Setting up RAID 1

RAID level 1 is mirroring of a disk. For setting up RAID, can be done at Bios Level.

Look for a file documenting how RAID is managed by the mobo's BIOS and HDD controller chip. Very often this is NOT in your mobo manual (except for a brief set of "how to" instructions). It may be on the CD of utilities that came with your mobo, or you may have to find it on your mobo maker's website and download. Just be sure it is the document for YOUR mobo, not a similar one.

Setting up a RAID system usually is NOT done within the BIOS Setup screens. There is another RAID Management set of screens you enter using a different key press during boot-up, but this is only available AFTER you have Enabled RAID in BIOS Setup. Again, you should read the RAID manual to get it clear.

For example, on the systems I have used, the sequence is:
1. In BIOS Setup, when you configure the HDD's, you tell it to use the RAID mode. This only ALLOWS you to create one or more RAID arrays - it does NOT make all your HDD's into RAID systems. Remember to SAVE and EXIT.
2. As your system is booting, you press the designated keys to enter RAID Setup. You get a new set of screens that allow you the create a RAID array. First you tell it which type of RAID you want. Then usually it will ask you to specify exactly which HDD units you want to include in this array. ONLY those you specify will be RAID units. All others by default are plain stand-alone HDD's. Usually you have to set a few parameters on RAID details, then tell it to proceed.
3. WARNING!! In this step, normally any contents on the HDD's you are putting into your RAID array will be destroyed! This step basically re-Partitions and Formats the RAID units in a custom fashion, wiping out all old data and creating a RAID array that is completely empty. In SOME cases IF you are making a RAID1 array (mirrored data) the system MAY allow you to add a new HDD to an old one containing data and save the data, duplicating it to the new HDD to create the RAID1 array. BUT be SURE to read your manual to check whether that is possible, and if so how?
4. Once the RAID array has been created the management utility will end and the machine will finish booting. Once Windows is running, it should detect the presence of a new storage device (the RAID array) and guide you through installing the RAID driver needed. That driver may be on the CD that came with your mobo, so you should know ahead of time where and how to find it.

You may run into instructions about how to place a RAID driver on a floppy disk or USB stick and use that to install the driver during a fresh Install of Windows. This process normally is required ONLY if you are going to BOOT from the RAID array. For a non-booting RAID array used only for data storage, it is not necessary to install the driver that way. Installing it in the same manner as any other device driver, in a Windows that has already booted from a non-RAID drive is sufficient.

I completely agree that, before you proceed, you read more and understand the significant differences between RAID1 and a true backup system. I use RAID1 in one situation I consider its "proper" application. It is a computer that runs the Point-of-Sale system in a retail store. The concept is that, in this environment, you really cannot afford to have the system just suddenly fail and shut down the sales desk. With a RAID system in place, many types of HDD failures will simply cause the RAID1 array to fall back to using the one good HDD unit that still functions, and issue a warning of the failure. The computer keeps running smoothly. Later (after the store closes) I can shut down the computer, replace the failed unit in an off-line mode, re-start and restore the RAID1 array to full performance, and have it ready to run normally the next day. It is a system for ensuring uninterrupted performance where disruptions cannot be tolerated. On that system I run a completely separate backup plan so that I can recover from more disastrous failures if necessary.

You need to install the raid drivers. You should be able to find them on the CD that came with the motherboard or download the newest version from Gigabyte's web site. Once installed, then you can switch the bios to raid.

This works for windows 7, not sure about Win8.x

Windows disables the AHCI/RAID on install. To enable:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-system/windows-7-64-bit-does-not-boot-with-ahci-enabled/1ed33ae9-b2ff-4d1f-b28c-406153e04faa

Second post:
1. In the Windows start menu search box type "regedit" (without the quotes) then right click the entry and click "Run as Administrator".

2. Enter your user credentials for the User Account Control prompt and then click Yes to open regedit.

3. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services

4. In the left pane click "msahci"

5. In the right pane, right click on "start” and then click "modify".

6. In the window that opens, change the value to "0" and click OK.

7. Close the registry editor by clicking on File menu on the top and then Close.



Now you'll need to restart your computer and then get into the System BIOS. Change the mode from IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) to AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface). Save the changes and exit.



Windows will now install the drivers for your AHCI. You would need to restart one final time to finish the process after the drivers are installed.