SRT plus a second HDD for backup

[wubadee]

Hey guys,

I was wondering: If I took a 64Gb Crucial M4 and SRT'd it with a 500Gb Seagate, would I still be able to throw a terabyte drive in as a second drive letter and be able to back up to it as if I just had two HDDs? I searched the forums and couldn't find this question anywhere, so I'm guessing the answer is YES even though I have no proof.

Second but slightly related question: Does it matter if I RAID 0 or RAID 1 the SRT setup? I'm planning on RAID 0.

Thanks in advance,
Wes

 

[Dereck47]

I was wondering: If I took a 64Gb Crucial M4 and SRT'd it with a 500Gb Seagate, would I still be able to throw a terabyte drive in as a second drive letter and be able to back up to it as if I just had two HDDs?

Yes. Your Seagate and M4 would be your C: drive and your Terabyte drive would be your D: drive.

Second but slightly related question: Does it matter if I RAID 0 or RAID 1 the SRT setup? I'm planning on RAID 0.

You do not create a RAID array with Intel SRT. The ports your Seagate and M4 are connected to have to be in RAID mode.

 

[wubadee]

The ports your Seagate and M4 are connected to have to be in RAID mode.

What is RAID mode?

 

[wubadee]

The ports your Seagate and M4 are connected to have to be in RAID mode.

Nevermind, after playing around with some keywords in Google I was able to find the answer. Thanks for the help!

 

[wubadee]

Best answer selected by wubadee.

 

[Dereck47]

SATA controller ports typically have 3 settings (modes) they can be set to:
IDE mode, AHCI mode, and RAID mode.

Hard drives typically run in IDE mode.
SSDs should run in AHCI mode for maximum performance.
If you're creating a RAID array (RAID-0, RAID-1, etc.) the drives have to be in RAID mode.
Intel SRT requires that the HDD and SSD be in RAID mode.

Your motherboard manual will show you how to change SATA modes.

 

[foscooter]

All you have to do is set the SATA ports to RAID, then install the iRST software.

The pairing of the SSD+HDD will be done by the program, choosing what drive to accelerate with what drive. Then when you boot up, it'll show the HDD as enhanced by the SSD.

Just because you set the SATA ports to RAID doesn't do anything, until you set up a RAID array during BIOS post. Which you won't do!

BTW: ACHI is default for drives not part of a RAID array.