Raid 1 question

[ingeborgdot]

Here is the setup. XP MCE
2-320gb hdd set up in raid 1 with the os on one partition along with apps
the other partition has the videos and pics etc.
If I want to upgrade the os to vista what will I need to do? Am I going to lose all the other things on my other partition? Someone said they would have done a raid 1 with the os on a whole other hdd but didn't say why? Is anyone knowledgeable enough to explain it to me and tell me what process I will have to go through? Thanks .

 

[DelJo63]

Someone said they would have done a raid 1 with the os on a whole other hdd but didn't say why?

First, the name alone is a hint: Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks.

Raid 0 is Stripped and Raid 1 is Mirrors.

Stripping is a performance choice to allow data transfer on one HD while the
arm/head is seeking a new location on another.

Mirrors is a Fault Tolerance choice to keep the system running when one HD
fails. NOTICE: Fault Tolerance is not the same as BACKUP!

Now as to your question; Fault Tolerance is a physical issue of the device and
not a logical issue on partitions. While you could RAID-1 one drive to its mirror (ie a 2nd hd),
multiple partitions on it complicates your recovery. It would require TWO
backups to be synchronized in time (one/partition) to effect a meaningful
recovery from failure.

 

[ingeborgdot]

What they said they did was the os on another hdd and whether they raided it or not I do not know. What they did was raid the two other disks. What would happen now. I am sorry I didn't explain myself better. I understand about the other part but I have never had to put a new os on an already raided machine. What will happen if I only have the two hdd with the os on one partition and the docs and things on the other. That is my question. The other question is would it be better to have the os on a whole seperate hdd, and even raided?

 

[Nodsu]

Partitions and RAID are on completely different levels. Once you have a RAID set, from partitions point of view that set looks like a simple hard drive.

Assuming that Vista has the drivers (or you provide them during install) for your fakeraid (you don't have real hardware RAID, do you?), you install Vista just like you would install on a single hard drive.

 

[DelJo63]

What they said they did was the os on another hdd and whether they raided it or not I do not know. What they did was raid the two other disks.

Would appear that they are attempting to ensure user data protection and
ignoring OS issues altogether -- that's ok -- just know what you're attempting.

Previous comment re backups still apply, RAID is not a substituted for BACKUP

 

[ingeborgdot]

Partitions and RAID are on completely different levels. Once you have a RAID set, from partitions point of view that set looks like a simple hard drive.

Assuming that Vista has the drivers (or you provide them during install) for your fakeraid (you don't have real hardware RAID, do you?), you install Vista just like you would install on a single hard drive.

So when I go and replace the operating system with the new os will I lose my raid? Will I lose my partitions?

 

[DelJo63]

So when I go and replace the operating system with the new os will I lose my raid? Will I lose my partitions?

You specifically stated the OS was separated from the others which were RAID-1.
Swap the OS drive will require a reinstall/recovery or restore, but not effect
the data on the RAID.

If you have a software implemenation of RAID, it will need to be reactivated.
(likely for an IDE HD).

 

[ingeborgdot]

I sometimes have brain farts and don't explain good enough. I have 2 hard drives at this time with the os on one partition and the docs and videos etc on the other. I just want to know it the doc partition will be affected if I install a new os on the other partition. Maybe you are trying to tell me that but my ignorance sometimes gets in the way.
The other thing I was talking about is that someone was saying that a better setup would be to have the os on another hard drive all together(wheter raided or not they did not say) and the other 2 hard drives with docs and vids raided in 1. Does this make sense to you? thanks for your patience.

 

[Nodsu]

As I said, it doesn't matter whether the partitions are on a hard drive or a RAID set. Whether you lose data or not depends on the choices you make in the installer.

Yes, it would be (marginally) better to have the OS on one drive/raid and data on another drive/raid. Whether you actually want to buy more hard drives is up to you.