1st time RAIDer...help??? (raid 1)

spoofer2

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i currently have 2 hdds, one 80gb one 40gb.

1. do i have to delete everything on both disks (and back up to some other drive, obviously) before i start?

i have aomei part. ass. and win 7 disk man.

i recently "copied" disk 1 to disk 2 with aomei, so right now their (nearly, at least) identical but i want to raid 1 (i think) because i want them to sync automatically
 
Solution


You need to save everything you want on another (third) drive.


It is best to have identical make, model, and capacity disks for RAID1. This will minimize problems arising from RAID1 (or other arrays).
 

spoofer2

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so let me ask you this: can i create a partition on one of the disks, move all data to that partition, and then raid them, thus allowing me to do it without putting the data on a THIRD drive, or is it necessary to completly wipe both disks for raid to be possible
 


You need to save everything you want on another (third) drive.
 
Solution

spoofer2

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one more question, i already made both of my disks dynamic because i thought it was one of the first steps...does this mean i will have any decreased functionality if i do not continue with the raid (since i dont have a third drive that big) or will everything be pretty much the same
 
Just format them NTFS and use then as-is.

When you build a RAID1 array it will give you step-by-step guidance. As you know RAID1 is mirroring and is safer in case one disk fails (and it will happen sooner or later).

One important thing I must mention is that RAID1 is not a substitute for regular and frequent backups. Please backup your computer to an external hard disk.
 

spoofer2

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one more thing, what if i "mount" the smaller drive as a folder in the other? would this put any info i put into said folder in both disks?
 


No. Only RAID1 and other mirroring RAID (more than two disks) will do that.
 
Do not use RAID for a backup solution. RAID will only protect you from a failed disk, it will not protect from any of the common causes of lost data (virus, corruption accidrntal deletion, etc.) Anything that happens to your data on 1 disc, happens on the other. It does not matter what you do with the disks prior to building the array. The raid controller bios will have all options for formatting the drives prior to establishing the array, and everything, including any partions or data will be destroyed and overwritten by the controller during setup. If you use a 40 gig drive and an 80 gig drive, you will end up with a mirrored set of 40 gig drives. The additional 40 gigs on 80 gig drive is not available to be used.