urgent RAID 0 question, please help!

ok i just got my 2nd 120gb drive and i want to do a RAID 0 with the 2 of them (theyre identical models) but i want to make sure my plan will work.

right now im running off of my 160GB drive, SATA 3 on my mobo.

my 2 identical drives are SATA 1 and 2 on my mobo, and my dvd burner is on SATA 4.

when i go into my computer management, my 2 identical drives show up on one SATA controller, while the 160 and my dvd burner show up on the other.

can i set up the RAID 0 without losing ANY data from my 160gb drive? im planning on using the RAID stuff that came on my DFI mobo disc

Do you plan on running windows on the 2x 120's, or on your 160? You can set up a software raid within XP by opening the run prompt and typing "compmgmt.msc /s" (without the "'s). Then go to disk management.

Another way to set up raid would be as follows: Right before windows starts up, you should see a screen that says something like this: Press F4, or Control A, or something, to enter SATA/Raid config. Press F4 or whatever it tells you to press, and set up your raid array. Windows XP can install onto that array, and unless you manualy erase all the data on your 160gb, it will not be affected.

as of RIGHT now im going to keep running off my 160gb but tomorrow i will probably install windows on it.

ill try the cmdprompt version 1st and if i cant figure that out ill do the startup version.

thanks!

hmm... what am i looking for in disk management?

It should show your 2 120gb's. I believe you right click and select "new volume" (I may be wrong) and it gives the option of a simple, mirror or striped volume. Striped is probably what you want, it is the raid for speed. Its always preferable to set it up in your board's raid bios though.

hmm, i get:

open
explore
(greyed out)mark partition as active(/greyed out)
change drive letter and paths
format...
delete partition...
properties
help


im guessing delete the partitions?

well i got it set up via the BIOS, but now i cant get my windows to initialize the array... if only i could find a way to start the "initialize and convert disk wizard" i might have a chance

after creating the array in the raid bios, there should be no partitions on it until you purposely create them.

Right Click: My Computer
Select Manage
Select Storage: Disk Management

You should see your unformatted array appearing as one, 240gb unformatted drive. Just do a regular format and you should be good to go.