Can I Move RAID Array?
Want to upgrade MB's and move my existing IDE RAID 0 over. Is this possible without messing up the array? WIll the new controller "see" my old array or try to overwrite? What about the XP pro installation, will it prompt for new drivers?
Also, What's this I hear about IDE to SATA converters? Can I get these and run SATA RAID on the new MB?
Also, What's this I hear about IDE to SATA converters? Can I get these and run SATA RAID on the new MB?
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Before you even consider it.. back away.
First... we need to know what RAID controller/Motherboard you have now.. and what your new board will have. Is it integrated or PCI ??
There is no way in hell you can just unhook two raided drives and stick them on another controller and hope
Post back with your current controller/mobo and what you replacing and I can tell you if it's possible
Thats what I need to know.. what is it on now and what are you planning on moving it to
I will say.. unless the controllers are the same including BIOS revision.. it won't work. Also, as these are integrated controllers, even with the same BIOS.. there is still a large chance the array won't move
Post back what you got
What is the new controller going to be?
The chance that it will transfer is slim.
Usually the only way you can get them to transfer is to go with the same controller manufacture and even then it pretty slim chance that it will upgrade.
About the only way that you can transfer is if you go to another exact controller and even then there might be a chance that you'll break the array and lose all your data.
What you want to do is a tricky ordeal.
Best way to do this is get a copy of drive image and do a complete back up of the data on the array then you can blow away the existing array install your new MOB and controller create a new array and then use drive image to restore the saved data.
One thig to note: If you have multiple partitions on your existing array and back them up you will have to recreate the partitions exactly in size as they were on the old array on the new array before you can resote the partition images.
You might have to use partition magic to create a c partitions if your starting from scratch....
This can be a time consuming affair but I know it can be done because I just did this same thing like 6 months ago when I lost one of raid 0 drives and then restored the data from a backup once I got my drive back from RMA...
"g"
As already mentioned, you only have a chance if it is from/to the same model controller. If it includes your O/S then you will need to do a "Repair Install" also if the chipset is different.
It is possible, but by no means guaranteed. I have had fair success running Norton Disc Doctor (booting from the Norton CD) and having it detect and rebuild the partition spanning the drives.
If you count on this happening and don't bother with backup, Murphy will bite you on the a$$.
But yea, more info please.
BACK UP YOUR DATA!!!!!!
dont be one of those users who does not... CD's are cheap back up to them, yes its time consuming but worth it or get a reg ide drive and image your system and save the image to the ide drive. I recommend Power Quests Drive Image.. good tool and easy to use. Im sure you can dig up a "demo" *wink wink* some where on the web...
Gobbles
I can't believe it's this difficult to move, seems like a lot of people would want to do it with upgrades and such.
I've got a 160G array, how do I image something that big? I looked at Ghost, but it's compression is only 60% or so. That's a lot of CD's! My OS is on the array and I only have one partition. Guess I should have split it for just the OS, but it was my first time trying RAID and I didn't want to get fancy!
My current array is with two WD 80G standard drives (not the 8M special) in a RAID 0. Nothing is really important on the machine, mainly games. Just don't want the hassle of reinstalling XP and all the updates! Maybe I'll wait until SP2 comes out to make the updates easier. Although I did just order a 9800Pro to replace and old GF3. Best time to get rid of the old Dets by reformatting!
Hard drives are considerably less expensive than they used to be. Hook it up to an IDE, copy what you need to save off your array. Change over board & so on. Build new array on controller, copy data back from aforementioned 160gb drive. Keep that drive in your system for regular data backup. (in the event of your RAID array failing).
Ya done
You need one of these:
http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/item2814.htm
Probably even cheaper in your country.
Just slots a shell into a spare 5 and half inch drive bay. Just stick your backup drive into the caddy part. Then when you want to use it, power down your system.. slide the caddy into the slot and boot. Ya done. Easy as that.
Not really cheaper, about $15.00-20.00 for ATA\100 or 133 kits with caddy and tray. T'is what I've been nattering away about with IDE Cold-Swap for a long while.... Have about 10 harddrives in the trays, 4 bays or shells as you call them, like to play musical O\Ss...
John D.
What makes my situation a little different is that it's a dead mobo so no chance of taking the data off for backup, PLUS it's RAID1 so I'm wondering two things;
1. It's a Via VT4610 chip - can I move to a new board (old model isn't available any more) using the same chip and just plug them in?
2. Does using RAID1 mean that each drive will actually work fine on its own on a normal IDE channel anyway? It's not my machine and I'm too nervous to test this idea on someone else's data!
Any advice much appreciated as a friend has ripped 600 of his CDs onto this array before killing the machine.
Don't speak without experience. Yes it very well can work. It is not a guarantee. And it won't damage your data, it just won't recognize the drives if there is a problem.
I know this post is old, sad to see people have had to read all these 'seem to have been there, done that' answers. To people like the above poster, they actually thought they got some knowledgeable information.... Let's hope you guys didn't help him with anything else, or he probably has fried CPU's and corrupted data on hard drives.
Freakshow
Welcome to Icrontic! I hope you have found more here that interests you and stick around to see what the members here do know. If you are keen you just may be surprised!
Now back to where I was. The original post is 5 years old and the hardware was much different back then. It was much more likely that an array would not transfer from a MB based controller than likely to transfer. Also, the user had not backed up their data on a RAID-0 array, which is just outright stupid. If you notice, the general consensus was that the original poster do 2 things. First and most importantly, back up their data whether or not they proceed to move the array from one board to another. Two, they were advised that while it was possible it was recommended not to do it. I have been lucky as well but several months down the road started getting random errors that only got worse with time. I ended up rebuilding the array from scratch and transferred my data back to the new array. With very few exceptions most posters replying have a substantial amount of experience on the subject. At no time was the original poster given bad or dangerous advice that would have cost them their data. As to the "been there done that" replies, experience is still king when it come to advice! If an alcoholic wanted to get clean, would they ask the bartender or drunk in the alley how to do it? NO! They would ask those who had done it successfully! As to your success with switching from a VIA 8237 controller to a Promise controller (cir. 2005) was more luck than success. Even a fool standing on top of the tallest point of a relatively flat area in a thunder storm will get lucky on occasion!
choddo
I think you hold the record for only having 2 posts with 40 months in between!
I am sorry your original post went unanswered. Sometimes a prod is required but the beter solution is to start your own thread so it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
BTW
I am happy you did fix your problem. And that would have been a likely solution offered even though it was not.