Quote:
Can you create a RAID 0 array with files still on one of the drives?
And not lose the files, of course.
That depends primarily on your RAID controller.
What you are asking about is technically called a RAID Migration:
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/i ... 009326.htm
During a migration, data will be preserved on the existing drives, but *not*
on the drives you are adding.
If you are using an Intel chipset based motherboard, which has a RAID
controller built-in to the ICH (I/O Controller Hub or south bridge)
component, various types of migration are possible, depending on exactly
which ICH you have:
What types of RAID migrations are supported?
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/i ... 020674.htm
What migrations are supported on older controller hubs?
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/i ... 026607.htm
To identify which Intel chipset (including the ICH component) you have, I
recommend using the Intel Chipset Identification Utility:
http://support.intel.com/support/chipse ... 009266.htm
The migration is managed by the RAID controller software, which for Intel
RAID supporting chipsets is called the Intel Matrix Storage Manager:
http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/imsm
For more information on the process when using an Intel chipset-based RAID
controller, see the Raid Migration chapter in the Intel Matrix Storage
Manager documentation:
http://support.intel.com/support/chipse ... 020670.htm
If you are using a non-Intel RAID controller, then see the documentation for
that controller to find out if it supports RAID migration.
Note that while data should be preserved on the existing drive(s) during a
RAID migration, a backup should always be performed before starting just in
case there is a problem. Scott.