Migrating from RAID 0 to 5 and back again

[idata]

Hi

I have a RAID 0 setup and one of the HDDs needs to be replaced as it is on the verge of failing. At the moment it is still working ok, so the RAID volume and data is intact.

It seems that I have the option to add another HDD to the system and use Intel Matrix Storage Manager to migrate the RAID 0 volume to a RAID 5 volume. Once complete and the parity information spread across all three drives I should be able to remove the faulty HDD and replace it with a new one, and then let the Intel Matrix Storage Manager rebuild the now degraded RAID 5 volume so that everything is again ok.

My question is... once this is done I need to remove the 'temporary' HDD and turn it back to a RAID 0 2-drive system (i.e. I am only using RAID 5 to aid in the replacement of the faulty HDD). Is this possible?

If not is my only other option to back.... up the RAID-0 onto the new HDD (although identical HDDs the partitions and data would fit as they do not use the full capacity), break the RAID-0, remove the fault HDD and then use Intel Matrix Storage Manager to migrate the single new HDD to a RAID-0 over 2 HDDs (1 new and 2 old).

Any other ideas welcome

Ade

[idata]

Check the replies from the "Mrigrate RAID 0 to a new RAID 0 volume" there maybe some help for you there.

[idata]

With the Intel Matrix Storage Manager, it is not possible to perform a migration that results in fewer disks or results in a smaller volume, so your migration from a 3-disk RAID5 to a 2-disk RAID0 is not supported. However, there may be another, easier, option.

You say that one of the disks on your RAID0 is "on the verge of failing." Does this mean that it is reporting a SMART event, or is marked as Failed in the by the Intel Matrix Storage Manager? (either in the Windows UI or the OROM that shows up right after the BIOS?) If so, then add your new hard disk to your computer and open the Intel Matrix Storage Console in Windows. Right click on the new disk and select "Mark as Spare." The driver will start a "disk replace" operation. When it is completed, your new disk will have replaced your failing disk in the volume.

[idata]

Thanks Mike, your reply was very informative. I didn't know about 'spares' 🙂

[Jespo2]

Mike,

I'm having a similar problem and your proposed solution sounds attractive. I too have a two drive, RAID0 configuration array. The drive connected to Port0 is showing up in Intel Matrix Storage Manager as "error occurred." As to avoid a possible data loss, I'm thinking about simply replacing it using your steps.

My question is as follows:

If I add a third drive and select "Mark as Spare," once that effort completes, would I then be able to remove the suspicious drive on Port0 and be able to use the computer as normal?

Thanks a lot for your insight!

James E

[Allan_J_Intel1]

Have in mind RAID 0 do not offer redundancy, so, any change on the drive configuration will cause data loss.

You can get rid of "error occurred" by recreating the RAID structure.

Allan.

[Jespo2]

This is a test