Setting up a [software] RAID?

[benguild]

I read/write a lot of data and eventually this drive is going to fail. I have another one here that's larger then the one that came with this machine.

What are my options?

 

[Pressure]

What exactly is your question?

I am thinking you are meaning backup-wise?

 

[Tracer]

You'll have to temporarily offload your data and then create a mirrored RAID Array with another Physical Hard Disk of the same size.

If you're worried about backups, hold off until Leopard and then buy a External Hard Drive to back up onto.

Tracer

 

[benguild]

I'm ideally trying to setup a second disk that's invisible to me, yet keeps a live copy of my main drive. However, I occasionally use Bootcamp... what are my options? None? (except hardware RAID?)

 

[ZachPruckowski]

Software RAID 1 is an option for you. You want a set of identical drives, because the RAID 1 will be the size of the smallest drive. I'm not sure if you can partition a RAID 1 (I know you can't partition a RAID 0).

So you would need a pair of drives for Mac OS X, and a third drive for Windows.

Here's how to set it up:

1) Install the drives physically.
2) Insert your OS X install disk.
3) Copy everything on your main drive to the third drive.
4) Select the paired drives in Disk Utility (they should now be empty) and create a RAID 1.
5) Copy all the stuff out of the third drive over onto the RAID 1.
6) Boot into OS X.
7) Open the Boot Camp Assistant.
8) Install XP on the third drive.

 

[benguild]

5) Copy all the stuff out of the third drive over onto the RAID 1.

Well, that being the case, I'll probably pickup an extra larger drive and use those in the RAID 1.

However, this Step 5 of "copy all the stuff out of the third drive"... that would be my original drive then. Is it possible for me to do this automatically through Disk Utility? Afterward, I could delete the OS X partition and expand that of Bootcamp to use the whole disk, no?

 

[benguild]

Help?

 

[benguild]

 

[Sean Dempsey]

I know you can't partition a RAID 0

You can partition 2 drives the same beforehand, and combine each into a raid0. I have 2 physical disks in a Raid0, and that raid0 is in 3 partitions.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Software RAID 1 is an option for you. You want a set of identical drives, because the RAID 1 will be the size of the smallest drive. I'm not sure if you can partition a RAID 1 (I know you can't partition a RAID 0).

So you would need a pair of drives for Mac OS X, and a third drive for Windows.

Here's how to set it up:

1) Install the drives physically.
2) Insert your OS X install disk.
3) Copy everything on your main drive to the third drive.
4) Select the paired drives in Disk Utility (they should now be empty) and create a RAID 1.
5) Copy all the stuff out of the third drive over onto the RAID 1.
6) Boot into OS X.
7) Open the Boot Camp Assistant.
8) Install XP on the third drive.

Help?

He just answered your questions perfectly.

If you want a raid1, where you have 2 drives that invisibly mirror eachother, you'll need a 3rd drive for bootcamp.

Or, buy an external and superduper and it will mirror your OS to the external.

 

[TDPHunter]

If your going to have three drives, might as well make it a raid 5 lol. The best of the best : ) Oh and get a Raid Controller Card too if so. Actually for any Raid just because the load is all on the cpu and it will slow things down.