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Pisklink

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Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
May 27^th, 2007 at 8:35pm

Hi all,

At this moment I'm using two single 200Gb Maxtor HDD's which are connected to my Silicon3114 SATA controller. One of these disk I use for installing games and storing data (downloads, Ghost images, etc.). The first disk has two partitions, one contains the OS and the other contains movies and music. Now I'm thinking to buy another HDD of 500Gb and copy all the data from my Maxtor HDD's to the new disk (including Ghost images on a FAT32 partition) so this data will be secured and can't be lost. Additionally, I was wondering if I could use one of the Ghost images to restore Windows on a created RAID-0 array of my two Maxtor HDD's. This Ghost image includes a RAID driver for my Silicon3114 controller.

Furthermore, if this is possible I'm thinking of switching to the nForce 4 controller. Would it be possible to install the driver yet, make a new image, copy this image to the 500Gb HDD and use this new image? Before restoring the image I would disable the Silicon controller and enable the NVidia controller in the bios.

At this moment I'm using Ghost 2003 but I read on some sites that 2003 doesn't support RAID configurations. Is this true? On these sites it was suggested to use PowerQuest (Norton)'s DriveImage or Acronis' True Image. It was also stated that DriveImage uses V2I protector and that it therefore is superior to Acronis' True Image. But what does this mean and is this actually true?

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nbree

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #1 - May 28^th, 2007 at 4:32am

Pisklink wrote on May 27^th, 2007 at 8:35pm:

Additionally, I was wondering if I could use one of the Ghost images to restore Windows on a created RAID-0 array of my two Maxtor HDD's. This Ghost image includes a RAID driver for my Silicon3114 controller.

This should be fine as long as the BIOS provides INT13 access to the array, which it should do (that's one of the nice things in general about motherboards based on nVidia chipsets). What may be necessary is using one of the advanced switches - -fni or -noide - to turn off Ghost's internal IDE drivers so that it prefers to work through the BIOS instead.

Quote:

Furthermore, if this is possible I'm thinking of switching to the nForce 4 controller. Would it be possible to install the driver yet, make a new image, copy this image to the 500Gb HDD and use this new image? Before restoring the image I would disable the Silicon controller and enable the NVidia controller in the bios.

That should all work just fine. Since my old Socket A system has developed a fault, last week I bought myself an M2N-SLI Deluxe (w/X2 5600, XFX 8800 GTS 320Mb) and for grins I just moved my Windows install from a plain SATA drive to a Raid-0 array. The thing about setting up the nVidia raid controller (at least on my mobo) is that you don't get an option to install the Windows driver until it's configured in the BIOS. There shouldn't be any reason you can't have both array controllers enabled in the BIOS, so it's easiest to just enable the nVidia RAID before moving the Windows install and boot into Windows so you're prompted for the nVidia array drivers and they are all properly configured. Once that's done the migration should work fine.

I already had the nVidia RAID support set up in my machine for experimenting with (I spent some time benchmarking various combinations of drives and array configurations after putting the machine together) and I just went through exactly this process. Booted into a current version of DOS Ghost from an external USB HDD using the M2N's F8 menu, copied the regular SATA drive to the stripe set, and disconnected the original drive. Booted into Windows on the array just fine.

Quote:

At this moment I'm using Ghost 2003 but I read on some sites that 2003 doesn't support RAID configurations. Is this true?

It's true in general, but if your RAID controller provides BIOS support for the array so it's bootable then that's usually all that classic Ghost needs to get the job done.

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allanf

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #2 - May 28^th, 2007 at 5:03am

Pisklink wrote on May 27^th, 2007 at 8:35pm:

At this moment I'm using Ghost 2003 but I read on some sites that 2003 doesn't support RAID configurations. Is this true?

Hi Pisklink,

I can confirm that Ghost 2003 can indeed create and restore Ghost Images of a Hardware RAID-0 Array... at least with my system. Briefly, I have two 80GB HDDs configured as a RAID-0 Array with no partitioning. In both Windows and the DOS Virtual Partition, Ghost 2003 sees the two HDDs as a single Disk. I have had sucess with Disk-to-Image and Disk-from-Image using default Ghost 2003 settings (i. e. no "Options" or "Advanced Settings"). The image comprises the OS (Windows XP Media Center Edition), Office 2000, various Media Applications, and Windows Live Onecare, but no media or user files; and it fits snuggly onto a single DVD.

