Ok, this is my first build ever, and I used some old hard drives I had in order to get by. However, I have two Seagate 250GB drives on order from newegg, and I want to make a mirror.

I'm fine with doing a complete reinstall of Vista - I've tried so many programs and uninstalled and everything so many times, I'd just prefer a fresh install. I have a Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H moboard, which supports RAID 1.

After getting everything setup, I'll probably use my current IDE 160GB drive for misc storage - maybe for my DVDs I rip - stuff that I don't care about losing. The system is mainly for web design for my clients, so I cannot afford to lose my work, hence the RAID.

A few questions:

1) Should I start off with a mirror, and install Vista onto the mirror? Or can I (should I?) install onto the 250GB drive, add in the second, and then enable the RAID? Would that work?

2) Instead of RAID, should I save the money on the second drive and just use my 160GB (IDE) drive to save periodic (compressed) images of the 250GB drive?


Thanks!

For #1, I believe it will be easier (and safer) to start if with a mirror and then, install Vista onto that. Some boards will support the other option, but installig vista onto the mirror would be an easier bet.

For #2, that would depend on your requirements - I have Vista installed on RAID1 array (ASUS P5W-DH) - because I need to have my system when I want it. If I take image backups onto a second drive, then, if my first drive dies, I will have to install the replacement drive and recover the image from 2nd drive and install onto the new drive. It will take time, but more critical than that is the fact that the image will not have the latest data (assuming you will not be backing up images every couple of hours). For what I use my PC, latest data is critical. For a person who is using his PC for gaming and web browsing, a week old image might suffice. So, that's why I said that it depends on the requirements. HTH

One thing that I *MUST* mention is that RAID 1 is not a substitute for a good backup plan. RAID 1 (in conjuction with software like Norton Ghost) can help you in case of hardware and/or software issues - even if you delete off some files accidentally, GHOST (installed on the primary partition of your RAID 1 array and backing up to a secondary partition of the same RAID 1 array) can help recover your lost files.

I still recommend a backup to a NAS and/or USB drive though because a fault PSU or sudden spikes could take out both drives at the same time.

ok thanks!

I think I'll go that direction, setting up a mirror then installing onto it.

I'll probably put my 160GB drive in for swap space, and stuff that i really don't care about.