Can Windows 7 boot on RAID5

julcoool

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Aug 9, 2009
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Hello,

I was recently planning on setting up a RAID5 array for my PC. However, someone told me i needed an extra drive (3+1) to install a boot partition on it because Windows 7 could not boot on raid arrays.

Is this information true? do I really need an extra HDD?
 
Windows 7 will boot from a RAID5 array. You need to set the array up before installing Windows. I think that Win7 is smart enough to have the RAID drivers available by default (I have not tested this). If not, you will have to download them to a thumb drive and use F6 to add them to the installation process.

My usual question: What do you intend to accomplish by doing this? If it doesn't address a specific need, and you are not doing it just for fun, I usually recommend against using RAID.

Most mobos cannot boot from volumes larger than 2.2 TB, so watch your volume size. And remember, RAID is not a substitute for backups. Do backups too.