I have restored from the bootable DVD created by Ghost, and from a Modified OEM Recovery DVD which has the original OEM Ghost Image Set replaced by my own creations. These OEM Recovery DVDs contain a single Ghost Image Set, and before restoring, give the option of selecting RAID-0, RAID-1, or neither (... I assume the OEM Batch Files adjust the BIOS accordingly). Therefore, the Image is not dependent on a specific configuration. Wink

Quote:

Before restoring the image I would disable the Silicon controller and enable the NVidia controller in the bios.

This is beyond my experience, but switching RAID controllers between the creation and restoration of an Image could cause problems. The Image may restore to the RAID Array, but Windows would need access to the Drivers for the new controller before it attempts to boot up. ... F6 and a floppy with the new Drivers when Ghost completes the restoration and reboots? Undecided

The other significant differences between your setup and mine are the sizes involved and your use of partitioning. If you are able, test the procedure with just the OS; and you may need to Image the entire "Disk" (i. e. the two-disk RAID-0 Array) rather than individual Partitions. (.... partly-educated guesses Roll Eyes

)

Ghost 2003 definitely works with Hardware RAID-0. I succeeded after receiving plenty of good help on these Forums. Smiley

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Pisklink

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #3 - May 28^th, 2007 at 5:37am

Thank you very much for the replies. But I'm still in the need for some answers. Furthermore, I was hoping some more people could confirm that this is possible. I got some time to figure things out since I'm very busy with graduating at the moment. As a result I'm not able at the moment to perform this transition because of the risk that my report will be lost in the process.

@ nbree

What do you mean with INT13 and the advanced switches you mentioned? It seems you've been through the same process as I'm planning to do. So, that provides me with some hope. How can I figure out if my RAID controller is a hardware RAID controller and provides BIOS support?

Something a bit differently, do you still use the M2N-SLI Deluxe? If so, does it use the nForce4 chipset and what appropriate nVidia driver are you using (v6.86)?

@ allanf

I'm not able to use a DVD because my Windows partition includes apps as well such as installed programs and user files. Therefore I wanted to use the new 500Gb HDD on which I will make a FAT32 partition which I can access in DOS.

Regarding the switching of the RAID controllers I was planning to install the driver first, now windows is still running. This way the new driver will be included in the new image file. The thing I don't understand is why you think individual partitions won't work. I don't mind if partitions get lost on both disks when restoring because I got all this data double backed up. After the restore I was planning to make new partitions and format them accordingly with Partition Magic.

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nbree

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #4 - May 28^th, 2007 at 7:43am

Pisklink wrote on May 28^th, 2007 at 5:37am:

How can I figure out if my RAID controller is a hardware RAID controller and provides BIOS support?

Internally, INT 13 is the CPU instruction that DOS-level assembly code used to ask the system BIOS code to read and write from the Disk; the code stored in the first sector of a hard disk that boots the full operating system uses this too, so if the system is capable of booting off the array you're set. Basically, if you set up the array in the BIOS (well, in a secondary BIOS after the main one), it's almost certainly going to be able to be used as a boot device and thus have what Ghost needs.

Quote:

Something a bit differently, do you still use the M2N-SLI Deluxe? If so, does it use the nForce4 chipset and what appropriate nVidia driver are you using (v6.86)?

It's brand new, so yes I'm still using it - and I am VERY impressed by it, thus far the only thing that's less than perfect about it is that the USB boot support gives USB1.1 speeds instead of USB2.0. In every other way it has totally exceeded my expectations.

Anyway, the M2N-SLI is an nForce 570 chipset board, described here and the Windows driver version for the drivers is 6.87 (I haven't gone looking for any newer ones). As far as I'm aware the SATA controller in the 550/570/590 series is much the same as the nForce4 one, just with more SATA channels available, although I'm happy to be corrected on that score.

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allanf

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #5 - May 28^th, 2007 at 10:03am

Pisklink wrote on May 28^th, 2007 at 5:37am:

The thing I don't understand is why you think individual partitions won't work. I don't mind if partitions get lost on both disks when restoring because I got all this data double backed up. After the restore I was planning to make new partitions and format them accordingly with Partition Magic.

