Changing RAID setup on storage drives (non-boot)

clarkaidan · Nov 8, 2017

I have a machine with a SSD as boot drive, and two identical 750gb HDDs connected in a RAID 0 configuration, used for storage. I'd like to change their configuration to RAID 1. I don't seem to be able to find any information about this - all questions from others seem to be refer to boot drives rather than storage drives. Any help would be much appreciated.

kanewolf · Nov 8, 2017

Process would be the same. Delete the RAID 0 and create a new RAID1. All data on the drives will be lost.

clarkaidan · Nov 8, 2017

Thanks, the problem is that I can't find any option to do this in the BIOS. I can switch from AHCI to RAID but then it won't boot.

kanewolf · Nov 8, 2017

So your RAID 0, was created as a striped volume from the OS rather than a RAID volume from the controller in the motherboard?

clarkaidan · Nov 9, 2017

kanewolf :

It's probable. I didn't actually build the machine myself, it's second-hand. But I do know that one of the hard drives wasn't originally in the system, and was added later to create the RAID 0.

kanewolf · Nov 9, 2017

I don't generally recommend RAID for home use in any situation. You will be more secure if you create two volumes and use one for backups. RAID 1 only protects against drive failure. That is not the most likely reason for data loss. Read thiese articles --
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-features/31745-data-recovery-tales-raid-is-not-backup
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-features/32168-data-recovery-tales-prepare-the-right-way-for-raid-failure

I would create two independent volumes and use good backup software.

clarkaidan · Nov 9, 2017

kanewolf :

Thanks. So say I was to convert the RAID to two separate volumes, how would I go about it?

kanewolf · Nov 9, 2017

You are going to need to look at disk manager to see if it was created as a Windows Striped volume. I think you can just wipe all the partitions off each disk. But, I have never done it. I am just guessing on this. Anything you do your data is gone, so you can't really hurt anything...

clarkaidan · Nov 9, 2017

kanewolf :

Thanks. How can I tell if it is a striped volume? Under "type" it says "basic".

kanewolf · Nov 9, 2017

This seems contradictory to my understanding. If it isn't a HW RAID from the motherboard, then it would have to be a software RAID at the OS. BUT to be a software RAID at the OS it would have to be a dynamic volume -- https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa363785(v=vs.85).aspx

Which way is the BIOS set? RAID or AHCI ? Maybe I misinterpreted your earlier about switching ...

clarkaidan · Nov 9, 2017

kanewolf :

Yes, this is what's confusing me. The BIOS is set as AHCI, which is why I can't do anything to change the RAID configuration there. But the drive is definitely showing as Basic rather than Dynamic.

clarkaidan · Nov 9, 2017

So, it appears now that the HDDs weren't set up as RAID 0, as I was told, but are actually being used in a Storage Pool. Some sort of virtual array. Absolutely bizarre. I'm removing one and then I'll reinstall it separately. Seems to be working out now. Thanks very much for your help.

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