Raid1 question

[Guest Console Peasant]

With Raid1 do the drives have to be identical? I want my content to be safe but buying 2 4tb drives or 2 8tb drives is very expensive so I was thinking maybe buy one 4tb drive and raid1 with a 2tb drive until I use the space? Is that possible? Then once I get over 2tb buy another 4tb drive? Or does the drive have to be the same size?

[Vitalius]

With Raid1 do the drives have to be identical? I want my content to be safe but buying 2 4tb drives or 2 8tb drives is very expensive so I was thinking maybe buy one 4tb drive and raid1 with a 2tb drive until I use the space? Is that possible? Then once I get over 2tb buy another 4tb drive? Or does the drive have to be the same size?

They can be different sizes, but you will only have 2TB to use. You cannot go over 2TB when you RAID 1 together a 2TB drive with a 4TB drive.

The volume will only show 2TB as available space.

Yes, you can do that. You would not lose any data by disassembling the RAID1, then replacing the 2TB drive with the 4TB drive. Then the volume should show up as 4TB, but if it doesn't, you might need to reformat it, or just format the extra space in Disk Management.

[Guest Console Peasant]

They can be different sizes, but you will only have 2TB to use. You cannot go over 2TB when you RAID 1 together a 2TB drive with a 4TB drive.

The volume will only show 2TB as available space.

Yes, you can do that. You would not lose any data by disassembling the RAID1, then replacing the 2TB drive with the 4TB drive. Then the volume should show up as 4TB, but if it doesn't, you might need to reformat it, or just format the extra space in Disk Management.

Wow thats amazing! I cant wait. I'm really worried about my old drives so this will comfort me and my files! Thinking of going 1tb raid1 first

[KirbyTech]

Wow thats amazing! I cant wait. I'm really worried about my old drives so this will comfort me and my files! Thinking of going 1tb raid1 first

If you are using this as a secondary drive why not just backup the 2 tb of most important files and use the full 4 TB. Sure you could lose stuff from one day but not a huge deal I am guessing this would also allow you to have the full 4tb of space while having 2tb redundant

[ChineseChef]

I am going to agree with @KirbyTech here.  RAID 1 just gives you UP time really, if you are just looking to backup data, it would actually be safer to use the disks separately, and back up whatever data you need manually or automatically.  Rebuilding the RAID1 into a larger volume may not work with your controller, so I wouldn't risk it.  Plus, for secondary storage, you don't need the up time that RAID1 is made for.  Just make duplicates of your data for now, and if one disk fails, the other should be fine.  Plus this allows for actual data redundancy, meaning that if you corrupt or delete data from disk 1, it will still be on disk 2. 

[Guest Console Peasant]

I am going to agree with @KirbyTech here.  RAID 1 just gives you UP time really, if you are just looking to backup data, it would actually be safer to use the disks separately, and back up whatever data you need manually or automatically.  Rebuilding the RAID1 into a larger volume may not work with your controller, so I wouldn't risk it.  Plus, for secondary storage, you don't need the up time that RAID1 is made for.  Just make duplicates of your data for now, and if one disk fails, the other should be fine.  Plus this allows for actual data redundancy, meaning that if you corrupt or delete data from disk 1, it will still be on disk 2. 

Its for games and stuff, so it changes all the time. So If one of my 2 drives fails It will be exactly how it was before it crashed.

[ChineseChef]

Its for games and stuff, so it changes all the time. So If one of my 2 drives fails It will be exactly how it was before it crashed.

 

Ahh, if you are running live data, than yes, RAID 1 would be better than backups.  But, really, the only changing data would be save files.

[Guest Console Peasant]

Ahh, if you are running live data, than yes, RAID 1 would be better than backups.  But, really, the only changing data would be save files.

Nope, im constantly adding games  and other data :]

[ChineseChef]

Nope, im constantly adding games  and other data :]

 

That is what nightly replication is for, lol.  But RAID 1 would likely serve you better, just be aware that you may have to reformat to expand the array if your controller won't allow you to expand the array.

[Captain_WD]

With Raid1 do the drives have to be identical? I want my content to be safe but buying 2 4tb drives or 2 8tb drives is very expensive so I was thinking maybe buy one 4tb drive and raid1 with a 2tb drive until I use the space? Is that possible? Then once I get over 2tb buy another 4tb drive? Or does the drive have to be the same size?

 

Hey Console Peasant,

 

RAID generally limits all drives in the array to the size of the smallest one and the speed of the slowest one. Theoretically, you can put any two drives in a RAID array, but you would lose speed and capacity. Having similar drives in terms of manufacturer and model is also advised as differences in firmware might cause problems and drive dropouts. 

 

For now I can suggest using the larger drive as a single one and configure a continuous backup to the smaller one and keeping system images on an external storage drive for best redundancy and security until you can get two identical large drives for RAID1. 

 

Also do have in mind that RAID does not mean backup, it can only give you redundancy.

 

Captain_WD.

[Guest Console Peasant]

 

Hey Console Peasant,

 

RAID generally limits all drives in the array to the size of the smallest one and the speed of the slowest one. Theoretically, you can put any two drives in a RAID array, but you would lose speed and capacity. Having similar drives in terms of manufacturer and model is also advised as differences in firmware might cause problems and drive dropouts. 