At http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1155827177/0, NightOwl poses the question: "I know that the MBR is restored if a *whole* disk is imaged and then restored--but what about when backing up single OS partitions?"

Skimming through the thread, I am unable to find the answer in relation to Ghost 2003. Note the comments by Dan Goodell at Reply #61 regarding "special MBRs". Do they apply to RAID? Undecided

My comment was based on my experience which is limited to Ghost 2003 Disk-to-Image, which I know to work with RAID-0. Using this method, you should not lose Partitions, but a 400 GB RAID-0 Array is a big "Disk" to image! Hence my suggestion to test the different procedures with a minimum of Used Space.... the OS and a few User Files in whatever Partitions you plan to have.

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #6 - May 28^th, 2007 at 3:37pm

Quote:

Anyway, the M2N-SLI is an nForce 570 chipset board, described here and the Windows driver version for the drivers is 6.87 (I haven't gone looking for any newer ones). As far as I'm aware the SATA controller in the 550/570/590 series is much the same as the nForce4 one, just with more SATA channels available, although I'm happy to be corrected on that score.

Well, I don't know if those SATA controllers are much the same or not. I know I'm still on some pretty old chipset drivers and planning to update them. At least, I have to if I want to install and use the nVidia controller with a striping configuration because at this moment the driver is not installed and I don't know exactly which nForce driver release is installed. The thing is I don't know the correct uninstall/install procedure. Is it even necessary to uninstall the old drivers or is it possible to just update (overwrite) them with new ones?

@ allanf

Quote:

Hence my suggestion to test the different procedures with a minimum of Used Space.... the OS and a few User Files in whatever Partitions you plan to have.

I understand that 400Gb is a lot of data to image. I'm not interested in RAID-0 if this is really the only solution to image my OS. So, I'm curious at your suggestion but I don't understand how you would do that. Sorry, maybe this is due to my English. Nevertheless, how is it possible to test this. From my point of view all data on both disks will be lost the moment I setup striping and try to restore a image. Or do you mean that I should test disk-to-image after the whole new setup is complete (striping including a restored image)?

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allanf

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #7 - May 28^th, 2007 at 6:31pm

Quote:

Nevertheless, how is it possible to test this. From my point of view all data on both disks will be lost the moment I setup striping and try to restore a image. Or do you mean that I should test disk-to-image after the whole new setup is complete (striping including a restored image)?

I should have stated that the reason for my suggestion was purely to save time during your testing phase. Sorry. Embarrassed

You are correct that switching to RAID-0 in your BIOS will destroy all data on your HDDs. You should receive plenty of warning. At that point after RAID has been configured, set up your partitions and reinstall a bare-bones Operating System plus Ghost 2003 and a few other Applications and Media Files.

I'd also check that Partition Magic is compatible with your RAID-0 for "Post-Partitioning" (?... I'm not familiar with Partitioning). Searching the Web, there are reports of success, but the odd failure (crash).

If you keep your Used Space under 6 or 7 GB, you could create a Ghost Disk-to-Image onto a single DVD (BTW, Ghost will automatically span larger images across multiple DVD/CDs... and use DVD+RWs or DVD-/+Rs. I've not had much luck with DVD+R DL or DVD-RW.) However, you would do better to test Disk-to-Image onto your FAT32 Partition because that will be the lcoation of your final backups. (I assume that Ghosting NTFS between FAT32 is OK.) The size of the Ghost Image and the time taken is dependent on the Used Space on the Disk, rather than the Capacity.

Also test Partion-to-Image; and you may be able to answer NightOwl's question in terms of RAID! Cool

If you are presently using only Partition-to-Image and haven't tried a restoration, it might be wise to do a test before switching to RAID. If things go pear-shaped, you will then know that you can disable RAID and restore your system.

Also, I note NBree's suggestion of using the IDE switches when restoring. As mentioned, my OEM Recovery DVD uses a Ghost Image to restore to either RAID or Non-RAID. The OEM Batch File for restoring the Image employs the following switches:
Code:

-clone,mode=pload,src=%CDDRV%\BASE\PREINST.GHO:1,dst=1:1 -afile=P:\GHOSTERR.TXT -auto -sure -fni

However, I have had to bypass that particular Batch File because of an error requesting "Recovery CD1". So, at that point, I run Ghost interactively and have restored Image-to-Disk (RAID-0) without choosing any "Advanced Options". I am still amazed at the capabilitiy of Ghost 2003!

