mass storage help

[skier]

Hi everyone!

so i've been running a 1TB storage drive that I run some massive programs like my steam folder for one (LOVE STEAM FOR THIS REASON) and the 1TB drive is just getting smaller and smaller, im using 800GB now and thats because i've been conserving space for a while now. but as long as I've had the 1TB Cav black i've been wanting some redundancy, so finally i hit two birds with one stone and picked up a pair of 2TB 7200rpm Barracudas,

my question: can I configure the drives or software so that I use one drive primarily and mirror any changed files to the 2nd? or do i have to set up raid and have the two just act as a single drive, i'm clueless on raid as ive never had the drives to utilize it but now i finally do

I would appreciate any advice and keep in mind right now Im running my sig rig with a 64G SSD but plan to replace the SSD with my 250 GB Barracuda or my Caviar black because I plan to get a larger SSD down the line as 64 still just isnt enough (understandably)

I Just finished getting the drives on to check that they both work, but i need to install win 7 on my GFs laptop because it still has vista and is having aneurisms periodically now so plenty of time

Hope you all are doing well!

[kenc51]

RAID1 is what you're looking for. You enable it in the bios on the 2x drives. Then they will "mirror" each other.
If one fails, the other still has the data. You can also do it via windows in pure software if you don't want the bios to do it.
In windows you just format both as dynamic disks and then create the raid volume.

[skier]

due to how often I reinstall windows i'm going to do the BIOS raid, just figured out how to do it, but my windows install doesnt work in raid mode, so i'll have to get ready to move everything and reinstall windows, but after i enable Raid mode in bios for the backup drives, think i'm going to have to install windows twice because my future main drive is currently the one with ALL my files on it lol getting confusing now because i have to have raid up to backup the files, but cant transfer on my current install because it wont work with raid xD

also if I have raid enabled and decide to overhaul and get a new motherboard, would I have to copy the mirrored files to ANOTHER drive first because setting up raid on the new board will wipe the drives, or will the new board be able to tell that they were previously in raid?

[Apoptosis]

switching boards with RAID can be a pain if the RAID controller software/hardware changes.

I highly advise updating your motherboard before setting up RAID as it will likely make life easier.

RAID 1 is the way to go though for important data you don't want to lose (unless you can afford to with a redundant array like RAID5 or higher).

[KnightRid]

OK, hook one of your 2tb up now and copy everything from your main drive to it. Format main drive, enable RAID (I do not understand why you cant enable RAID without redoing your computer as Windows would pick up the new BIOS setting and install what it needs, unless you are using XP or an old version), reinstall Windows on main drive, copy what you need from the 2tb back to the main drive then format the 2tb. Install both 2tb in the system using the RAID SATA ports, make sure you had RAID 1 selected in the BIOS when you turned it on, windows will install stuff, format RAID array if needed, use and have fun.

You should be able to enable RAID in the BIOS without having any drives hooked up and never remove your main hard drive so you could back it up to the RAID array and then reinstall windows on the main drive and pull the files from the RAID array after windows is installed.

[skier]

raid is set up and i'm copying everything off the cav 1TB now, 660GB takes a long time to transfer, now at 53MB/s

i dont plan on my major upgrade until after I buy a car which might not be until spring when my current inspection runs out (and I just got a new job as Tier 1 support for an IT firm and almost double the pay I was making 2 weeks ago so the 2 drives were in celebration of the job offer :D ) so i'm planning on a Q2 2013 rebuild with top notch gear from Nvidia and Intel at the time, so by then another drive won't be an issue- I'll just get an external 2tb drive and slip the drive in it in my system for the xfer and be off to the races with redundant storage in the mean time and then have a good external drive for later

Thanks for the input guys!