Wanted to do RAID 1... but now don't know what to do. HELP!

[swords22]

I need some help before I attempt my first build for personal use. I bought two WD Caviar Black 1.5 TB HDDs in the hope of putting them in a RAID 1 to protect my personal data from HDD failure (mostly music, pictures, videos, etc.). I have since read that the WD Caviar Black line might not be suitable for any type of RAID setup. Is this true? What would you do if you were in my shoes? Is there any other option that I have with these hard drives? Do I need to return them and get something else (b/c I'm really hoping that's not the case, but I will do what I have to do). Are there any options besides RAID that I could do with these drives?

Also, the motherboard I got only has 2 x SATA 6Gb/s ports so I'm not sure what to do about the three drives... Again, I'm new to all of this so I really appreciate any help/advice. Thanks in advance.

I've listed what I have below. Here is the original thread I had for advice on selecting components http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/308024-31-need-build-music-lover

Case: COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TH67+ 1155 H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
HDD: TWO Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Power Supply: Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power Power Supply
Optical Drive: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

 

[FireWire2]

With RAID1 the data is update in real time and automatic, it's certainly protect from HDD failure. BUT (big one)

a) When there is a corrupt files/folders or virus both drives will have the same corruption. virus
b) At least three drives need it for off site backup.

I would suggest you just configure both as individual drives
- et one drives a back-up drive
- Use this back up freeware: http://www.fbackup.com/ to back up when ever need it or scheduling it

It's best if the back up is external drive... specially your data is music, pictures, videos...

Then you can connect to Media player can enjoy your contents

Now you have a backup will handle both hardware failure and data corruption


Hope this help

 

[JordoR]

Hi swords22.

I have a similar situation (different build) but i have 2 x 1TB WD Black HDD's in my computer both set to RAID 1. Along with a 60GB SSD for my OS/Programs.

After the initial difficulties in the setup (I had never configured two HD's in raid before) I have never had a problem with the drives. It gives a great peace of mind as well, but I do also suggest having an external backup.

I don't know where you heard that WD Black's don't work well in RAID, but I have experienced no problems with them. They are certainly expensive enough, they should work. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it too much and just set them up in RAID 1. As long as you're running Windows 7 with the TRIM support you should be good.