[SOLVED] Raid 1 on Windows 7

[Bongert]

I was about to write an essay about how i couldnt enable raid even tho i should be able to i remembered i hadnt yet activated my windows 7 licence key. Am i correct in the assumption that the 30 day trial limits me from using raid until i actually activate my copy of windows?

 

[RealBeast]

I was about to write an essay about how i couldnt enable raid even tho i should be able to i remembered i hadnt yet activated my windows 7 licence key. Am i correct in the assumption that the 30 day trial limits me from using raid until i actually activate my copy of windows?

Perhaps, but importantly you do NOT want to use motherboard RAID, whether 0 or 1 as it provides very little protection for a consumer user. Motherboard RAID is highly prone to failure and RAID 1 is not a form of backup, use Macrium Reflect free version to backup your main drive.

And perhaps it is time to consider moving to Windows 10?

 

[Bongert]

Perhaps, but importantly you do NOT want to use motherboard RAID, whether 0 or 1 as it provides very little protection for a consumer user. Motherboard RAID is highly prone to failure and RAID 1 is not a form of backup, use Macrium Reflect free version to backup your main drive.

And perhaps it is time to consider moving to Windows 10?

The pc is not mine, but my mothers, who basically worked with windows 7 the day it launched and refuses to move on. the raid isnt meant as a backup but a simple protection against drive failure. ive used motherboard raid on my own system and havent had a problem with it. actually this is the first time hearing someone say i shouldnt use motherboard raid. is it really as bad as you say?

 

[RealBeast]

The pc is not mine, but my mothers, who basically worked with windows 7 the day it launched and refuses to move on. the raid isnt meant as a backup but a simple protection against drive failure. ive used motherboard raid on my own system and havent had a problem with it. actually this is the first time hearing someone say i shouldnt use motherboard raid. is it really as bad as you say?

Well since even a bios update or Windows update can corrupt it, yes. It is even a bigger problem IMO with W10 because of all the messed up semiannual updates. You are better off using Storage Spaces in windows than the motherboard controller to mirror the drive, as those things won't corrupt the array.

And yeah, I get the W7 love -- I still have dozens of users on it that I support.

 

[Bongert]

Well since even a bios update or Windows update can corrupt it, yes. It is even a bigger problem IMO with W10 because of all the messed up semiannual updates. You are better off using Storage Spaces in windows than the motherboard controller to mirror the drive, as those things won't corrupt the array.

And yeah, I get the W7 love -- I still have dozens of users on it that I support.

Tho she specifically asked not to have scheduled backups i guess shell have to live with it.

on another note, i was planning on getting a non-raid controller card and use software raid to have 4x 2TB drives in a raid 5 array. you seem to know your stuff, what software should i use? or should i rather invest in proper hardware raid?

 

[mdd1963]

RAID for the sake of RAID sounds more impressive than it is...; you'd likely be better off, both with more storage space and fiscally, simply buying a pair of 6 TB drives.

 

[RealBeast]

Tho she specifically asked not to have scheduled backups i guess shell have to live with it.

on another note, i was planning on getting a non-raid controller card and use software raid to have 4x 2TB drives in a raid 5 array. you seem to know your stuff, what software should i use? or should i rather invest in proper hardware raid?

At this point you would be better off with larger drives, but be sure to avoid the SMR (by all manufacturers). I have a couple of 8 disk RAID 6 arrays for video production, but it is only worth it because they are 14TB drives so no alternative.

If possible it is better to avoid RAID unless you need it for uptime (it is not a form of backup) but a failed drive or two will keep you working during a rebuild, albeit with slower writes.

 

[RealBeast]

HERE is the list of WD SMR drives to avoid and HERE is the Seagate list.

edit: if you ever build a FreeNAS storage box (similar to RAID but in Linux using zfs, which is more resilient than usual RAID due to the bit checking, the HBA (host bus adapter) that I found best and cheapest is the IBM M1015. You can find them under $50 on EBay.

 

[Bongert]

HERE is the list of WD SMR drives to avoid and HERE is the Seagate list.

edit: if you ever build a FreeNAS storage box (similar to RAID but in Linux using zfs, which is more resilient than usual RAID due to the bit checking, the HBA (host bus adapter) that I found best and cheapest is the IBM M1015. You can find them under $50 on EBay.

i was curious about your dislike of SMR and read a little bit. I may should have mentioned that i only need the raid for torrenting that i have running basically all day. so the drives are idle or at low transfer rate most of the time but for long periods of time. i think SMR should be fine for my particular use case. I dont think two larger drives make a lot of sense. they are pretty loud (i have one 8TB drive, and its pretty noisy) and upgrading is basically just "replace the old ones with bigger ones" instead of adding more to the array. im not really looking for backup (for my case) but just drive failure protection. at least for now. once it makes more sense to invest in ill consider a proper backup solution

 

[USAFRet]

i was curious about your dislike of SMR and read a little bit. I may should have mentioned that i only need the raid for torrenting that i have running basically all day. so the drives are idle or at low transfer rate most of the time but for long periods of time. i think SMR should be fine for my particular use case. I dont think two larger drives make a lot of sense. they are pretty loud (i have one 8TB drive, and its pretty noisy) and upgrading is basically just "replace the old ones with bigger ones" instead of adding more to the array. im not really looking for backup (for my case) but just drive failure protection. at least for now. once it makes more sense to invest in ill consider a proper backup solution

What does RAID have to do with 'torrenting'?

4x 2TB + RAID 5 = 6TB space.
Increasing that array drive space will require either another 2TB, or replacing all 4.

As far as 8TB drives being loud? I have 3 in my NAS. Pretty silent.
2x Seagate, 1x Toshiba

 

[RealBeast]

SMR drives use a shingled magnetic layer like roof shingles -- they overlap so larger areas must be rewritten and they do not perform as well. They also cause RAID or NAS failure due to the timing problem. In essence they are just not as good and fast of a drive and you should not buy one unless it is your only choice.

 

[popatim]

You are better off using Storage Spaces in windows than the motherboard controller to mirror the drive, as those things won't corrupt the array.

Sorry RB but I have the exact opposite experience. Storage Spaces gave me nothing but grief for the 2 yrs that I tried it and just this past august when, once again!, the two drives lost sync. This was the last straw. At least every month they lost sync and I was fed up so wiped them both & put them back on motherbd raid where they have worked fine since; just like before I decided to experiment with storage spaces crap.

 

[RealBeast]

Sorry RB but I have the exact opposite experience. Storage Spaces gave me nothing but grief for the 2 yrs that I tried it and just this past august when, once again!, the two drives lost sync. This was the last straw. At least every month they lost sync and I was fed up so wiped them both & put them back on motherbd raid where they have worked fine since; just like before I decided to experiment with storage spaces crap.

Good to know, I have only one machine (the wife one) using it and it has been fine. For myself I have two big RAID 6 arrays on Adaptec controllers for video project work. My individual machines have large drives and everything backs up to one of the arrays with Macrium paid version.

 

[popatim]

That's about the same as my setup except I have a separate server to back up the main server twice a day.