Question Problem trying to RAID 0 two SSDs

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

I'm trying to put two SSDs in RAID 0 in Windows 10 on a HP Z820. I read the Tom's Hardware article about using Storage Spaces. I selected the two drives to create a pool, but after about 20 seconds or so, it came back saying that it couldn't create a pool. I tried it again, same thing.

The SSDs are both 2TB, but one is a WD and the other is a Crucial. Both show 1.83TB. Is being different brands the problem?

PS - I've gone into Diak Manager to try to create a new striped volume with the two SSDs. They are #3 and #4. I select them and the total space shows up as the sum of the two, but the maximum available is the size of one of them. With striping, the size should be doubled, right?

Also, #3 shows up twice in the disk manager, once unknown/not initialized and once basic/online. #4 shows up basic/online. Is this a problem?

Added: Storage Sources, even when trying to add one SSD to the pool, says "request not supported", and then if I click on details, it says ""check drive connections, then try again". The drives are definitely connected.

 

[popatim]

Probably since both make drives of varying configuration & performance and you ideally, need two roughly equal drives.

Other issue might be that you are going across two different drive controllers or types (Ahci & IDE for example)

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

Probably since both make drives of varying configuration & performance and you ideally, need two roughly equal drives.

Other issue might be that you are going across two different drive controllers or types (Ahci & IDE for example)

They show up as exactly the same size. They are both plugged into adjacent SATA connectors (same speed).

... And I thought that it might be a GPT/MBR issue, but they are both set to GPT.

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

Probably since both make drives of varying configuration & performance and you ideally, need two roughly equal drives.

Aparantly the drives don't have to be very similar. About 2-3 years ago, the office where my wife works were getting several workstations from Dell. Dell asked them if they wanted an SSD. They said yes. They asked if they wanted RAID - they said yes. So they have a 500GB SSD in RAID with a 2TB HD. I looked inside one of them, and sure enough, that is how they did it. I don't know which RAID configuration they used. But RAID 0 doesn't make sense - there would be very little extra speed. I guess it could be RAID 1, with the HD mirroring the SSD...

 

[seanwebster]

Why not use the built-in LSI or Intel RAID controllers instead? Give those a try: https://support.hp.com/ro-en/document/c01722374

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

Why not use the built-in LSI or Intel RAID controllers instead? Give those a try: https://support.hp.com/ro-en/document/c01722374

That is a very long process and I'm not very comfortable with going into the BIOS (I'm afraid of messing something up). I'll give it a try, though.

ADDED:
I tried it, and as usual, when I try to follow a long set of instructions, it gets to a point where the instructions don't match what is on the screen (even though this is from HP).

At step 5, it says to select ""RAID+AHCI". Nothing matched that, so I selected AHCI. Then things went OK until step 12, where it says to select "SATA RAID Option ROM Download". Nothing on the screen said "RAID", or even sounded close.

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

PS: I see PCI RAID controllers with SATA connections for not too much money. Is that a good option?

 

[seanwebster]

That is a very long process and I'm not very comfortable with going into the BIOS (I'm afraid of messing something up). I'll give it a try, though.

ADDED:
I tried it, and as usual, when I try to follow a long set of instructions, it gets to a point where the instructions don't match what is on the screen (even though this is from HP).

At step 5, it says to select ""RAID+AHCI". Nothing matched that, so I selected AHCI. Then things went OK until step 12, where it says to select "SATA RAID Option ROM Download". Nothing on the screen said "RAID", or even sounded close.

What were the options given to you? The ones other than AHCI, being specific? You are not to use AHCI if you want to use RAID. Update your BIOS?

If you can set it up to RAID mode, you should be able to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver (if connected to the respective ports) or LSI RAID manager (if connected to the respective ports) and configure the RAID 0 array.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-z820-workstation/5225041

There^ it lists IRST 4.3.0.1198 Rev.B as the latest IRST driver.

Before you change from AHCI to RAID, however, follow this guide: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...10-with-raid-controller.3455345/post-20896162

PS: I see PCI RAID controllers with SATA connections for not too much money. Is that a good option?

