Yes.....Another RAID1 Question

Ok here we go. I just bought a HP Pavilion Elite M9000T CTO with a 320GB SATA-3G Drive with 8MB Cache. The pc is capable of either RAID1 OR RAIDO. It is my understanding that RAID1 is better and I want to upgrade my hard drive to accomodate the RAID1 configuration. Please advise me as to the best way to do this. I want to change it to either a 400 GB 7200 rpm RAID 1, SATA 3G or a 500 GB 7200 rpm RAID 1, SATA 3G . I got these specs off HP's website for that models possible configurations and either one would be plenty for my needs.

 

Ok, first off, let's explain what RAID is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

"RAID 1 (mirrored disks) uses two (possibly more) disks which each store the same data, so that data is not lost so long as one disk survives. Total capacity of the array is just the capacity of a single disk. The failure of one drive, in the event of a hardware or software malfunction, does not increase the chance of a failure or decrease the reliability of the remaining drives(second, third, etc)." - Wiki

Now, there is no RAID that is 'better' than another. They all serve different purposes. RAID 0 (striping) increases read and write bandwidth since you are breaking data up across both drives. RAID 0+1 is 4 drives where 2 of them are striped then the other 2 are mirrored to the first 2.

I'd like to ask why you want a RAID array and what you use your computer for because pursuing it may be a waste of time and money.

In any case, in order for you to have a 400 or 500 Gb RAID array, you will need 2 400Gb drives or 2 500 Gb drives. If you wanted to get another 320Gb drive, you could have a 320 Gb array when combined with your other drive.

 

I must of misstated it. I was considering a combined 400(200gb/200gb) or 500(250/250) array. My pc will be used for the general home use plus some gaming. I was told that I should have a back up of my drive and had read that RAID1 was preferred. I have to admit that I am ignorant on this issue so that is why I asked for help. I guess since I already have a 320gb drive installed that using another would be the least expensive. What would you recommend? Would it be better to go with a pocket media drive?

 

It really depends on what and how much you need to backup. If you are wanting to backup things like mp3s, family photos, downloaded files, etc. It would be cheaper, and probably easier to just go with a USB backup drive. Then, there are plenty of free or inexpensive software backup tools that will copy your files automatically to your backup drive. If this is not a mission critical work computer where you can have zero downtime, then I think a simple external USB drive with some backup software would be the best solution.

There are plenty of options with external hard drives, here are a bunch on Pricegrabber

And, here are a couple of backup programs: (there are plenty more out there, these are just a couple that I know of)
http://allwaysync.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx

You can also sift through the huge list of programs in the Majorgeeks' Back-Up collection:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads3.html

 

I can get another 320Gb drive for about $50. The USB drives are considerably more. I'm sorry if it seems that I am asking questions over again but I haven't had any experience with RAID arrays and their setup or external back-up drives so I have nothing to draw from except reading tech articles. The one thing I do know is I can always get great advice from majorgeeks.com and I usaully come hear to make my final decisions and they have always worked out. Other than the installation, How hard is it too configure it for RAID1? Does this have to be done prior to installation of the additional SATA drive? Thanks

 

No, usually, you'll plug in the drive, then during boot up there will be some sequence of keys to hit to get into the RAID BIOS. The couple that I've used have both been Ctrl+M. Your manual should tell you how to do it. Otherwise, you might have to call HP. You may need to plan for a new installation of Windows because in order to create the RAID array, you may have to wipe out the data on your drive. I'm not sure how that will work if they didn't give you install CDs. Again, you may need to call HP.

However, I'm still not convinced that RAID 1 is right for your setup. If you don't want an external drive, you can still use the free backup software to copy to an internal drive. You may want to do that. That way you aren't wasting all that extra space on your second drive backing up unnecessary files.

In any case, good luck and I hope it works out for you.

 

Thanks....You have convinced me. After a more in depth look at it, unless I would have ordered it it seems that I would need the OS to install a new copy. Your advice seems to be far less painfull and will do the same job that I want. Which would you go with....a pocket media or media drive? I have both available.

 

I don't know what you mean by "pocket media" or "media drive". Any type of internal or external storage device will work provided it is large enough to back up the files that you want to.