New HDD Setup - Formatting Questions

[Rhirtix]

Hi Folks!

So I'm building a new computer. Everything seems to be working so far. I'm at the point now where I need to format my drives and restore my system image onto the main drive.

My setup:

2 x WD640GB in RAID 0 (already configured; listed as unallocated space)
1 x WD750GB as photo drive
1 x WD1.5TB as general backup

The image is currently on the 750GB drive. I want to restore the image to the RAID 0 drive. How do I do that using Windows 7 Install CD? Or BIOS? Or some other way you may know?

Thanks!

Giving out +1's for response speed and quality.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Was the image you created from a RAID array previously?

 

[Golden]

Hi,

DeaconFrost has asked the critical question - if the image isn't from a previous RAID0, then the registry within the image will probably have the controller set to either IDE or ACHI, whereas in your BIOS right now it will be set to RAID. If that is the case, there is a major conflict you will have lots of problems restoring.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Rhirtix]

Was the image you created from a RAID array previously?

No, it wasn't. I assume that's gonna be a big issue, huh?

 

[DeaconFrost]

It will be, yes. However, there's good news. Just ditch the array and restore the image (assuming it was created with the same controller mode, IDE or AHCI as the current board is set). RAID0 is over-hyped and doesn't really yield any kind of real world results. People will still debate this fact, unfortunately, but it's been put to bed years ago. Those 640s are fast drives, so you won't be missing out on anything performance-wise.

 

[Golden]

Hi,

I would follow DeaconFrosts suggestions - the only real benefit you get from a RAID0 is under specific circumstances where you have significant WRITE IO activity to the disk. For the OS and/or other everyday programs, most of the IO activity is READ which doesn't gain much from the RAID architecture.

The other risk with RAID as you probably know, is if you lose one disk in the array, then the entire RAID is lost and has to be rebuilt from scratch.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Rhirtix]

Would a RAID 0 yield noticeable results in dealing with Photoshop CS5 and other high end photo-retouching programs like NX2, etc.?

 

[Golden]

I doubt it, although I must admit I don't have any experience in imaging applications.

Im my situation I build lots of 3D geological models of orebodies, and run lots of estimation and simulation algorithms into these models. They get extremely large (30 to 100GB) and takes weeks of constant processing to build. RAID0 is good for this job because it handles long and sustained writes very well.

I think you will be better served on a single disk.

Regards,
Golden

 

[DeaconFrost]

I've seen tests showing a 1-5% increase in transfer rate for ultra large files, like HD videos, but that's about it. Often times, your seek times increase, which can slow down basic Windows operations. It was yet another technology where the "in theory" numbers never matched the "in reality" numbers.

 

[Rhirtix]

Okay, thanks for the help so far.

I've now unRAIDed the drives. I'm left with:

- 640gb
- 640gb
- 750gb
- 1.5tb

I want the system to be recovered onto the 750gb drive. Conincidentally, the 750 is the only HDD that's formatted.

I'm in the Windows 7 Install Disc's Advanced Drive Options window. I'm unable to format the 640gb drives and the 1.5tb drives. The option to format doesn't show up. I'm only able to create new partitions, but that also creates a separate 100mb drive.

Anyway, please help with the formatting.

Also, when I move to recover the system image to a drive, the only option appears to be the 750gb drive.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Rhirtix]

Bump

 

[Rhirtix]

Re-bump

 

[Rhirtix]

Golden/Deacon - either of you there?

 

[Rhirtix]

Can anyone else help me with this please?

 

[whs]

Don't panic. Help is here - LOL. For formatting use the free bootable CD of this program (on the left side of the webpage). Then you are independent of the OS.

Btw: Deacon is right. Raid does not buy you a lot. If you really, really want OS performance, spend $100 and get a 60GB SSD for the OS. That will make a real difference.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I've never used the built-in app, but I thought you booted off the DVD and then had an option to get into restore mode and load a previously created image. If the image is on the 750 GB, I'd assume you couldn't restore it to that drive, but it should let you choose the 640 GB.