RAID1 on computer with 2 internal hard-disks

ITKE
1101775 pts.
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hard disk storage
Linux
Microsoft Windows XP
PCI
RAID 1
Storage
I have two identical hard disks in RAID1 array (no additional hard drives are available). There is a CD/DVD drive and USB. I need a solution for both Windows XP and Linux OS, but as single-OS, no dual booting.   I’ve run into several hassles: Upgrading Linux kernel on a machine where one boots from RAID1 was a major pain. Took several long days.   During backups or partition management, backing up a bootable RAID1 partition is an “advanced” task with Acronis.   I have no PCI slot available so if I buy a quality hw RAID card, I have no slot to install it. My choices are often sw raid or BIOS-level on board RAID.   I’ve had recommendations of non-RAID boot partitions. How large a partition would this be? Is the info read-only? Is the info accessed by the OS only during boot or after boot during normal operation? I reboot every couple months, and I don’t mind a slower boot process if I gain simplicity/robustness.
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If you want redundancy on the boot drive you’ll need a hardware RAID solution. Software solutions always slow down the computer, and require that the OS be up and running to work.

You won’t get any speed performance from a RAID 1 solution as it is a full mirror.

It sounds like the computer you are trying to use isn’t a good candidate as it doesn’t have any slots for a RAID card.

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  • Willnottellyou
    First and foremost take a paper and jot down what exactly you want to do and then go on with your activity. I feel if you want to go in for RAID 1 go for hardware RAID and not for Software RAID I would never recommend Soft RAID as it slows down you system when you are coping or vice a versa
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  • petkoa
    > I’ve had recommendations of non-RAID boot partitions. How large a partition would > this be? Is the info read-only? Is the info accessed by the OS only during boot or after > boot during normal operation? I reboot every couple months, and I don’t mind a > slower boot process if I gain simplicity/robustness. As of non-RAID boot partition - many people prefer them, and for good reason. It shouldn't be larger than 50 MB, as long it'll carry just couple of kernels, corresponding initrd images, system maps, config files, and grub or lilo files. It shouldn't be read only, and it should be mounted on /boot at runtime in order to allow changes in boot configuration and kernel upgrades but this is not obligatory (some people don't mount it by default, in fact I don't know why...) . About the slow down of the system boot - there shouldn't be any. Anyway your RAID is mirroring, so the access to non-RAID partition is not slower than to the RAID. Good luck
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