Help in KEEPING RAID systems after format!

DaYiM

New Member
Messages
6
Hello,
I have 3 RAID systems;
1. 2x HDD's Internals, in Simple Mode.
2. 4x HDD's Externals, in Spanned Mode.
3. 3x HDD's Externals, in Spanned Mode.
( 2 & 3; In MediaSonic enclosure, eSata Cable with PCI-Express )

I want to format my PC with clean install,
the problem is that all these RAID's are
SoftWare & the HDD's are DYNAMIC.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but will i be able to use this RAID's normally after the format?
Or i need to break all RAID's, then make it again with the newly installed windows? & HOW?!

PS: my windows 8.1 Pro is on separate SSD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
You will not be able to, after you do the format on the drives. You have to set your RAID back up afterwards. There are some motherboards, that you can specify in the bios, the Raid format. There are also some PCIe Boards, that will allow you to do the same thing.

You may be better in finding a motherboard that allows you to decide which RAID format you want (ie 1, 5, 10, 0 or JBOD). Even better would just go with a RAID enclosure, vs having one computer do it, unless that computer is being used as a server, then see above.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
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    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
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    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Yes you can break the system if you change the RAID setup. As for data loss, it depends on what you used for your RAID profile. As for knowing which RAID type you are using, Windows would tell you, the bios would tell you, software like HDInfo would also tell you. Even a Linux Live CD like Xubuntu 12.04 LTS, would tell you, if you used something like GPartd.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Yes you can break the system if you change the RAID setup. As for data loss, it depends on what you used for your RAID profile.

Great to know that,
How to know what is my raid profile?
and by the way i used Disk Managment to make all the raids.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
I don't know a lot about raid, but as you say you have software raid ,but they are not really a raid setup, from what I just read ,so in my opinion ,it looks like you would have to recreate software ones after the fresh install ,and It say to back up data on the drives before creating a new spanned mode raid
How to Create a Software RAID Array in Windows 7

a little read on what type of raid is best for you !
Raid Defined - RAID Definitions Made Simple!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1.1 enterprise
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hinze57
    CPU
    AMD FX 6100 6core 3.30gHz
    Motherboard
    gigibyte ga-78lmy-s2p
    Memory
    4gig ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radon hd5000 Series
    Sound Card
    onboard realtek hd
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" viewsonic/ 22"Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    128gig ssd Kingston
    80gig WD 10000 rpm spinner
    Case
    micro
    Keyboard
    microsoft curve 200
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless M215
    Internet Speed
    high speed 20
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    ie 11
    Antivirus
    windows defender
    Other Info
    updated enterprise apr 2/14
from what i gather;
I should copy all the data from the internal raid, and then break it.
As for the External ( Enclosure HDD's ), it's hard to copy; it's more than
20 TeraBytes of data, so i am not even remotely able to copy it anywhere!

Is it possible to break these Raids without potential data loss?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
as I said I don't know a lot about raid ,but just reading around a bit it seems if the raid is broken data might be lost ,haven't found a site yet that gives full details ,still looking.

edit :just found this ,so im making an assumption that by reinstalling windows will break the spanned disk, but not 100% sure ,and not sure if that will cause data loss.
--------------------

Unlike RAID, spanned volumes have no fault-tolerance, so if any disk fails, the data on the whole volume could be lost.

from the link below
Spanned volume - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1.1 enterprise
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hinze57
    CPU
    AMD FX 6100 6core 3.30gHz
    Motherboard
    gigibyte ga-78lmy-s2p
    Memory
    4gig ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radon hd5000 Series
    Sound Card
    onboard realtek hd
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" viewsonic/ 22"Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    128gig ssd Kingston
    80gig WD 10000 rpm spinner
    Case
    micro
    Keyboard
    microsoft curve 200
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless M215
    Internet Speed
    high speed 20
    Browser
    ie 11
    Antivirus
    windows defender
    Other Info
    updated enterprise apr 2/14
It's good that none of my disks are failing, I want to break the spanning officially :D if it's possible!

Also a correction; if one disk fails; only the data on this disk is lost,
but i have to break the span if i want to use the data which on another disks!
Simple, Striped and Spanned Volumes - YouTube
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
It's good that none of my disks are failing, I want to break the spanning officially :D if it's possible!
I think that answer is in the video ,from minute 2:30 to 3:00
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8.1.1 enterprise
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Hinze57
    CPU
    AMD FX 6100 6core 3.30gHz
    Motherboard
    gigibyte ga-78lmy-s2p
    Memory
    4gig ddr3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radon hd5000 Series
    Sound Card
    onboard realtek hd
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" viewsonic/ 22"Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    128gig ssd Kingston
    80gig WD 10000 rpm spinner
    Case
    micro
    Keyboard
    microsoft curve 200
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless M215
    Internet Speed
    high speed 20
    Browser
    ie 11
    Antivirus
    windows defender
    Other Info
    updated enterprise apr 2/14
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