Boot problems with RAID



Hi.
I have 2 drives in mirror configuration, RAID 1, that I have just installed
XP Pro SP2 on. All was running OK. I don't think it is relevant but they are
SATA (1s), connected to the Master 1 and Master 2 SATA connectors. I have
just upgraded from a single 320GB SATA to these 750GB drives and did a
reinstall rather than a clone as my system was overdue a clean install.
As I said, the system was booting fine to the 750s and I had the old 320GB
connected to the Slave 1 port. The original XP installation is left on the
320 as I am in the process of copying across what I need to the 750s (and
also so I could reboot to the old setup if I ran into problems... which I now
have). The 'new' XP system boots with the 750s as drive C, DVD drives in D &
E, the old 320GB as F and then 4 card reader drives after that.

So.... and here's where I went wrong I think. I rebooted and changed the
BIOS to boot from the old 320 first as I wanted to export my old Outlook
Express settings etc, and left the 2 750s cnonected. The system booted to the
old drive OK and now the RAID 'drive' is shown as 2 separate drives (F & G),
i.e. not the single mirror drive as the old XP system has no RAID software
installed on it. I had no intention of copying any files directly to either
of the 2 RAIDs as I didn't want to make any changes to them whilst running
the old install. I was being lazy and maybe should have physically
disconnected them to avoid any possibility of corrupting the new install.
I exported the O.E. data to a folder on the old drive so that I would then
be able to copy it after I had rebooted back to the new install.
When I went to boot back to the new system I altered the BIOS boot order
back to the RAID 750s but now the system just reboots in a continuous loop.
It gets past the BIOS boot to where it should start the windows load and
flashes a VERY quick message that I can't pause in time to read properly. I
think it is mentioning the BOOT.INI but in what context I am not sure.
I have booted to the XP setup disc and into the recovery console to try a
FIXMBR, that did nothing (bad idea anyway?). I also tried the BOOTCFG command
but it tells me it can't find any boot files.
The Intel RAID BIOS boot page (after the main BIOS boot page) shows both 750
drives and indicates all is well. Booting to the old 320GB install allows me
to browse the 750s and again all looks OK. The boot.ini files on the 750s are
the same as on the old 320.

Sorry if this is rambly, it's the early hours of the morning! I expect this
is an easy one but need someone to point out the obvious to me please!
Was I wrong to think I could reboot with all drives connected BUT back to
the old 320 system and not affect the new setup? Schoolboy error?

Thanks for any pointers.
.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need help installing OS6 on Dell PowerEdge 2600 with PERC4/Di RAID
    ... > like a fresh install and porting their application and data to the new system. ... PERC4/Di RAID on the motherboard, Dell DLT tape drive, Dell slimline ... PATA connector usable for two PATA drives. ... After downloading drivers from both SCO and Dell to create the ...
    (comp.unix.sco.misc)
  • Re: New Lightwave Workstation
    ... Id imagine it's better to install a PCI Sata raid ... RAID, in which parity data to reconstruct drive data ... drives can fail simultaneously and can be replaced without data loss. ... total addressible memory and that has to account for all memory addresses in ...
    (comp.graphics.apps.lightwave)
  • Re: need help configuring RAID on my P5WD2E-P
    ... "Generally" you enter the raid bios setup on reboot, ... the drives being SATA adds to the complexity. ... Acronis TrueImage is a good product to use. ... install the drivers now, so they'll be there after the restore. ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • Re: Need to setup RAID in new hardware upgrade SBS2003
    ... I already moved the system to a new motherboard with an embedded Intel RAID ... controller a couple of months ago. ... did try but couldn't without wiping the drives first. ... install of the OS to get the RAID on the new board based on the Intel RAID ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: XP Crashed - How can I copy my data from the RAID 1 drives?
    ... delete the RAID and formatted 1 drive and am now in the middle of 48 Windows ... I deleted the RAID set and know have 2-more drives than I had before (the ... your service pack if not included on the install disk, ... the one you disconnected and disconnecting the other to see what ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin)