Can you create RAID simply by adding a second drive?

[ahthurungnone]

So here's the issue. I installed a new MSI 890 AMD mobo which is RAID ready. (I think.) I currently have everything installed on a 1TB Sata HD. Can I simply add another SATA drive and it will run RAID. What do I have to do?

Forgive me, I have never done this before.

 

[adampower]

"Ok, so RAID only works on drives not running the operating system? In other words, you have one drive to run the OS and two others to hold data and run RAID? "

This is your quote from a different thread.

RAID can run your OS. In fact a RAID1 can guard against your OS failing during a disk failure... sometimes.

"So here's the issue. I installed a new MSI 890 AMD mobo which is RAID ready. (I think.) I currently have everything installed on a 1TB Sata HD. Can I simply add another SATA drive and it will run RAID. What do I have to do?

Forgive me, I have never done this before. "

from the above thread.

Yes and no. Depending on the RAID you can do this. You should be able to mirror it (RAID1) but I know nothing of your Mobo except that AMD guys love it.

However, you have a great system. I would buy an SSD for the OS and use the RAID 1 (as you said) for storage. The SSD is such a great upgrade. Like day and night.

 

[gtvr]

You can't just throw another HD in the box, and suddenly it's raid. You will need to use some kind of raid management (either software, or through bios) to configure the drives as raid. This is probably a destructive process (you will lose existing data), although as adampower pointed out above it MIGHT be that creating a raid 1 mirror will not destroy existing data. You should back up first anyways.

Remember that RAID, even raid 1, does not substitute for a good backup. There are more things than drive hardware failure that can cause data loss.

 

[ahthurungnone]

Best answer selected by ahthurungnone.

 

[ahthurungnone]

Again, thank you everyone for your help.