RAID Setup - Alienware - A few setup questions?

[Aguden]

I have just finished moving my OS from a 3TB hard drive to an SSD. I now have 2 matching drives that I would like to set up as a RAID array. A couple of questions:

1. Do I need to backup the data that will be on the RAID before setting it up and then move it back once it has been setup?

2. Do I format them before I go into the RAID setup utility or does that utility do it for me?

3. Will the RAID just appear as a single drive letter on my system?

4. Evidently I have the choice between RAID0 (for performance) and RAID1 (for redundancy). I hhave an extensive back up scheme in place so is there any reason not to use RAID0?

I know that I enable the RAID in the BIOS and then there is a place in the boot sequence to get into the RAID setup.

 

[kbrady1979]

What are you hoping to get out of a RAID0 setup? If you have User data on the hard drive, such as movies, music, documents, pics, etc....there is no need for RAID0. Hard drives are more than fast enough for that kind of data.

 

[LMiller7]

I have just finished moving my OS from a 3TB hard drive to an SSD. I now have 2 matching drives that I would like to set up as a RAID array. A couple of questions:

1. Do I need to backup the data that will be on the RAID before setting it up and then move it back once it has been setup?

2. Do I format them before I go into the RAID setup utility or does that utility do it for me?

3. Will the RAID just appear as a single drive letter on my system?

4. Evidently I have the choice between RAID0 (for performance) and RAID1 (for redundancy). I hhave an extensive back up scheme in place so is there any reason not to use RAID0?

I know that I enable the RAID in the BIOS and then there is a place in the boot sequence to get into the RAID setup.

1. When setting up RAID 0 all data on the drive will be lost. When you understand how RAID 0 works this becomes obvious. With RAID 1 it depends on the controller but for safety you should assume all data will be lost.

2. Format the drive after setting up RAID.

3. The RAID array will appear as a single drive letter.

4. I am not a big fan of RAID 0 on the desktop. For typical use the limited performance gains are not worth the trouble.

Anyone setting up any form of RAID should research the implications before proceeding. Research is not just asking questions on a forum.

 

[Aguden]

Thanks for the input. I guess since I have a super backup of the data on this drive, I figured that speed would be more important than redundancy. The SSD has increased the speed of the system so much that you really notice it when the data D: HDD when compared to a few applications where I store the data on the C: drive. I do mostly photo processing with Lightroom so you are probably correct. RAID1 it is.

Any thoughts on the other questions. I've just never set up a RAID before and was just trying to get myself comfortable with the process before I jump in.

 

[fireberd]

I don't see the need for RAID, if you do periodic backups.

Consider with RAID 0, your data is spread across both drives, thus if one fails, unless you have backup its gone and can't be recovered. If you must have RAID, use RAID 1, as the data is redundant and on both drives.

I had a RAID 1 setup and lost one drive due to a Microsoft update corruption. Luckily it was RAID 1 as I still had one drive with the data. After that I did some hard evaluation and decided that going back to a "standard" one drive and doing periodic full hard drive backups to a separate hard drive was better, in my case.