I have the full network installation
version, 130 meg SP4 exe file. Can't I just run the executable while
in windows?

No. Well, you can try, but...

So, even though SP4 has
been a prob in the past, I thought I'd give it another shot to
facilitate such an upgrade (> 137 gig storage drive).

That's what I did. I used a 120GB boot/OS drive to stay within the
137GB limit, then applied the BigLBA fix and use 160gb and 500gb storage
drives (both of which have more than 137gb of data). Win2k SP4.

Good luck.

 

[Dave]

Oh yes--of course. I see.
Yes, if you want to install Win2k from CD to a disk >137gb. It doesn't
matter whether it's PATA or SATA.

That's what I did. I used a 120GB boot/OS drive to stay within the
137GB limit, then applied the BigLBA fix and use 160gb and 500gb storage
drives (both of which have more than 137gb of data). Win2k SP4.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the help Mike
Dave