RAID 1 Gigabyte SATA Cannot find the array during Windows 7 install

[Golden]

Please follow from pg. 84 of your manual - since you installed the disks in the GSATA slots, you must use the GSATA RAID controller (this is the one Dwarf referred to). You have to specify RAID, and only then can you enter the RAID configuration as shown on pg. 85.

 

[RKEdwizzle]

Heya, I have followed the manual and created the RAID array for the GSATA however am experiencing the same issue, so when windows asks me here I want to install the OS; the drive/s(RAID) cannot be seen, when I search the USB for the SATA drivers, it says it cannot find them, I have downloaded every single driver from Gigabyte and put them on the root of the USB, it still cannot find them, (admittedly there are only drivers for vista and xp, there are limited win7 drivers) does this mean my mobo is too old to raid Windows7?

Thank you for your help I really appreciate it

 

[DeaconFrost]

Maybe I'm too late, but maybe not. Why bother with RAID1 on a desktop anyway? You are just wasting 50% of your space for very little in return. You would be much better off putting on drive in the system, and using the second as an offline backup in an external cage. Always remember the golden rule of RAID: RAID is not a backup. Simplify the setup and you'll be much better off in the long run.

 

[RKEdwizzle]

Maybe I'm too late, but maybe not. Why bother with RAID1 on a desktop anyway? You are just wasting 50% of your space for very little in return. You would be much better off putting on drive in the system, and using the second as an offline backup in an external cage. Always remember the golden rule of RAID: RAID is not a backup. Simplify the setup and you'll be much better off in the long run.

Heya fella, appreciate your input, but I have had 3 different harddrives in the last year with countless failures and frankly im pissed off with down time lol, its why im hopefully going to get this RAID 1 set up so that if a HDD fails I can just plug in another one. I am just cursed when it comes to my own computer lol

I may have to set up a software RAID but I would ideally like to do a Hardware RAID as in theory I have all the equipment to make it possible

 

[DeaconFrost]

I may have to set up a software RAID but I would ideally like to do a Hardware RAID as in theory I have all the equipment to make it possible

Unless you are using a dedicated card with a hardware coprocessor, you are still going to be running "software" RAID. Given your examples, you still may not be protected. If a file becomes corrupt due to issues with one drive...it will mirror the same. I can't stress it enough that RAID is not a method of backup or data protection. Given how cheap external cages are now, and how many good free Sync apps are available, such as SyncToy, that is your bst bet in protecting from a drive failure.

Above all of that, data in a backup is accessible from any computer. In an array, you need an identical setup, and you'll have to hope the new drive pays nice within the array and allows a rebuild. There are very good reasons why RAID on a desktop is a myth that's gone extinct.

 

[RKEdwizzle]

mmm well at the end of the day pal ive paid for this as a little project as i wanted a RAID set up, so sorta wanna get this set up lol

 

[Golden]

are limited win7 drivers) does this mean my mobo is too old to raid Windows7?

Hi,

It is possible that the motherboard is too old - its dated 2009 which was the release for Windows 7 - the fact that there are limited Windows 7 drivers probably corroborates that.

What you might consider doing is installing to a single HDD, and then cloning that install to the 2nd HDD as a type of backup. There are plenty of free tools available for that - Macrium is well regarded.

Regards,
Golden

 

[RKEdwizzle]

Oh, this is not good anyone got any advice for what to do now... Will buying a dedicated PCI RAID board thing an option? Thank you guys!

 

[RKEdwizzle]

are limited win7 drivers) does this mean my mobo is too old to raid Windows7?

Hi,

It is possible that the motherboard is too old - its dated 2009 which was the release for Windows 7 - the fact that there are limited Windows 7 drivers probably corroborates that.

What you might consider doing is installing to a single HDD, and then cloning that install to the 2nd HDD as a type of backup. There are plenty of free tools available for that - Macrium is well regarded.

Regards,
Golden

Oh, this is not good anyone got any advice for what to do now... Will buying a dedicated PCI RAID board thing an option? Thank you guys!

 

[DeaconFrost]

Buying a dedicated card should solve the issue, but like my advice previously, and what Golden suggested, there are better, cheaper ways to accomplish your goal. Don't close your mind to all solutions, because that's the primary way to miss a learning opportunity. We've all dealt with drive failures in the past, and it's extremely frustration...but a RAID1 setup is not the way to avoid them or their potential data loss. I can't stress it enough, that RAID on a desktop isn't worth the hassle, especially since it doesn't achieve your ultimate goal anyway. It's a fad that died out years ago. Golden and I are just making other suggestions based on our experience to help you better reach what you ultimately set out to do.

 

[WindowsStar]

Buying a dedicated card should solve the issue, but like my advice previously, and what Golden suggested, there are better, cheaper ways to accomplish your goal. Don't close your mind to all solutions, because that's the primary way to miss a learning opportunity. We've all dealt with drive failures in the past, and it's extremely frustration...but a RAID1 setup is not the way to avoid them or their potential data loss. I can't stress it enough, that RAID on a desktop isn't worth the hassle, especially since it doesn't achieve your ultimate goal anyway. It's a fad that died out years ago. Golden and I are just making other suggestions based on our experience to help you better reach what you ultimately set out to do.

I deal with RAID everyday and this is NOT BACKUP as DeaconFrost has stated! RAID is ONLY for keeping data on-line 24 hours a day. You will still need some sort of backup system for all this to work correctly and avoid the issues with drives crashing. Plus I have seen RAID 1 with 2 drives bought at the same time fail within hours of each other, so if you don't have a drive ready (to swap) and you have to wait to order on on-line or go buy it locally you can have a total crash when they both fail.

Another point: RAID 1 on the desktop (workstation) is not fast and can even slow a system down especially if you are gaming, using AutoCAD, etc. I have seen it many times. RAID is really for servers where you need the data on line all the time.

You are much better off not using RAID and using imaging software HD to HD, HD to IMAGE, or backup software to backup the data. If you need a fast way to have your machine up and running imaging is the better and faster way. Just my 2 cents -WS

 

[RKEdwizzle]

Buying a dedicated card should solve the issue, but like my advice previously, and what Golden suggested, there are better, cheaper ways to accomplish your goal. Don't close your mind to all solutions, because that's the primary way to miss a learning opportunity. We've all dealt with drive failures in the past, and it's extremely frustration...but a RAID1 setup is not the way to avoid them or their potential data loss. I can't stress it enough, that RAID on a desktop isn't worth the hassle, especially since it doesn't achieve your ultimate goal anyway. It's a fad that died out years ago. Golden and I are just making other suggestions based on our experience to help you better reach what you ultimately set out to do.

Heya, yeah to be fair I may just have to bite the bullet on this one, however another thing I should not before I go ahead and just install OS on one HDD,

I tried to install a legit copy of vista today, and as per usual I go to locaqte the drivers, and it cannot find the RAID drivers for vista either... is this because they are on a USB and not a floppy drive,

A decent wWin7 RAID Controller is about £100 so I can't afford to buy that as well, beign a student and that lol,

I really do appreciate all your advice I just primarily wanted to make sure this was defo not going to happen before moving onto the next alternative

 

[DeaconFrost]

I tried to install a legit copy of vista today, and as per usual I go to locaqte the drivers, and it cannot find the RAID drivers for vista either... is this because they are on a USB and not a floppy drive,

I don't remember with 100% accuracy, but I thought Vista could pull controller drivers from a USB flash drive. I vaguely remember that being one of the new features, where as XP could only pull from a floppy drive.