alexhore
Member
Ok, If you very helpful people can help me I would be most grateful.
I run raid0 (onboard Bios "fake" "cpu processing raid") 2x150gb = 300gb total 1 partition.
Currently running vista 64bit but for compatibility I would like to split the raid0 150 and 150 and run xp 32bit also.
I understand that I will have to shrink the partition and make room for a new one ready for xp.
1 Will I be able to use the shrink function of vista on a raid0 array? In the past I have found problems shrinking drives due to the position of none movable system files and I have had to remove all data and start fresh with new partitions. I will give it a go tonight as im stuck in work right now but in anyone knows the answer now it would be most helpful.
2 If ! I cant shrink the drive does anyone know of a really good bit of software I can use to copy my (90gb) vista install off a 300gb partition and stick it on the newly created 150gb partition?
3 would it be better/possible to create two arrays each using half of each drive as I understand windows only see's one drive and so the partitians will be scrambled all over the place battering the seek time advantage of raid0?
Addendum:
After spending a huge amount of time on google I have found that it is possible to shrink the partition but as with a normal drive it will depend on the location of system files including system files that are no longer in use.
As my raid setup of 300gb was around 250gb full at one point I am guessing I will not be able to shrink it 150gb as there will be dormant system files limiting the amount I can shrink.
There are few programs out there that can move system files even dos based and I cant seem to find one that works with vista, a 64bit operating system and raid0.
I will still try and shrink tonight but I may need to re-install everything.
If I do this brings about another option.
1 I can create 1 array with both disks with the create two partitions?
2 I can also create 2 arrays across both disks each array using half of each drive resulting in two separate drives (according to the os)?
First option has the advantage of merging the two partitions later.
The second option has the advantage of deleting an array on its own and setting different strip size's for the two arrays. I can also create 4 primary partitions on each array installing 8 os's.
I can find nothing on the web regarding using a drive for more than one array and so I have no idea how the performance would be affected??????
I hope someone else finds all this interesting and some day useful !
Addendum:
IT guys in the office have come back to me and they are not sure how stable it would be to share the drives across two arrays but they have suggested i try both with a quick install of xp to see if they bench different.
Results will be posted soon.
I run raid0 (onboard Bios "fake" "cpu processing raid") 2x150gb = 300gb total 1 partition.
Currently running vista 64bit but for compatibility I would like to split the raid0 150 and 150 and run xp 32bit also.
I understand that I will have to shrink the partition and make room for a new one ready for xp.
1 Will I be able to use the shrink function of vista on a raid0 array? In the past I have found problems shrinking drives due to the position of none movable system files and I have had to remove all data and start fresh with new partitions. I will give it a go tonight as im stuck in work right now but in anyone knows the answer now it would be most helpful.
2 If ! I cant shrink the drive does anyone know of a really good bit of software I can use to copy my (90gb) vista install off a 300gb partition and stick it on the newly created 150gb partition?
3 would it be better/possible to create two arrays each using half of each drive as I understand windows only see's one drive and so the partitians will be scrambled all over the place battering the seek time advantage of raid0?
Addendum:
After spending a huge amount of time on google I have found that it is possible to shrink the partition but as with a normal drive it will depend on the location of system files including system files that are no longer in use.
As my raid setup of 300gb was around 250gb full at one point I am guessing I will not be able to shrink it 150gb as there will be dormant system files limiting the amount I can shrink.
There are few programs out there that can move system files even dos based and I cant seem to find one that works with vista, a 64bit operating system and raid0.
I will still try and shrink tonight but I may need to re-install everything.
If I do this brings about another option.
1 I can create 1 array with both disks with the create two partitions?
2 I can also create 2 arrays across both disks each array using half of each drive resulting in two separate drives (according to the os)?
First option has the advantage of merging the two partitions later.
The second option has the advantage of deleting an array on its own and setting different strip size's for the two arrays. I can also create 4 primary partitions on each array installing 8 os's.
I can find nothing on the web regarding using a drive for more than one array and so I have no idea how the performance would be affected??????
I hope someone else finds all this interesting and some day useful !
Addendum:
IT guys in the office have come back to me and they are not sure how stable it would be to share the drives across two arrays but they have suggested i try both with a quick install of xp to see if they bench different.
Results will be posted soon.
Last edited: