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Increasing size of hard drive with RAID?

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  • 12-01-2011 7:43pm
    #1
    Monty Burnz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,455 ✭✭✭✭


    My PC (running XP) is getting on a bit. When I bought it, having two 160GB drives backing each other up seemed like a good idea (and it has proved a good one I think). One of the drives failed about a year ago, so the computer was able to limp on until I replaced one of the 160GB drives with a new 250GB one (which was actually cheaper than the 160GB drive the shop had available). The downside is that the new drive was restricted to 160GB as it was mirroring the other one.

    Now the second original 160GB drive has finally failed, and I'm limping on with the 'new' 250GB one. I'm wondering how I can increase the size of available storage when I replace the second failed drive. If I buy another 250GB drive, will I still only be able to use 160GB of it? If I buy a 500GB drive (for more or less the same price) is there any way to access all of it?

    I suppose ultimately I could just scrap the RAID altogether or reinstall Windows on a new bigger hard drive but my experience of those drive failures makes me a bit nervous of running the system on a single hard drive.

    Any thoughts?

    Cheers!


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    #2
    user1842
    Registered Users Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭user1842


    If you buy a 250GB drive you will be able to access 250GB as both drives are 250GB.

    If you buy a 500GB drive you will only be able to access 250GB.

    What are you doing to your hard-drives :)


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    #3
    Monty Burnz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,455 ✭✭✭✭Monty Burnz


    dmclean1842 wrote: »
    What are you doing to your hard-drives :)
    I'm wondering if it was a bad batch from Samsung or something - although my PC has been through the international postal system so that probably didn't help a whole lot.


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    #4
    user1842
    Registered Users Posts: 1,113 ✭✭✭user1842


    My advice would be to scrap the RAID and use the 500GB drive as your primary drive.

    Then use the 250GB drive as a backup drive, get a USB link for it and connect it every month to backup your files.

    If Windows fails you can just then re-install.

    Or if you want to fork out, you can get a 60GB SSD as you windows drive.
    Get an NAS for you doc/media/files/backup drive (NAS containing two 250GB drives in RAID 1). You will never have a problem then and your system would be super fast :)


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