Making two SSD work together as one C:\

[harmie]

I have a 250 Gig OCZ SSD and a 500 Gig Seagate SSD. Is it possible to install Windows 7 Ultimate 7 x64 on one and use the two together as one SSD witha total of 750 Gig showing as one C:\?
I have an AR3 Dell Alienware with an I7 processor overclocked to 3.4. It has a total of five HD/SSD slots. I can't think of anything else to mention as I am new to this site. However a friend told me that the only way it would work was both SSDs must be the same brand and size.
A Dell Tech said that was not so as long as they were one Raid 0 and one Raid 5. Another Dell Tech said he didn't know what he was talking about!
I was so confused I stopped e-mailing them for help.
Do YOU know if or how this can work? I have tried your search but keep coming up with Dual Booting-which I don't want. Thanks for any help!
harmie

 

[mrdemon]

Your need to go into your Bios and select Raid, this is in a area that is asking you how to run your Sata Drives. You should see IDE or Raid, Select raid. And have your motherboard Drivers Ready for your aid Drivers.

Good Luck.

 

[mrdemon]

If I helped leave feedback so others can Use the Info.​

Did it help?

 

[DeaconFrost]

No, it won't work, because you need identical drives to run RAID, and a striped array is already inherently less stable....even when using identical drives.

The bigger, more important question is why would you want to do this? Considering the money you spent on those two drives, you could have gotten a 2 or 3 TB HDD instead of the 500 GB SSD to give you more space.

 

[harmie]

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate you taking time to help me.
The 500 Gig came with the computer as well a 2 Tera Seagate HHD. I am guilty of paying $800.00 to Dell for the 250 Gig OCZ SSD. They assured me that it would work (at least one Tech did) , but I called and talked with another Tech that said the only way it would work was for them to be the same name and brand.
I download Intel's Rapid Storage Tool that had given me renewed hope of doing this, but I have never spent enough time to fully understand the tool.
Yes your reply is most helpful. I am disabled in a bad way, and don't need to spend my good times beating a dead horse!
I recommend that your reply be made a "Sticky" because I am sure others would like to have the convenience of having one drive instead of two or three and this could sure save a lot of trouble!
Thanks again,
harmie

 

[harmie]

Thanks for the reply. It is helpful to me to know that what I want to do must be done through the BIOS. However a Dell rep, and another of your members both say they must be identical drives to configure as one. Anyway I am afraid of the Bios of this Alienware-they sure named it right, at least the Alien part. I tried to set the Floppy Drive to boot first and that was a easy task in my old Dells. However when I did it on this one, the computer would not boot! I had to call Support and now I am gun shy of the BIOS. If you can understand how the Alienware BIOS works please try to explain it to me. I am far from being a computer Whiz but I have been all over other computers BIOS but the Dell Alienware is strange-new territory for me!
Many thanks for your reply. If I could understand the BIOS setup , I would give it a whirl!
harmie

 

[DeaconFrost]

There's no question that you would want identical drives if you were to set up an array, but even then, on a desktop, there's very little reason to do so. You would only be going from 500 GB to a 750 GB drive. That isn't much of a difference for your system volume. 500 GB is MORE than adequate for that. I'm using a 128 GB drive right now as my system volume, and that's plenty. You have a very large storage drive in the system, so you shouldn't be wasting any time or effort even thinking about needing more system volume space.

As for the BIOS, there should be a manual or explanation from Dell, and it should have come with your system. You can always go in and look around in the BIOS, without making any changes.

If it was my computer, I'd sell the 256 GB or use it in another computer, keep the 500 GB as C, and the HDD as your storage. That's much more than most of us have, in terms of storage space.

 

[GDavidF]

What about JBOD arrays?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I would just use the SSDs independently and use Windows Libraries to get a single, combined directory. You are just asking for trouble trying to use RAID 0, especially since the two SSDs are not matched.

Btw, if you just recently paid the $800 for the 250GB SSD, you got robbed big time. It's a discontinued drive (OCZ went bankrupt recently) and there is no way that drive is worth even half what you paid.

 

[GDavidF]

Was an old thread I necro'd because I was going to try using an older SSD as a slightly faster drive to store some Steam games on. Have been looking for info on Win7 being capable of recognising subsequent SSDs and application of TRIM/Garbage collection with older drives such as Falcon 2s and Early Indillinx controlled drives...

 

[harmie]

harmie

I remember reading on here that you can simply move some folders like a User Folder or two to the second drive as long as you left behind ?- something to indicate where it is to be found! I can't remember how to OR WHAT to leave as a re-director of the moved Folders so your OS can find it, but I remember very well it was on this site and back in the days Windows 7 was the way to go! I also remember after someone made the directions, someone else commented that the FREE (at that time) a program called D-linker or Dlinker, that would leave behind the marker to redirect the OS to the other drive for you.
I downloaded the D-Link Program and I am in the process of combining two 250 Intel SSDs of the 335 Series so I will began my search for it tomorrow as I saved it to CD!
I wish I could remember more about how to do it manually, but I am not that computer savvy! I can't image what you would leave in place of a moved Folder so the OS would go to the other SSD to access it! They were away smarter than I!