existing Raid - 2x HDD, new SSD + brand new Windows copy on the way - how to proceed ?

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Magat0r

Honorable
Nov 14, 2013
5
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10,510
Hi everyone,

I have a rough Idea on what needs to be done, just want to iron out the details.

Current Setup :
Mobo - Asus p6td Deluxe
HDD - 2x Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB in Raid


I have a samsung 840 EVO and a brand new Win 7 Installation disk (different from current)

What I want to achieve -
SSD as boot drive for newly installed win 7, 2 HDD's remain in Raid with all files accessible (Don't care about the current win installation, we can format it once the SSd is up and running)

How should I achieve this ?

Note, my mobo has these compatibilities :

Storage
Southbridge
6 xSATA 3 Gb/s ports
Intel Matrix Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10

Marvell 88SE6111
1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
1 xExternal SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)


Thank you very much for the tips in advance !
 
Solution
popatim
Unfortunately you won't get full speed from the SSD due to the Intel ports being 3g and the Marvell ports being even slower in most cases.

Create a disk or flash drive with the intel raid pre-install drivers on it.
power down and Disconnect both drives.
Install the SSD on an intel port leaving the bios in raid mode.
Enter the raid bios and pass the SSD thru as a single drive or raid ready.
Save and reboot to the windows installation disk by selecting the F-key option similar to Select Boot Device during POST to select the optical or flash drive as needed.
If the SSD isn't being listed as a drive to install to then load the raid preinstall drivers you already made.
Finish installing windows
power down and reattach the two raid HDD's...
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popatim

popatim

Titan
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Dec 2, 2009
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Unfortunately you won't get full speed from the SSD due to the Intel ports being 3g and the Marvell ports being even slower in most cases.

Create a disk or flash drive with the intel raid pre-install drivers on it.
power down and Disconnect both drives.
Install the SSD on an intel port leaving the bios in raid mode.
Enter the raid bios and pass the SSD thru as a single drive or raid ready.
Save and reboot to the windows installation disk by selecting the F-key option similar to Select Boot Device during POST to select the optical or flash drive as needed.
If the SSD isn't being listed as a drive to install to then load the raid preinstall drivers you already made.
Finish installing windows
power down and reattach the two raid HDD's
reboot into the bios and make sure the ssd is the primary boot device.

Btw - you don't have to del the old windows, you can use the f-key select boot device option as a dual boot method if you want.. Have two installations of the same copy of windows on 1 pc is not a licensing violation.
 
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Solution
M

Magat0r

Honorable
Nov 14, 2013
5
0
10,510


Thank you very much for this detailed solution Popatim - it was exactly what I was looking for.

2 points I want to address.

-according to TH article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sata-6gbps-performance-sata-3gbps,3110.html , the difference between SATA 3gbps and 6gbps is not that huge, with boot up times being almost identical.

-The Windows installation is different from the current installation, ie different version/disk/product key etc. Will I be safely able to format C:/ (current win installation partition) after a (lets say) 1 month of testing on the SSD win 7 installation ?

This is the last point which is making me a bit of concern, then I will pick your solution as the perfect answer.

Much Obliged..
 
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