Moving from old RAID setup to new SSD

[mpx]

Hey all. My current and longtime setup has had two 1 TB Seagate HDD's in a RAID since before SSDs were really nearing viable price ranges. Now, I've had Samsing 850 500GB SSD for several months now, waiting for the jump to an SSD experience.

Some time ago I had already formatted and installed Windows to it, back when I was hoping to mirror data from the old HDDs and not just wipe them, but I honestly don't care anymore. I've backed up everything on them to an external HDD, and can move smaller files like documents and saves directly to it right now from the OS on the RAID. The problem is I've been hesitant and a little afraid of making the next leap: of removing the old HDD's from the RAID and switching to the SSD as the boot drive.

It's been awhile since I messed with it so my memory is a bit foggy, but I remember making the SSD the boot driver meant changing the SATA mode to AHCI, which made the RAID drives invisible, so I couldn't use both at the same time as they were. So TLDR I guess; what is the process I should go about to removing my old HDDs from the RAID and setting them up so I can use them as I boot from the new SSD? (bonus question: is there a way I can format the two HDD's to still look like one partition? I don't really have any need for two separate storage drives)

Edit: Sorry, forgot I should probably mention the motherboard I am using: it's an Intel X58 ATX. I have a Marvell RAID controller and an Intel SATA RAID controller....and not 100% positive which is being used.

 

[RealBeast]

You have options, but if you really want the HDDs left in RAID mode, just leave the bios mode set to RAID, attach the SSD leave the two HDD set up as a RAID array and then just install Windows to the SSD. ACHI commands are a subset of RAID and all you lose is the ability to use the Samsung Magician software.

Your other option is to change the bios mode to AHCI, and after installing Windows to the SSD, attach the HDDs and then create a striped or spanned volume in Windows. This would allow Samsung Magician to work and would make the two HDDs one volume like THIS or THIS.

 

[mpx]

You have options, but if you really want the HDDs left in RAID mode, just leave the bios mode set to RAID, attach the SSD leave the two HDD set up as a RAID array and then just install Windows to the SSD. ACHI commands are a subset of RAID and all you lose is the ability to use the Samsung Magician software.

Your other option is to change the bios mode to AHCI, and after installing Windows to the SSD, attach the HDDs and then create a striped or spanned volume in Windows. This would allow Samsung Magician to work and would make the two HDDs one volume like THIS or THIS.

Thanks for responding! The first option sounds like what I would ideally want, but I have a question about it. It seems so long as the storage configuration is set to RAID in the bios I will not see the SSD as a bootable device(although I can still see it in Windows), and won't until I set it to either IDE or AHCI, in which case I no longer see the RAID. If I could get that to work though, I was worried that RAID would not have AHCI commands for proper storage and deletion on a SSD, but it sounds like that wouldn't be a problem?

The second option sounds like what I might have to do if there isn't a way around my problem with the first, but my question there is don't I have to break the RAID first(and then reformat them, I suppose?)? It's the details of that process I'm not very familiar/comfortable with.

 

[RealBeast]

As long as the SSD is attached to an Intel controller on the motherboard you will be able to use it as the boot drive, although you may need to delete and rebuild your array if it is currently the bootable drive, which would be the easiest way to do the install -- I like to install to a single SSD with no other HDD or SSD attached to force the SRP onto the SSD where it should be.

With most motherboard RAID, you can set the bios mode to RAID, install to a single SSD and then set up the RAID array by attaching the disks later after you install the RAID drivers.

AHCI is a subset of the RAID command set, so you lose nothing except the ability to use Samsung Magician, which hopefully Samsung will fix someday.

 

[magusprimex]

Alright, I'm making a pass at it today, leaving the storage config in RAID. Under the BIOS' boot menu I can swap the 1st and 2nd drives(currently the Intel Volume0(the RAID) and the SSD) so that the SSD is the 1st drive. This let's me see the SSD in the boot order priority menu, will and it will attempt to boot from there instead(where before I had to go into the RAID controller, not the BIOS, and temporarily disable it to see the SSD). Windows will start to load when I do this, judging from the speed it's booting from the SSD too, but the moment it should load to the home screen it BSOD's and restarts. :/ I think if I remember correctly, I had installed the OS to the SSD without the HDD's physically connected at the time, if that makes a difference.

AHCI still works, though. If I set it to AHCI I have to deal with it attempting to use the old HDDs to boot once before everything shows up in the BIOS and I can set it correctly the SSD, which boots without crashing fine. It just asks me to format the old HDDs, which if it comes down to it won't be the worst thing so long as I can put them in a stripe as one "drive". But I'm starting to wonder, I might have installed the OS on the SSD WHILE the storage config was set to AHCI as I thought I had read that was what you're supposed to do with SSDs, should I try reinstalling the OS to the SSD with RAID enabled instead? Is there a chance that is why it BSOD's on me when Windows loads?