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allanf

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #8 - May 28^th, 2007 at 7:58pm

Pisklink wrote on May 27^th, 2007 at 8:35pm:

Now I'm thinking to buy another HDD of 500Gb ...

I jumped the gun a bit. I was thinking that you already had the new 500 GB HDD. How to backup your system, and test RAID-0 before you purchase the new drive? Hmmm. You would need to transfer your system Backup from the Maxtor HDD to another Disk, or create a new system Backup to another Disk. Undecided

I don't know.

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Pisklink

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #9 - May 29^th, 2007 at 8:32am

I think I understand your suggestion now, thanks for explaining!!!! But why should I first reinstall a bare-bones Operating System and try a disk-to-image procedure first. Maybe it will immediately work to restore an already existing OS image. If so, I could then try to make an partition-to-image file of the RAID-0 partition and try to restore it, to see if it works.

allanf wrote on May 28^th, 2007 at 6:31pm:

Also test Partion-to-Image; and you may be able to answer NightOwl's question in terms of RAID! Cool

If you are presently using only Partition-to-Image and haven't tried a restoration, it might be wise to do a test before switching to RAID. If things go pear-shaped, you will then know that you can disable RAID and restore your system.

This is ofcourse a big risk of loosing my smoothly working OS partition.

Quote:

Also, I note NBree's suggestion of using the IDE switches when restoring. As mentioned, my OEM Recovery DVD uses a Ghost Image to restore to either RAID or Non-RAID. The OEM Batch File for restoring the Image employs the following switches:
Code:

-clone,mode=pload,src=%CDDRV%\BASE\PREINST.GHO:1,dst=1:1 -afile=P:\GHOSTERR.TXT -auto -sure -fni

However, I have had to bypass that particular Batch File because of an error requesting "Recovery CD1". So, at that point, I run Ghost interactively and have restored Image-to-Disk (RAID-0) without choosing any "Advanced Options". I am still amazed at the capabilitiy of Ghost 2003!

I'm sorry but I still do not completely understand what this batch file is actually doing and what its purpose is?

And indeed if Ghost will succeed to perform this whole operation I would be amazed aswell!!!!

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allanf

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #10 - May 29^th, 2007 at 8:54pm

Pisklink wrote on May 29^th, 2007 at 8:32am:

This is of course a big risk of loosing my smoothly working OS partition.

You are right! You could lose everything if you are not careful. Read the following for a sad tale of what can go wrong:
http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=Extra_Rad_Forum;action=display;n...

You may not be able to test anything until you have a third HDD. So, go get it! Wink

I recommend Disk-to-Image because I have not tested Partition-to-Image. Save your non-RAID Backups to your third HDD before you do anything.

But here is a question. You have two Maxtor HDDs, so you will have two Disk-to-Image Backups. When you configure RAID-0 on the two HDDs, Ghost wil see the RAID-0 Array as just one "Disk". How can you restore both Disk-from-Image Backups to one "Disk"?

Your setup is not unusual or complicated... two HDDs, OS Partition, etc. But mine is even simpler... one Logical Drive (albeit, a two-disk RAID-0 Array) with no partitioning, and my Backup fits nicely onto a single DVD. So, I can't really advise you. All I wanted to say was that Ghost 2003 is wonderfully compatible with Hardware RAID-0... at least in my situation. I can give some thought to any problems you may face, but I would only be guessing at solutions. I hope other contributers with more experience can step in. I am very interested in how things turn out for you.

Quote:

I'm sorry but I still do not completely understand what this batch file is actually doing and what its purpose is?

My computer came with the OEM's Recovery DVD which contains a Ghost Image of the OS and other Applications. There are no options to repair or recover the Operating System other than to run the Recovery DVD, which would restore the OEM's same-old out-dated Ghost Image. The Recovery Procedure boots to Windows 98 and is scripted with a series of Batch Files that automatically call various DOS Commands to setup the chosen RAID configuration in the BIOS, to reformat the HDDs, etc, and finally to restore the OEM's Ghost Image. The Procedure then reboots to the Windows XP Mini Setup.

