Windows 10: Trouble creating a RAID 1 Array

Originally, I wanted to create a RAID 1 Array using USB Drives lying around and test it out and see how well RAID 1 works. A message popped up when I clicked on the partition I wanted to mirror and said the operation failed because the Disk Management Console is not up to date. It suggested I refresh it, relaunch it, or even restart my computer. I tried all three things, and it still wouldn't let me mirror the partition. Then I realized that maybe Windows won't let me create a RAID 1 Array on USB Drives, so I went to the original plan I was going to do and grabbed my 500GB External HDD and my 120GB External SSD (they are both USB 3.0 connected enclosures) and when I tried to mirror a partition on my 500GB HDD using my SSD, it wouldn't let me use the SSD to mirror it. So then I tried using my internal windows 10 SSD to mirror my HDD. But, I needed to shrink my main partition on my internal SSD and it wouldn't let me shrink it saying there was a certain amount I could shrink it to, but I could only shrink 135MB at max and I have 89.4GB free on that partition. Any suggestions and help would be appreciated (and by the way, if you're wondering why I'm trying to run RAID 1 on an external HDD/SSD is just for testing and more file redundancy and performance).

:)

 

creating RAID-1 array

the importent issue for me now is HOW do I create the RAID-1 array.
I have the SATA/RAID drivers already installed (This is must for the machine to boot from SATA HD).
Question now is how make the RAID array to work from the bios.
the question if to go to RAID-1 or not is over *Wink

 

creating RAID-1 array

I have a great success *Rockout :rockout:
I write this post now while the array is created.

thanks to LairdDrambeg - read it here - http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=52856

the trick is to create a single HD striping (RAID-0) array and to migrate it to double HD mirror (RAID-1) array.

here are the steps one by one:
1. back up your valuable data *Wink
2. connect your new HD to the system.
3. Enable RAID in your BIOS, and add RAID support for the new HD only. reboot.
4. you'll be prompted to go into the RAID setup (F-10) - do it, and add the new blank HD into a new RAID-0 array (Striping). when asked to clear the disk hit N, though the disk is new and empty.
leave your old HD (the one with the data on it) out of any array
this is importent to load the RAID drivers into windows.
if you simply try to install the RAID drivers and the NVIDIA MediaShield they won't be installed since there is no RAID hardware.
Save and exit.
5. when Windows reload it will find the new hardware (your new RAID array). this is the time to reinstall the nVidia chipset drivers and MediaShield.
6. after all driver installed you'll ask to reboot. do it and make sure the system is loading correctly. Look in the device manager for the nVidia nForce RAID controler and nVidia nForce serial ATA control, under the SCSI and RAID controlers.
7. Restart your system, go back into the BIOS and enable RAID for the old drive too. Save and reboot.
8. Go into the RAID setup (F-10), remove the new HD from the RAID array and leave it unessigned.
create a new RAID-0 (striping) array, this time with the old HD. When asked to clear the disk hit N doh' *Stick Out Tongue . Save and reboot.
9. When Windows load you'll see the media shield Wizard saying you have an unessigned HD. Close the wizard and open the media shield (nVidia control panel - Storage).
10. select the Migrate ption, and migrate the existing RAID-0 into RAID-1, adding the new unessigned HD.

Good luck *Toast :toast:

 

creating RAID-1 array

WinXP does support raid. Most of the time you are talking about hardware, but WinXP can create a software mirror as well. If you are doing this in a controller setup for the motherboard (as opposed to the Disk Management console in XP), you are talking about hardware raid.

Read up on your manual about setting up a raid-1 array and if you can do it with a drive that already contains data. TBH, I have only created raid 0 and 5 arrays from drives that had no data on them. I'm thinking there may be a way to set up the raid 1 array and have it create the mirror disk, but I can't speak from experience.

And yes, you should have another identical drive. It is possible to do it with different drives, but performance and reliability can be affected.