help setting up raid

[(v)estra]

im a noob when it comes to hds so this might be frustrating for those who try and help me...
1st question can u set up raid using ide cables or does it have to be sata cables? i only have 1 sata converter...
2nd how do u set up raid in the bios...and how can u set up raid when u dont have a floppy drive ? i have a floppy drive now
and last can someone give me a detailed step by step instruction on how to set up raid? plzzzzzzzzzz

(the detailed instructions needs to be set as a sticky b/c there isnt anything on how to setup raid just what raid is :P)

thx to anyone who can help me
Mestra

come on guys i gotta get this thing setup b/c when my new vid card come in my comp will be complete

[(v)estra]

come one someone here help me i cant figure this out how do i get my hds detected for raid... they are both maxtor 80 gigs with the 8mb cache

[Xaotic]

I don't run IDE RAID, but the basics are:

The controller can be either SATA or PATA. If it's SATA and you have PATA interface drives, you will need the converters from PATA to SATA for the drives. For SATA, it's one drive per channel. On a PATA RAID, using 2 drives(everything varies by number of drives, controller and number of channels), set both for master and attach one drive to each channel. Boot, the drives should detect provided the controller is enabled in the mainboard BIOS, and enter the RAID BIOS, you will be able to set the array parameters within this utility. Once the array is configured, you'll save the configuration and boot to install the OS. You WILL have to have a FDD, either internal or USB, to install the RAID drivers for the OS to use. Unfortunately, there's no way around it. Hit F6 and install the drivers when prompted. Before you start look into slipstreaming Service Pack 1 for XP or 4 for 2000 to enable 48bit LBA addressing. There was a link to a good site in a thread here a couple of days ago. Install and you'll be in business. Always remember to back up any critical data, since RAID-0 is less safe than standard IDE drives.

[(v)estra]

i will get specific :P i have 2 maxtor 80 gig hds with the 8mb cache as of now i have 1 run off of ide and 1 of off sata (only have 1 sata converter) i dont know how to set this up in bios... i did install the drivers for it and when i hit ctr-i and go into the raid thing and click create raid volume it says invaliad raid peramiter (or something to that affect) what do i need to do
once again im sorry for being a nub at this but ive never had a chance to use 2xhds and never even thought about raid
thx again
Mestra

[juliendogg]

No, u can't do that. you will have to check the documentation for you board, but AFAIK there are no boards that support ATA raid and SATA raid at the same time. IE the ATA controller is NOT capable of raid, unless there are a second pair of IDE ports on the motherboard specifically for raid. In any case you could not raid 2 drives unless they are on the same controller. Grab another adapter. :D.


cheers,

J.