I don't have the knowledge or resources to Step Through the OEM's Recovery Procedure. I have replaced the OEM's Ghost Image with my own, and replaced the OEM's version of Ghost with my Ghost 2003 ghost.exe. I have a minor bug at the end of the Procedure that requires me to run Ghost interactively. But that is good, because I bypass the final Batch File and avoid the Mini Setup.

That whole Recovery Procedure is not really necessary. Ghost Backup to DVD creates a bootable DVD that seems to work just as well. My logic was to follow what the OEM had done... to be sure. The OEM's Recovery Procedure is robust and automatic (but does not give an option to create Partitions Sad

). Perhaps you can create your own Recovery Batch Files, but I only mentioned the OEM's Recovery DVD to illustrate that the Ghost Images are not dependent on any particular RAID configuration.

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #11 - May 30^th, 2007 at 3:05pm

Well, I think I will get that third HDD but first I have to pay some penalty for fast driving of 200 euros. Sad

And I'm pretty busy with graduating so I can't afford to screw around with my OS at the moment. But that makes this a perfect time to investigate and ask some questions about this issue. If I get the third HDD, I was indeed planning to copy my non-RAID images to that disk.

Quote:

But here is a question. You have two Maxtor HDDs, so you will have two Disk-to-Image Backups. When you configure RAID-0 on the two HDDs, Ghost wil see the RAID-0 Array as just one "Disk". How can you restore both Disk-from-Image Backups to one "Disk"?

First of all, at this moment I use partition-to-image to backup my C:\OS partition. This provides me with much smaller images ofcourse which are around 5 - 6 Gb after cleaning up the partition. As I tried to explain in my first post, I was hoping I could use this image to restore my OS on a RAID-0 configuration. And after restoring I would partition the RAID array along the way. Additionally, the image file I use is a bit to large for a Ghost DVD. However, restoring from a FAT32 HDD partition worked well in the past.

If I got it correct you use 2 x 80Gb HDD only for running the OS? Or do you also got apps, etc. included. If this is the case, your setup would not be suitable for me since I make a Ghost image of my OS partition every month. Then the file would get way to large. Ofcourse I have still one image with a bare-bone installation of Windows but I was not intended to use that one because then still a lot of installing needs to be done. Btw maybe nLite is something for you if you always restore from an image with a clean OS.

Nevertheless, I'm still wondering what to do with respect to experimenting. That is, because in the past I had some real problems with computers. So finally, I'm glad I got one that works without to much trouble. I think I will buy that HDD within two weeks and will give it a try. I just hope that the curse happened to Woodz, you linked to, will not happen to me!!!! Undecided

Could you tell me if RAID-0 provides a huge increase in performance? Otherwise it isn't even worth the trouble.

At last, I was hoping some other forum members would reply as well to this thread to get different viewpoints!!!!

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #12 - May 30^th, 2007 at 6:53pm

Pisklink wrote on May 30^th, 2007 at 3:05pm:

If I get the third HDD, I was indeed planning to copy my non-RAID images to that disk.

My suggestions were all based on the premise that you would Backup your system to the third HDD before all else. In your first message, you explained that that was your intention, and I assumed that this would be done. Carry out testing only after performing this Backup.

In addition to Partition-to-Image, I would make Disk-to-Image Backups of your system. (In fact, I wouldn't have bothered with Partition-to-Image at all, except for the question raised in my Previous Post about Restoring two Disks to a single RAID-0 "Disk".) So you would have two sets of non-RAID BackUps to fall back on. I hope they would all fit on your new HDD.

Then carry out some tests with minimum OS, Apps (including Ghost 2003, of course) and User Files spread across your desired Partition layout. Again, create two sets of non-RAID Backups (D-to-I and P-to-I). You need more space on your third HDD? Or disconnect your third HDD, put it in the safe, and use DVDs. Everything should fit on a single DVD, and Ghost automatically makes the DVD bootable and includes ghost.exe. HDD would be much quicker, of course.

Then set up RAID-0 which will wipe your two HDDs. Try to recover your minimum setup with Partition-from-Image... and answer NightOwls question.