 

[mjslakeridge]

How sure are you that the HDDs were not connected when you installed the OS onto the SSD? There have been cases (I am following a thread here on Tom's right now) where the boot partition somehow got installed to the old HDD because it was not disconnected when the OS was being installed. Disconnect the HDDs and see if it will load Windows from the new SSD. If so, you should be ok.

 

[RealBeast]

How sure are you that the HDDs were not connected when you installed the OS onto the SSD? There have been cases (I am following a thread here on Tom's right now) where the boot partition somehow got installed to the old HDD because it was not disconnected when the OS was being installed. Disconnect the HDDs and see if it will load Windows from the new SSD. If so, you should be ok.

Two posts above you: "I like to install to a single SSD with no other HDD or SSD attached to force the SRP onto the SSD where it should be. "

OP reply: "I remember correctly, I had installed the OS to the SSD without the HDD's physically connected at the time"

There is almost no time when having anything else attached is a good idea unless you are going to forego the SRP, which is beyond the scope of this discussion.

 

[RealBeast]

Alright, I'm making a pass at it today, leaving the storage config in RAID. Under the BIOS' boot menu I can swap the 1st and 2nd drives(currently the Intel Volume0(the RAID) and the SSD) so that the SSD is the 1st drive. This let's me see the SSD in the boot order priority menu, will and it will attempt to boot from there instead(where before I had to go into the RAID controller, not the BIOS, and temporarily disable it to see the SSD). Windows will start to load when I do this, judging from the speed it's booting from the SSD too, but the moment it should load to the home screen it BSOD's and restarts. :/ I think if I remember correctly, I had installed the OS to the SSD without the HDD's physically connected at the time, if that makes a difference.

AHCI still works, though. If I set it to AHCI I have to deal with it attempting to use the old HDDs to boot once before everything shows up in the BIOS and I can set it correctly the SSD, which boots without crashing fine. It just asks me to format the old HDDs, which if it comes down to it won't be the worst thing so long as I can put them in a stripe as one "drive". But I'm starting to wonder, I might have installed the OS on the SSD WHILE the storage config was set to AHCI as I thought I had read that was what you're supposed to do with SSDs, should I try reinstalling the OS to the SSD with RAID enabled instead? Is there a chance that is why it BSOD's on me when Windows loads?

You should make the decision now -- before the installation -- if you want the HDDs to use motherboard RAID.

If so, enable RAID as the bios SATA mode before doing any install, then attach only the SSD, select a custom install, delete all partitions on the SSD and install to the single remaining unpartitioned space.

If not, enable AHCI as the bios SATA mode, then attach only the SSD and do the same custom install.

You do not want to try to change your SATA bios mode after the Windows install (while it can be done, you don't want to go there). If the Windows install has a different mode than the bios for the SATA mode -- instant BSOD.

And use the Intel controller, not the Marvell. I would turn the Marvell off in the bios to save boot up time.

 

[magusprimex]

How sure are you that the HDDs were not connected when you installed the OS onto the SSD? There have been cases (I am following a thread here on Tom's right now) where the boot partition somehow got installed to the old HDD because it was not disconnected when the OS was being installed. Disconnect the HDDs and see if it will load Windows from the new SSD. If so, you should be ok.

Positive at this point. Thanks for your answers, guys! It looks like I got it working now. I found a solution on Microsoft's help page https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/922976 about the AHCI -> RAID switch, which I'm now 100% sure I had installed the SSD in AHCI which was causing the blue screens. But it seems to be working great now, mobo still sees the SSD and is booting from it while the old HDD's are staying in their RAID and perfectly usable. I had to go back and forth a bit to get it all configured like it should be, ala what I described above(there was that one extra step where I didn't change the actual boot order, but which HDD the boot order menu was using for it's HDD slot). So as long as what RealBeast says is true and I still have TRIM for the SSD, I'd say it's all good!

 

[RealBeast]

You not only have TRIM support, but for the last year or so the Intel RST drivers support TRIM on RAID 0 SSDs on all the newer Intel chipsets, although IMO running RAID 0 with SSDs is simply e-peen. It only improves benchmarks and not real world performance.

Glad to hear that it is all good now though.

The only thing that you lose for now is the ability to use Samsung Magician, but you can still do firmware updates by another method when and if necessary. Sooner or later Samsung will get their act together and fix Magician.