Dell raid questions

[Just the Facts]

I'm a software developer but when it comes to hardware I get lost in the
jargon.
I have a few dell Precision machines I got cheap at the auctions, I'm using
as cheap web servers with Win2003 and one with WinSBS 2000, I also have one
with Vista.
They have SATA 80 gig hard drives in them, they are configured in the bios
raid section to use combination mode.
I have several Sata hard drives of the same make and model and I want to set
up a simple raid 1 system for redundancy.
If I try to change the raid configuration to the default auto detect raid, I
get a warning that I may not be able to boot and that I may need to
reinstall, so I have not done so.

My questions are
Will I lose my data if I switch to raid auto detect?
What is raid Auto detect?
Is this a built in raid system?
If so what do I need to do, just plug in 2 disks?

If anyone has any info on Dell precisions and raid I would appreciate any
info you can give
Thanks

 

[Pen]

I'm a software developer but when it comes to hardware I get lost in the
jargon.
I have a few dell Precision machines I got cheap at the auctions, I'm using
as cheap web servers with Win2003 and one with WinSBS 2000, I also have one
with Vista.
They have SATA 80 gig hard drives in them, they are configured in the bios
raid section to use combination mode.
I have several Sata hard drives of the same make and model and I want to set
up a simple raid 1 system for redundancy.
If I try to change the raid configuration to the default auto detect raid, I
get a warning that I may not be able to boot and that I may need to
reinstall, so I have not done so.

My questions are
Will I lose my data if I switch to raid auto detect?
What is raid Auto detect?
Is this a built in raid system?
If so what do I need to do, just plug in 2 disks?

If anyone has any info on Dell precisions and raid I would appreciate any
info you can give
Thanks

There is an active Dell group at
alt.sys.pc-clone.dell which is probably a better place to ask this
question.

 

[Paul]

I'm a software developer but when it comes to hardware I get lost in the
jargon.
I have a few dell Precision machines I got cheap at the auctions, I'm
using as cheap web servers with Win2003 and one with WinSBS 2000, I also
have one with Vista.
They have SATA 80 gig hard drives in them, they are configured in the
bios raid section to use combination mode.
I have several Sata hard drives of the same make and model and I want to
set up a simple raid 1 system for redundancy.
If I try to change the raid configuration to the default auto detect
raid, I get a warning that I may not be able to boot and that I may need
to reinstall, so I have not done so.

My questions are
Will I lose my data if I switch to raid auto detect?
What is raid Auto detect?
Is this a built in raid system?
If so what do I need to do, just plug in 2 disks?

If anyone has any info on Dell precisions and raid I would appreciate
any info you can give
Thanks

The first thing you do with a new computer, is review the hardware resources
inside. For example, an Ebay listing says the Precision 670 has an E7525
Northbridge and ICH5R Southbridge. There is also a SCSI controller of some
sort (PERC U320).

The "SATAOS Setup" (blue text) here, describes moving a non-RAID SATA install to
an add-in SATA card, installing RAID driver, changing ICH5R BIOS settings,
then moving back. Once the drive is moved back, once booted back into Windows,
you can use the Intel RAID management software to do a RAID migration from one
"RAID ready" drive to two drives. The necessary data movement then happens in Windows,
while the system is running.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/har...-raid-ready-setup-intel-ich5r.html?forumid=87

There might be another procedure for doing this, but I can't find it right
now. I seem to remember some site came up with a shortcut method (something
that would not be supported by Intel).

The problem is, when the ICH5R BIOS settings are changed, they change the
enumeration of the Southbridge. When that happens, the old driver no longer
loads. In order to be able to fix this in one step, both drivers would
have to coexist on the disk. Normally, you cannot install the RAID driver,
unless the enumeration shows RAID mode, which is a "Catch-22". So, to
do a more straightforward procedure, would require both drivers to exist
already, and the proper driver to engage after the BIOS setting has been
changed. The trick would be finding a reference to how that was done. Otherwise,
the procedure (as shown in the blue text above) is a bit messy.

Paul

 

[CBFalconer]

I'm a software developer but when it comes to hardware I get lost
in the jargon.

I have a few dell Precision machines I got cheap at the auctions,
I'm using as cheap web servers with Win2003 and one with WinSBS
2000, I also have one with Vista. They have SATA 80 gig hard
drives in them, they are configured in the bios raid section to
use combination mode. I have several Sata hard drives of the same
make and model and I want to set up a simple raid 1 system for
redundancy.

If I try to change the raid configuration to the default auto
detect raid, I get a warning that I may not be able to boot and
that I may need to reinstall, so I have not done so.

Why don't you avoid expensive and unreliable opsys and install
Ubuntu. You can get a free installation CD at <shipit.ubuntu.com>

 

[Mike Walsh]

It is best to create a RAID array using disks with same size empty partitions. Create the array and then install your operating system. The dire warning is for people who have a disk with an OS installed and then expect to function as part of a RAID array.