Convert single HDD install to RAID0

G

gersson

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Messages
481
Hey, folks

Is this possible? Using what tools?
Currently I tried Vista's Backup and Restore Center to backup my AHCI Vista SP1 x64 to 3x Raptor 74gb RAID0 -- booting from the Vista DVD.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me and it also spat out any drivers I tried to supply.

Is the fact that I'm changing from AHCI to RAID causing the problem? Is there a way around this?
Thanks,
 
I can't see this working. The only controllers that I know that this *might* work on would be standalone (not onboard) RAID controller, and only if your single disk was previously set up on it as a single disk RAID-0, using the same driver.
 
sabregen said:
I can't see this working. The only controllers that I know that this *might* work on would be standalone (not onboard) RAID controller, and only if your single disk was previously set up on it as a single disk RAID-0, using the same driver.
Click to expand...

yup. if youre dealing with motherboard (read: fake) RAID, youll be struggling. Your best bet would be a clean install, it would take a lot less time than it would to fix a broken install of vista, that wasnt meant for the harddrives.
 
bc3tech said:
I am looking to also do this exact thing and found the following post related to nVidia's RAID bios & how to do this w/o losing any information:

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=15496

I personally am going to be purchasing two 500Gb drives, putting my existing one in an external drive, and seeing if i can get it done w/o losing (too) much :)
Click to expand...

Youre going to try and RAID0 one internal 500 gig drive and an external 500 gig drive? The only way i see that working is if the external is eSATA or FW.
 
xenotype said:
Youre going to try and RAID0 one internal 500 gig drive and an external 500 gig drive? The only way i see that working is if the external is eSATA or FW.
Click to expand...
try again. i am moving my existing drive to external, booting, setting up RAID on two NEW drives, and ghosting the external to the RAID array.

that is, if the procedure outlined in the link i posted doesn't do the trick.
 
ghosting to a RAID array = always iffy. The problem that you're going to have is that your source disk will be a non-RAID disk, and the new 2x 500GB array will be (obviously) RAID. The driver for the RAID array must be installed on the single 500GB (your original disk) Windows installation, and even then, you'd better keep your fingers crossed. When the Ghost occurs, and the data is transferred to the new array, the boot loader will have no idea how to access the partition that the Windows installation is pointing to (because that partition information requires that the original 500GB disk be on a particular SATA port, and be internal, not on the eSATA port.

In short, what I am saying it that when you put your 500GB existing drive into the eSATA enclosure (or usb or firewire) and attempt to boot Windows, it will probably not boot.

If you do not install the nv_raid drivers in the existing windows installation before the ghost imaging occurrs, the ghost image will likely fail.

If you manage to get the original 500gb drive in the external enclosure to boot into windows, and get the raid driver installed, and the new array setup, and ghost doesn't throw a fit, you likely won't be able to boot the new array because the boot loader will be looking for a partition that will no longer be valid (your old disk). make sure that you do not attempt to boot the new raid array (after ghosting) with the original 500gb drive attached.
 
Thanks for the tips - i probably mis-spoke in my original post w/ how i'm going to do things.

What i'm going to attempt to do is a "complete PC backup" in Vista, then RESTORE onto two drives i've set up as RAID0 and booted with the restore CD. If all goes well I am hoping merely a restore on to the RAID array will yield an exact copy of what was on the single, but divided across the RAID. otherwise i'll be doing what was suggested in the link i posted and hoping that works :)
 
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