Dual boot & RAID Q's

[jw214]

i am wanting to setup a 0+1 RAID to backup my windows with two HDD's.will i have to reformat and reload windows if i want to use the drive i am currently loaded on as one of the RAID disks? or can i just install all the RAID drivers and software and still manage?

here is the second part.i want to run another OS on a 3rd HDD and boot into either OS, if possible. is this possible or will the RAID stop me from running a dual boot?

 

[jw214]

maybe i posted this in the wrong section...

 

[johnb35]

usually when you set up any type of raid you need to do a fresh install of windows.

 

[Geoff]

I believe you can keep your files if you do a software RAID, however I would recommend doing a RADIO via the onboard RAID controller, which would require you to reinstall all your data, as the drives are wiped.

 

[jw214]

ok, so i would probably be better off doing a fresh install of windows and setup the RAID when prompted by windows install. now, do you happen to know if i will still be able to run another OS on a third HDD and boot into either ?

 

[johnb35]

ok, so i would probably be better off doing a fresh install of windows and setup the RAID when prompted by windows install. now, do you happen to know if i will still be able to run another OS on a third HDD and boot into either ?

You have to setup raid in the bios before you install windows.

 

[jw214]

You have to setup raid in the bios before you install windows.

i was just reading that part in my mobo manual. i guess i will just get the RAID setup and then try to setup a dual boot afterwards. if its possible, i suppose it will let me.if not, i wonder what will happen. dont you just love trial and error ?

 

[Quick69GTO]

The third drive in a RAID 0+1 will not be accessible. It is strictly used to back up the other two RAID 0 drives. You can partition the RAID 0+1 (three drives) array with two partitions for two different operating systems.
If you set up two drives in RAID 0, install Windows on them, then add the third drive as an independent storage drive (not part of the RAID array), then you can dual boot using the third drive for the second O.S. The drawback to this; you won't have an automatic backup for the RAID 0 array. You will have to manually back it up.

Good luck!