 

For now I can suggest using the larger drive as a single one and configure a continuous backup to the smaller one and keeping system images on an external storage drive for best redundancy and security until you can get two identical large drives for RAID1. 

 

Also do have in mind that RAID does not mean backup, it can only give you redundancy.

 

Captain_WD.

 

Thanks for the explaination, but what is a redudancy of data?

Also, My 2TB is full and I have a 1TB free drive, which means I can't back it up, I'd need to buy another 2TB+

 

Thanks,

Console Peasant.

[wpirobotbuilder]

Thanks for the explaination, but what is a redudancy of data?

Also, My 2TB is full and I have a 1TB free drive, which means I can't back it up, I'd need to buy another 2TB+

 

Thanks,

Console Peasant.

It means that you will not have your computer go down immediately if you lose a drive. Your computer can keep operating while you buy a replacement drive.

 

You could back up only certain data, the data you care about most.

[Guest Console Peasant]

It means that you will not have your computer go down immediately if you lose a drive. Your computer can keep operating while you buy a replacement drive.

 

You could back up only certain data, the data you care about most.

Does that mean I lose my data? Because if I can keep my system running and have my files safe that would be what I want.

[wpirobotbuilder]

Does that mean I lose my data? Because if I can keep my system running and have my files safe that would be what I want.

If you have redundancy, you will not lose your data if you only have one drive failure. You can continue to operate while you replace that failed drive.

 

However, just having redundancy doesn't mean you have a backup. If you accidentally delete a file then RAID will not help you recover it.

[Guest Console Peasant]

If you have redundancy, you will not lose your data if you only have one drive failure. You can continue to operate while you replace that failed drive.

 

However, just having redundancy doesn't mean you have a backup. If you accidentally delete a file then RAID will not help you recover it.

thats fine for me

Thanks for the information!

[Captain_WD]

Thanks for the explaination, but what is a redudancy of data?

Also, My 2TB is full and I have a 1TB free drive, which means I can't back it up, I'd need to buy another 2TB+

 

Thanks,

Console Peasant.

 

 

As @wpirobotbuilder explained, redundancy is not the same as a backup. Redundancy means you can suffer one or more (depending on the level of redundancy) drive failures and still have your data safe and the ability to restore it. Let's say you have 2 drives in RAID1. One of the drives mimics every action of the primary drive and creates a identical mirrored copy of it. If something happens with either of the drives, the other one still has he data and you are able to rebuild it. Another example would be if you have 3 drives in RAID5 and one of them fails. You can't use the data until you plug another drive in the system, but then you are able to rebuild it. If you lose 2, though, you won't be able to. This is called one-drive failure tolerance. Different RAID types offer different amount of drive failure tolerance. 

Redundancy does not guarantee your data's safety if something happens with your whole system (power shortage, physical damage, etc.). A backup is a place to store copies of your data that is not attached to your system and can keep your data safe even if the system is completely destroyed.

 

Captain_WD.

[Guest Console Peasant]

 

As @wpirobotbuilder explained, redundancy is not the same as a backup. Redundancy means you can suffer one or more (depending on the level of redundancy) drive failures and still have your data safe and the ability to restore it. Let's say you have 2 drives in RAID1. One of the drives mimics every action of the primary drive and creates a identical mirrored copy of it. If something happens with either of the drives, the other one still has he data and you are able to rebuild it. Another example would be if you have 3 drives in RAID5 and one of them fails. You can't use the data until you plug another drive in the system, but then you are able to rebuild it. If you lose 2, though, you won't be able to. This is called one-drive failure tolerance. Different RAID types offer different amount of drive failure tolerance. 

Redundancy does not guarantee your data's safety if something happens with your whole system (power shortage, physical damage, etc.). A backup is a place to store copies of your data that is not attached to your system and can keep your data safe even if the system is completely destroyed.

 

Captain_WD.

 

It's hard for me to backup 2TB so this is the safest and cheapest option. I can't tihnk of a way to backup all my data everyday (2TB) without wasting time and money on new drives

[Captain_WD]

It's hard for me to backup 2TB so this is the safest and cheapest option. I can't tihnk of a way to backup all my data everyday (2TB) without wasting time and money on new drives

 

 

I could suggest that you do system images and store them somewhere else. They require much less space and are easier to set up. Here's more info on it: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/what-is-a-system-image

 

Captain_WD.

[Guest Console Peasant]

 

I could suggest that you do system images and store them somewhere else. They require much less space and are easier to set up. Here's more info on it: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/what-is-a-system-image

 

Captain_WD.

 

alright, maybe you are right, but I'll have to restrict how often I do it as it will be quite the size, even with compression etc.

 

Thanks mate

[Captain_WD]

alright, maybe you are right, but I'll have to restrict how often I do it as it will be quite the size, even with compression etc.

 

Thanks mate

 

You can decrease the size of your images by moving your pagefile on another partition, performing a disk cleanup and emptying your trash bin as well as cleaning your registry. Also if you have less-storage demanding programs, you can move them to another partition so they don't take part in the image.

 

Captain_WD.