Help with RAID 1 (mirror) configuration

[jenricae]

Hi,

I have a Dell Precision 380 with 2 HD (160GB seagate & 250GB Maxtor - sata drives) that were in a RAID 1 (mirror) configuration.

I wanted to upgrade the HD space so i popped out the 160GB drive and put in a 250GB drive. The computer started and rebuilt the RAID. I didn't realize that the RAID would still be only 160GB.

So what do i do now? If i try to remove the RAID from the RAID utility (Ctrl -I) it tells me that i'll loose all data. I've read in some forums that this warning isn't actually true and that i can remove the RAID and the data will still be there.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[marcellis22]

In RAID 1 you have a mirrored pair, if one fails you can still boot and use the good drive, so breaking the RAID mirror will not be catastrophic. What you need to do is clean up the mirror you have, delete temp files and defrag. Make an image of you current system with Ghost or Acronis, or whatever software you're comfortable with, using either a separate third hard drive or an external unit to save to. Then break and rebuild your RAID 1 setup, boot your Ghost or Acronis CD, restore the saved image to the RAIDed pair after telling the software to remove and restore the partition, and you should be good to go, 250 GB RAID with your current OS install/setup. With Acronis, you can use the Universal restore, put the RAID controller driver(s) on a thumb drive, and inject them so Acronis sees the RAID setup, I'm pretty sure Ghost does the same thing...

 

[GhislainG]

That type of RAID controller usually doesn't allow for online expansion. An option is to reinstall from scratch. You could also use an application to resize the partition. No matter how you do it, if your array contains any valuable data, you should perform a backup.

 

[jenricae]

I guess i'll have to image the drive and then restore it once i reset the RAID. Was hoping i could skip the backup part. HD Clone has a free version that should work.

Thanks!

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

You could prolly just partition the drive first. that way you'll at least have a 90GB drive you can put crap on.

 

[jenricae]

Sorry, i'm a newb when it comes to RAID. How would i partition it so that i can use the 90GB?