[SOLVED]Raid 1 on MSI k9a2 platinum-> tutorial will be made

[spottedzebra]

I have purchased 2 1tb WD 5400 rpm hdds. They are supposed to be in today, they are actually 'out for delivery' right now.

I bought them so i could put them in raid 1 on my msi k9a2 platinum. i did some research to make sure the board supports it before i purchased them. i would like to use the two ports on the t3 chip.

the only thing i don't know how to do is set up the raid in the bios. does anyone have experience with this? are there some steps i should take before i raid them? like format them or do you wait until they are in raid? is it as easy as plugging them in and just setting up the raid or not?

any help with this would be great. the rest of my rig is in sig. i am taking out the 500gb, it will be copied over to the raid once i have it set up. the 320gb has my OS and programs on it and it will stay untouched.

[FunkZ]

Enable RAID in the BIOS and reboot
There is typically a key-combo to enter the RAID setup like CTRL-A or CTRL-H
Select the disks and create the array
Boot to Windows
Install the RAID driver and reboot
Go to disk manager and create a partition on the new drive

Note that Windows will only see the array as 1 disk. You'll have to install a RAID management utility (usually provided by the manufacturer) to see the status of both disks from Windows.

[spottedzebra]

is the key combo pressed when you are in the bios? where would i find a raid driver on the discs that came with the mobo?

thanks for the help by the way.

[FunkZ]

There will be an extra screen for the RAID BIOS, after your normal motherboard BIOS POST, and before the OS splash screen.

Yes the RAID driver is supplied by the motherboard manufacturer.

[spottedzebra]

ok guess i will have to figure out how to get into that tonight. shouldn't be to hard.

i may have some more detailed questions later tonight if you are around. if not i am sure someone else here will have good advice.

thanks again.

[FunkZ]

According to your manual
Enter BIOS, Integrated Peripherals, On-Chip ATA Devices
Set RAID Mode to RAID, Save and Exit
On reboot, after normal POST, screen will prompt CTRL-F to enter FastBuild Utility
Appendix C walks you through creating an array (logical disk)
Once the array is created you just have to install the Promise driver in Windows and load the management utility if you want, and create a partition on the new drive.

[spottedzebra]

oh sweet thanks man. i didn't even think about the manual i will use that and leave you alone.

Additional Comment:

ok i followed the manual exactly and i am now getting BSOD'd as soon at the loading bar for windows disappears. it's fast to it flashes and it's gone.

i restart and it gives the the black option screen. so i tried "starting widows normally" but it did the same. so i tired the safe more and it gets to crcdisk ( the last operation) and BSOD's again.

what should i try to do now?

[FunkZ]

Guess it doesn't like changing the controller to RAID mode, even though you didn't change the OS drive. You could change the setting back and use software RAID in Windows. Or boot from your Vista DVD and try running the repair, using your motherboard CD to load the RAID driver.

[spottedzebra]

hey guys i really need some help here so i am bumping this hoping someone can lend a hand. i have tried everything i can think and searched google which was no help. i followed what the manual said exactly and nothing is working.

i have come to the conclusion that my other hdd, the one besides the two that i am putting in raid, a 320gb that serves as my os and program storage is the problem but i don't know how to circumvent it.

i set the RAID mode to RAID and then save and exit. when the start-up checks for arrays i push ctrl+F and enter the set up. i construct my RAID 1 with the two 1tb hdd, save, exit and restart. it boots to bios then the first array check it works fine, THEN the second array check where it 'finds' the 320gb in an array of it's own. Now it boots to windows and the loading bar comes, finishes, then i get a BSOD immediately. I can't figure out why it makes the 320gb an array

i tried changing the settings in the bios specifically changing the RAID mode to AHCI and setting it up with that but to no avail. i also got into the RAID editing for the 320gb but the only option is to delete it which i would rather not do.

i am at a loss with this one. i spent two hours trying to do something trivial and i can't get it to work please shoot me or tell me this is not a trivial as i thought.

Additional Comment:

i got it figured out finally. i will post a tutorial on how this particular instance works so others may benefit from it.

i will link the tut back here when i am finished with it.