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Need help setting up RAID 1 pairs on P5B DLX

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  • 23-09-2008 9:51am
    #1
    trackerman
    Registered Users Posts: 516 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys, I'm looking for some help making up three RAID 1 pairs on my P5B Deluxe motherboard.

    I've not done this before, so I'm seeking advice. Don't want to screw up the data I have on my system now.
    My main goal is to get increased data protection, not increased speed.

    Present config is:
    P5B Deluxe mb which has 6 SATA ports and one external SATA.
    One 150GB WD HD for boot.
    Two 500GB Spinpoints for storage, one is a copy of the other using SyncToy.:(

    Proposed config:
    Two 150GB in RAID 1 config.- boot drive.
    Two 500GB in RAID 1 config.
    Two 1TB in RAID 1 config.

    The MB comes with two RAID applications
    "Intel Matrix Storage" this is for the 6 SATA om the MB.
    "JMicron RAID Configuration" this seems to be for an external RAID, but there is also a 7th SATA for this.

    Questions I have:
    Q1. Is my proposed config possible on the P5B MB?
    Q2. How can I use the JMicron solution?
    Q3. Or do I just use the "Intel Matrix Storage" application?
    Q4. Is there any on-line guide I could follow, the ASUS manual is not very detailed.

    Thanks in advance...

    Ray


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    trackerman
    Registered Users Posts: 516 ✭✭✭trackerman


    anybody?


  • Options
    #3
    zilog_jones
    Registered Users Posts: 6,638 ✭✭✭zilog_jones


    1. It should be, however with that amount of hard drives you have the option of RAID 5 or combinations like RAID 10. Also, make sure your PSU is up for powering 6 HDDs - does it even have enough connectors?

    2. I dunno how your motherboard is set up but with mine the Intel IDE controller deals with the first 4 SATA ports and the first PATA port, wheras the JMicron controller is for SATA 5 and the second PATA port. Depending on your configuration you may not need to use the JMicron controller at all unless you can't use the Intel PATA ports when you're using 6 SATA ports or something weird (assuming you have a PATA DVD drive).

    3. You can't just use the "Intel Matrix Storage Manager" program. If you try to install it now it will do nothing (assuming RAID is currently disabled). You'll need to configure RAID in your BIOS, which will also involve wiping all your HDDs you're putting in any RAID arrays. You'll need to re-install Windows with the appropriate RAID drivers (integrate the drivers into a new CD using nLite assuming XP, or use a floppy if you still have such a thing). Then you'll be able to use Intel Matrix Storage Manager within Windows for any additional configuration.

    4. Try the Intel website maybe. The manual for my motherboard (MSI P975X Platinum) explained things pretty well (in only slightly broken English :) ). Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way that hardware RAID doesn't really work well with HDDs of different sizes.

    An alternative is using software RAID. However this is very limited in Windows XP - it only allows to make RAID 0 striped partitions. Windows 2003 however allows RAID 1 and 5 configurations (maybe more). Dunno about Vista. Most Linuxes offer some amount of RAID options. Software RAID has the benefit of making RAID arrays from partitions, so you have more flexibility for using multiple arrays and using HDDs of unequal sizes.


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