And try Disk-from-Image. How? Undecided

Also try Partition Magic. Using whatever method you find to be successful, do a full-system Restoration from your new HDD.

The reason I suggest the test procedures is that there is a question as to whether Ghost 2003 is compatible with all RAID controllers. For my suggestion, you need to take extra time to reinstall the OS and setup the bare-bones system. And extra time will be needed if you use DVDs. You are right that you can go straight ahead and try to Restore your full system non-RAID Backup to RAID-0. But, what if one method fails? You may need to try again with just minor adjustments... Ghost switches, etc. I assumed that full-system Restoration would take considerable time because you have two 200 GB HDDs and you are thinking of purchasing another 500 GB. How long does it take for your present full-system BackUp and estimated time for full-system Restore from internal HDD? I have only experience with DVDs at around 120 MB/minute.

Quote:

If I got it correct you use 2 x 80Gb HDD only for running the OS? Or do you also got apps, etc. included.

Two 80 GB HDDs in a RAID-0 Array with only C: Drive (no Partitions). My Ghost Backup includes OS plus Office and other Apps, as can be fitted on a single DVD (perhaps two DVDs if required). I created the Image using Disk-to-Image after reinstalling the OS from the OEM's Recovery Disk, and taking much time to bring the system up to date with my own selection of Apps and no extraneous User Files or crapware. The User Files, like emails, pictures and music are backed up with Windows Live OneCare (Files-and-Folders style Backup), and important Documents are also backed up with "copy-and-paste". I have a Laptop and require mobility without extra luggage and fuss; so CD/DVDs suit. For ongoing Backups, my intention is to Restore the clean OS+Apps Ghost Image (that's the entire "Disk"-from-Image); then carry out Windows Updates and App Updates; then create a fresh Ghost Image; then recovery User Files from Files-and-Folders Backup as required.

Quote:

Btw maybe nLite is something for you if you always restore from an image with a clean OS.

Yes. I discovered nLite when it became evident that it takes three days to bring my system up to date after using the OEM's Recovery DVD... at least eighty Windows Updates, uninstalling the OEM's old Apps, reinstalling and updating my Apps, reconfiguring, etc, etc... a real nightmare! Unfortunately, my OS is Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 which requires additional installation files that are not present in the OEM's Recovery Disc, nor in the C:/Windows/I386 Folder as restored from the OEM's Ghost Image. I tried nLite and could only achieve a working copy of XP Pro.

Quote:

Could you tell me if RAID-0 provides a huge increase in performance? Otherwise it isn't even worth the trouble.

I cannot provide empirical evidence. All I can say is that RAID-0 "feels" better. I often use the Laptop as a PVR for recording TV (which I stream to the TV Set through an XBox 360 while working on the Laptop at the same time). I also rip, create and burn movies. I think RAID-0 is recommended for these purposes. Gaming is another.

RAID-0 is worth the trouble.... if only to inform Radified of your success. Wink

Quote:

At last, I was hoping some other forum members would reply as well to this thread to get different viewpoints!!!!

Me, too.

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #13 - May 31^st, 2007 at 6:08pm

I think there was some misunderstanding then maybe due to my explanations because i said this in my first post:

Quote:

Now I'm thinking to buy another HDD of 500Gb and copy all the data from my Maxtor HDD's to the new disk (including Ghost images on a FAT32 partition) so this data will be secured and can't be lost. Additionally, I was wondering if I could use one of the Ghost images to restore Windows on a created RAID-0 array of my two Maxtor HDD's.

What I actually meant with this Ghost images are the images I already make every month at this moment. So just for clarification I wanted to copy my data such as downloads, movies, music, etc. and the already present Ghost images of my current OS to the new hard disk. Finally, select RAID-0 in the bios and try to restore one of the old Ghost images. Or in other words, is it possible to restore from a single disk partition image to a RAID-0 setup?

You don't have to explain the whole process again if you think I can still use your explained method in the previous posts.

Quote:

In addition to Partition-to-Image, I would make Disk-to-Image Backups of your system.

This is not something I would prefer to do because 2 x 200Gb is way large to perform disk-to-image actions. Consequently, with a RAID-0 setup in the future this would still stay that large since I'm not planning to use 400Gb for only a OS installation. That is why I also need to have the opportunity to partition the RAID-0 array after restoration. This way I can copy past my old files (downloads, movies, music, etc.) back to the partitions and use the new 500Gb HDD as a backup disk. Moreover, I checked the manual of partition magic for compatibility with RAID and it should support hardware RAID.

