SSD Boot Drive and RAID 0 Storage?

[monoles]

I have a OCZ Vertex 2 120 GB SSD, which i would like to install my Windows 7 Pro on it, and use it as my OS and apps drive. I then have 4 250 GB HDD's (2 Seagate and 2 Western Digital Blue), and i would like to RAID 0 these drives and use them as my data storage.

I have played around in BIOS for a bit and came to the conclusion that, i can only setup RAID 0 in BIOS IF I boot from the RAID drives.
What i have currently done is, installed Win 7 on my SSD, then plugged all drives in, and changed the SATA mode to 'RAID' in Bios (For my HDD's) then i hit Ctrl + I to set up raid. I Then select just the 4 HDD's and i setup RAID 0. THEN, when i boot from the SSD, the 'Starting windows' logo moves for about 2 seconds before it freezes, and a blue screen (Looks blue screen of death) flashed for a micro second.
HOWEVER, when i change the SATA mode BACK to ACHI i can boot from the SSD fine.

Basically, by changing the SATA mode setting i can either, boot from an SSD and have no raid, or have RAID but no OS.

Is there a way to, Boot an OS from a single SSD, whilst having a RAID 0 array set up purely for storage?


Thank you so much.

 

[EarthDog]

You need to Raid the same drives.. those are different and it could cause issues.

what motherboard do you have? You should be able to use a different set of ports and put those in Raid while keeping the SSD as the boot.

 

[\dev\goat]

Just stripe them in windows disk manager. Hardware raid is useless in your scenario and with those different drives it might turn into a mess. You'll get the same performance and you won't have to worry about using the raid bios.

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/windows-platform/articles/68572.aspx#

 

[monoles]

You need to Raid the same drives.. those are different and it could cause issues.

Well, i have RAID 0 them before, and there wasn't any issues. I understand it may be more prone to issues, but atm i really don't mind, as long as they work. Ill be backing up frequently anyway.

what motherboard do you have? You should be able to use a different set of ports and put those in Raid while keeping the SSD as the boot.

I have a GA-Z77X-UD3H (Gigabyte) I have four SATA 2 port (the 4 HDD's are in those) and 2 SATA 3 ports (SSD and DVD drive are in those). I Do believe my motherboard has some sort of 'Marvel' feature, which i read is used for RAID, although i have know idea how to set it up.
Thanks

 

[EarthDog]

What you need to do is make sure your array is setup on the same controller. I think that would have to be on the marvel controller, and SATA2 ports. Its in your manual which ports are which.

 

[monoles]

Just stripe them in windows disk manager. Hardware raid is useless in your scenario and with those different drives it might turn into a mess. You'll get the same performance and you won't have to worry about using the raid bios.

Thanks for your response. I did actually have these drives in RAID 0 through windows, however after research i discovered that the BIOS RAID setup is more reliable and faster, and it just seems like the legitimate way of doing it.

What you need to do is make sure your array is setup on the same controller. I think that would have to be on the marvel controller, and SATA2 ports. Its in your manual which ports are which.

Under the 'Configuring Marvell 88SE9172 SATA Controllers' heading, the manual reads: "The Marvell 88SE9172 controllers control the on board eSATA connectors".

Would this mean that to set the SSD to ACHI whilst keeping all SATA 2 ports set to RAID, i would have to have the SSD plugged into the back of the computer? I don't think my SATA cable will from from my HDD bay to the back of the comp :s

 

[monoles]

What you need to do is make sure your array is setup on the same controller. I think that would have to be on the marvel controller, and SATA2 ports. Its in your manual which ports are which.

Turns out standard SATA cables don't fit in my eSATA ports. So i couldn't plug my SSD into it anyway.

 

[monoles]

I think i may have done it, although I'm not sure if it's right. Please tell me if this method is bad/incorrect.

i followed these step to edit the registry.

A) With RAID mode disabled in bios, from within Windows launch Regedit.exe (start > type "regedit.exe" [enter])
B) Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\iaStorV
C) In the right-hand column, you should see a value named Start. Make a note of the current number, then Double-click this entry and change the data from 1 to 0.

I then, enabled RAID in the SATA controllers (bios), and i then continued to boot. WITH NO BLUE SCREEN!
Now that i have windows open, i installed 'Intel Rapid Storage Technology', where i clicked 'Create' and i setup my 4 HDD's in RAID 0.
Everything works fine.

Two questions; Is this method unsafe or improper? And, is this method the SAME as setting up in BIOS (Ctrl + I menu)?
Note: when i restart, and i view the RAID menu after POST, it says all four of the HDD's are "Member Disk (0)".

Thank you

 

[Janus67]

Sounds right to me.

 

[Convicted1]

Sounds right to me.

+1... This is the correct method.

 

[monoles]

Sounds right to me.

YAY! I was unsure, because i know playing with the registry can be dangerous.

Anyway, thanks for your help.