Stupid JBOD Question

[gordyhulten]

I've got a pair of SATAI drives that are already loaded with data. I'd like to add them to my existing new build, which is already running two drives in RAID0 on the nVidia SATA controller on the ASUS A8N-SLI Premium motherboard.

I'd like to add these drives to the other SATA controller (SI 3114R) on the mobo.

I don't want to lose any of the data on either of the two additional drives. If I add them as JBOD, will I be forced to format them or corrupt the data? If so, does anyone have any ideas as to how I can add these drives to my existing system without losing any data, and without screwing up my drive letters (and consequently, my WinXP installations)? These drives will only be used for backup on and storage.

Thanks,
gordy

[Quailane]

I don't believe there is a way to do a jbod without reformatting the disks.

[gordyhulten]

I don't believe there is a way to do a jbod without reformatting the disks.

Crap. OK, I'll just get an add-on SATA controller card.

Thanks,
Gordy

[Snugglebear]

You can mount the volumes to folders instead of drive letters. Avoid JBOD if you can, as not only does the volume build require a wipe, but if one of the drives in the JBOD set fails, the whole volume goes. Some of the data will probably be recoverable, but that assumes the files are being written whole to specific drives, which JBOD offers no guarantee of. Likewise, if you lose the drive(s) containing the MFT, the data is effectively gone (NTFS has two MFTs, but that is also not a guarantee of safety).