Quote:

I assumed that full-system Restoration would take considerable time because you have two 200 GB HDDs and you are thinking of purchasing another 500 GB. How long does it take for your present full-system BackUp and estimated time for full-system Restore from internal HDD? I have only experience with DVDs at around 120 MB/minute.

As I mentioned earlier, at this moment I only use image-to-partition to restore my OS. This goes very fast because my Ghost image is located on my second physical harddisk on a FAT32 partition. It takes about 8 min. to restore 8 - 9 Gb. So, much faster than from a DVD.

[qoute]I think RAID-0 is recommended for these purposes. Gaming is another. [/quote]

Well, I was intended to use RAID-0 for gaming purposes. So, I'm actually curious if it will give a performance boost to games as well. And ofcourse I will inform Radified about the results if I conduct this whole transistion process (which I'm still not sure of). Roll Eyes

With regard to nLite, a friend of mine used it last time because he wanted to install his new comp. with a RAID-0 configuration. That's also the reason why I started wondering if I could use RAID-0 without a complete reinstallation of Windows. He used it because his nVidia RAID drivers did not install correctly within Windows setup when hitting F6. Using nLite solved the problem as was stated on many forums. When scanning the forums it was a problem that occured regularly. Seems that Microsoft did perform a good job on this one.

Finally, I will include an image of my HDD setup at this moment so you get an impression of how my partitions are arranged.

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allanf

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Hey Rad! What a cool site!

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Re: Using Ghost image for RAID-0?!?
Reply #14 - May 31^st, 2007 at 8:13pm

Pisklink wrote on May 31^st, 2007 at 6:08pm:

Or in other words, is it possible to restore from a single disk partition image ... ?

.... that is the question that I am sure others here should be able to answer in relation to Ghost 2003; regardless of whether the restoration is to RAID or to non-RAID.

.... my suggestions were for you to provide the answer yourself using a minimum setup for testing purposes. If I had partitions, I would do the testing myself.

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In addition to Partition-to-Image, I would make Disk-to-Image Backups of your system.

This is not something I would prefer to do because 2 x 200Gb is way large to perform disk-to-image actions.

OK. Disk-to-Image may only be required as a safety blanket while migrating to RAID (and back to non-RAID if problems arise). If Partition-from-Image Restoration works in the non-RAID environment, it should also work in the RAID environment. The transition from non-RAID to RAID (and back) is the concern.

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Moreover, I checked the manual of partition magic for compatibility with RAID and it should support hardware RAID.

OK. I did see at least one report of PM crashing under RAID. I am presently unable to find the link(s)... can't recall the google search terms I used. But there were more reports of success than failures.

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That's also the reason why I started wondering if I could use RAID-0 without a complete reinstallation of Windows. He used it because his nVidia RAID drivers did not install correctly within Windows setup when hitting F6.

I posted the following link on the Old Radified Server, but the post has yet to appear here. (Rad...? Huh

)

"FAQ: Switching Storage Controllers w/o Reinstalling Windows"

I was a bit confused because the HowTo does not explicitly exclude a transition to RAID-0 on a new Controller. However, the preface states:
"This guide is applicable to the person who has Windows currently starting up from one hard disk/hard disk controller combination, and wants to start that same Windows installation up from a different hard disk/hard disk controller on the same computer." Edited:

Eh? That's not what I thought was being said. I'm looking too hard for a disclaimer regarding RAID-0! Embarrassed

I can't see that the procedure would work when converting two HDDs to a single RAID-0 Array. As far as I am aware, all data on the two HDDs must be destroyed. Nevertheless, the Guide does provide insight into the physical installation of a new Storage Controller and the installation of the Drivers in Windows XP using the "Found New Hardware" Wizard rather than an F6 installation... without actually engaging the new Controller, if I understand it correctly. See steps #1 to #12 only.

Partitioning is as foreign to me as Non-Partitioning is to most contributors to this Forum. Unspeakable! Wink

The Manufacturer of my computer did not provide the option, and I wonder why.

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