Converting to SSD

[hillcf]

I have an Asus P8P67 motherboard which is running Win 7. I have two pairs of WD HDDs running as RAID-1 pairs, using Intel RST :

Disk 0 : 2 x 2TB - used for data

Disk 1 : 2 x 500GB - used for the operating system. This contains 3 partitions:

100MB - System reserved, flagged as System, Active and Primary Partition

465 GB - Boot, Crash Dump and Primary Partition

449 MB - Unallocated

Currently I am using 280GB of the 500GB and 875GB of the 2TB.

My plan is to replace the 500GB with a 1TB SSD.

1. Is there a need to make these into a RAID-1 pair? They currently are because I lost my original 500GB about 3 or 4 years ago with a hardware error.
2. Is it a simple case of just copying the partitions (O&O DriveImage or Acronis TrueImage).
3. Do I need to drop the 500GB from RAID to AHCI first?

Potentially, to replace the 2TB with SSD in the future.

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, In order to better assist you, please attach the following information: 1. System report using the Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- 2. System Reports for Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Instructions: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006351/technologies.html 3. A picture of your ctrl + i screen. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[hillcf]

Hi I have attached the SSU and RST reports to the reqest. Don't know what app to use for the Ctrl+i request ??? Regards Chris

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, Thank you for the information provided. You can take a picture of that screen and send it to us, so, we can check the options you have there to further assist you. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[hillcf]

Hi Oscar But you have not told me which application you want me to take a screen of or ctrl+I on ????????? Disk manager, windows explorer, RST, SSU ??????? Regards Chris From my Motorola G6+

[hillcf]

Hi Oscar Well, attached are a set of images - whether these are the ones that you want is a guess. Regards Chris

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, You can just take a picture using your phone's camera and attach it here, so, we can see the ctrl + i screen in order to help you. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[hillcf]

Hi Oscar Once again, I am puzzled that you cannot tell me which application you want me to run ctrl+i on. This was your original request In order to better assist you, please attach the following information: 1. System report using the Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- 2. System Reports for Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Instructions: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006351/technologies.html 3. A picture of your ctrl + i screen. I have run both the reports from SSU and from RST, plus screen dumps from RST and Windows Explorer, and sent all of them to you in the initial request and by email. Asking for Ctril+i, with NO EXPLANATION, is totally confusing, and I have asked you twice to tell me WHICH APPLICATION I SHOULD BE RUNNING THAT ON. I would also point out that my request was identify the correct way copy the current boot disk from a RAID 1 HDD pair to a SSD. I only asked this because the WD website, regarding the use of Acronis TrueImage, implies that it cannot be used regarding a RAID unit. That might imply that it cannot duplicate a RAID-1 pair to another RAID-1 pair or it could imply that a RAID-1 device cannot be copied to a single AHCI SSD, which would then imply that using RAID-1 has changed the structure of the individual disks to stop it being copyable. All that I need is some advice: 1. Yes, you can just copy the device with no issues. 2. No, you cannot directly copy it and will need to convert it back to AHCI first and then copy that. 3. No, you cannot directly copy it and will need to make a backup copy and them restore that into a new SSD. Regards Chris

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, Thank you for the information provided. I'd like to confirm the following information: - On the array with the 2 x 500GB used for the operating system, are you replacing just 1 disk or both for 2 x 1TB disks? Since you have a RAID 1 you won't lose any date, probably what you have to do is to break the array twice. Regarding your third question on the original post: Do I need to drop the 500GB from RAID to AHCI first? No, by doing you might lose the data. I think you can access the RAID BIOS by pressing "ctrl + i" during the boot screen, if not, please contact your system manufacturer to ask the way to access the RAID BIOS. I asked you for a picture of it since all the configurations have to be done from there and not from the software in the operating system. Best regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[hillcf]

Hi Oscar Attached are copies of the UEFI main screen and of the RAID set up from Ctrl-I. Do I want to use the pair of 1TB SSDs as a RAID-1 pair is an interesting question. With HDD getting any problem on the device generally results in total loss. With SSD I would expect the SSD to be able to manage its way around that, by skipping parts of the cells, unless it actually lost the connectivity. On that basis I would probably keep the SSDs as separate devices for software and data, and probably leave my digital photo collection, some 300GB, on the 2TB RAID. Is this a reasonable way? I am used to RAID-5 systems on servers and that the data gets spread around so that disks cannot be separately accessed. I had assumed that with RAID-1 pairs, the physical disks would not be modified by RST. However, I have noticed that there is an additional, very small partition on the start of the 500GB. Is this part of the support for the motherboard or is it part of the RAID structure, which is why I started asking questions about how to move from RAID to SSD? Potentially, I can keep the 500GB pair as an additional spare RAID pair or split it into two separate disks. Regards Chris

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, Thank you for all the details. Please allow us some time and I will be posting back as soon as I have the outcome for you. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, Thank you for the time. Please check the information below. - Is there a need to make these into a RAID-1 pair? They currently are because I lost my original 500GB about 3 or 4 years ago with a hardware error. Answer: It seems that based on these questions, you don’t need the array on this computer. - Is it a simple case of just copying the partitions (O&O DriveImage or Acronis TrueImage). Answer: You can break the array by selecting Reset to Non Raid and use Acronis or Drive image. - Do I need to drop the 500GB from RAID to AHCI first? Answer: If you’re going to break the array and continue with the RAID rebuild, you don’t need to swap the SATA MODE. Also, here’s the link of how to perform the replacement and rebuild the array step by step: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005837/technologies/intel-rapid-storage-technology-intel-rst.html Best regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[hillcf]

Hi OK, so I will 1. Un-RAID the 500GB pair and make the 2nd one of them a spare drive. 2. Copy the live drive to the SSD. 3. Try to boot from the SSD, assuming that it is bootable and the BIOS will load from it. 4. Extend the 500GB partition to fill the SSD, if not done in the transfer. 5. Copy the files from the 2TB to the new boot SSD and the 2nd SSD. 6. Restructure the disk sequence and un-RAID the 2TB. 7. Probably clear the old 500GBs and make them a RAID for my photos, and keep the 2TBs as two spare disks. Can you confirm that the initial partition on the 500GB is NOT part of the RAID system. Regards Chris From my Motorola G6+

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, That information is correct! According to the information you provided, the 500GB disk is not part of the RAID system since the array is on the Disk 0 : 2 x 2TB - that are being used for data. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Alberto_R_Intel]

hillcf, I just wanted to check if the information posted previously was useful for you and if you need further assistance on this matter? Regards, Alberto R. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation

[Oscar_A_Intel1]

Hello hillcf, Please contact us if you still need further assistance. Regards, Oscar A. Intel Customer Support Technician Under Contract to Intel Corporation