It would be the same as using the onboard RAID controllers you have already, but use up more power and take up a PCIe slot and add more heat to your system. You will still have to deal with a "somewhat" complicated install/setup process either way.

 

[mdd1963]

Why are we even determined to use RAID 0, where the slightest glitch on either drive can easily result in the loss of all data from the RAID?

SSDs are plenty fast as is, and, an NVME drive (for modern mainboards that support NVME boot) is already as fast as a hypothetical RAID with 4-6 SSDs in RAID 0 anyway.

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

What were the options given to you? The ones other than AHCI, being specific? You are not to use AHCI if you want to use RAID. Update your BIOS?

If you can set it up to RAID mode, you should be able to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver (if connected to the respective ports) or LSI RAID manager (if connected to the respective ports) and configure the RAID 0 array.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-z820-workstation/5225041

There^ it lists IRST 4.3.0.1198 Rev.B as the latest IRST driver.

Before you change from AHCI to RAID, however, follow this guide: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...10-with-raid-controller.3455345/post-20896162


It would be the same as using the onboard RAID controllers you have already, but use up more power and take up a PCIe slot and add more heat to your system. You will still have to deal with a "somewhat" complicated install/setup process either way.

I don't remember the options exactly, but I don't remember seeing anything that said RAID. I will look at those links.

It looks like your last paragraph is responding to my question about using a PCI RAID controller. The reason is that I saw what the setup looks like on it, and it looks like something I can easily do. I've spent 2-3 hours trying to get it work with what is supposed to be built-in, with no success. (Also, I don't want to risk messing up something.)

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

Why are we even determined to use RAID 0, where the slightest glitch on either drive can easily result in the loss of all data from the RAID?

SSDs are plenty fast as is, and, an NVME drive (for modern mainboards that support NVME boot) is already as fast as a hypothetical RAID with 4-6 SSDs in RAID 0 anyway.

For one thing, I can reproduce my data if I lose it. Secondly, I'd like to have a Samsung Evo Plus m.2, but at present they only go to 2TB. The 4TB ones are supposed to come out in April - I hope they don't cost too much.

And finally, I have data files from about 500GB to 1.6TB in size. I had a 2TB SATA SSD with the 1.6TB file on it. That didn't leave much room (I also have some HDs.) I bought a second 2TB SATA SSD, first to have more space for the big files. But it takes a while to read a 1.6TB file from a SSD. Then I realized that I could get more speed and have more flexibility for the large files if I put them in RAID 0. (With the 1.6TB file on one SSD, the other 400GB is too small for another file, but RAID 0 would make that space usable, plus with a speed advantage.)

 

[popatim]

Are both drives empty? If not, backup whatever is on them and then delete any volumes/partitions on them.
This also deletes everything on them.

When they are both empty and say unallocated then right click one (in the grey are where it says 'Disk 2' for example) and select New Striped Volume then click Next.

Now you should be on the Select Disks page. Select one of the two on the left and click the ADD button in the middle. Repeat this for the other Disk. Now before you click Next, make sure the 'Select Size on Disk' field is set to the max. Type in the numbers that you see in the 'Total Volume Size' field. Now click Next.

Now select 'Assign a Drive Letter' if it's not checked already; you can select any drive letter that is not already not in use of just go with the default. Click Next.

The 'Format Volume' screen is now shown. make sure 'Format Volume' is selected, Leave it as NTFS, I would suggest 128K for the Allocation unit size, Enter in a Volume label (I suggest a short one like Raid0 ), Turn on Quick Format and then click Next.

Now click Finish

 

[GeorgiaOverdrive]

Are both drives empty? If not, backup whatever is on them and then delete any volumes/partitions on them.
This also deletes everything on them.
...

I've had that computer disconnected for a few days while I worked on another one. Now it is back up.

You gave ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL directions!!! They worked almost without a hitch.

The only hitch was that one still held the page file, so I couldn't delete the volume. Once I changed that, it was a piece of cake, thanks to your wonderful directions. And, 128K wasn't one of the options - I delected "default".