Sistum Id

I'm looking to get 2 x 1.5tb and RAID1 them on my current system for storage and back up purposes.

I'm wondering and need an answer on something I cant figure out. I was looking around but maybe I wasn't using the using the correct terminogly on google or ocn search.

Do both drives need to be wiped/fresh before setting up a RAID1 or can 1 of the drives have files on it that are going to be mirrored?

I have about 600GB give or take of data I'm looking to have backed up on the RAID1 and would like to know if I can add them before or after setting up the RAID1.

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FYATT

pm1109

I do believe that both drives have to be clean (empty) before setting up the Raid 1 Set Up.After is has been set up can you transfer the 600gb data onto it.So add the 600GB data after you have set up the Raid 1

the_beast

You can form the array later, but it is risky, and you would be best advised to have the data backed up before you do it.

So it would make more sense to set up the array first, then copy over the data.

Please remember that RAID1 is no substitute for backup - you would be better off leaving 1 1.5TB in your rig for storage, and hooking up the other via eSATA every night/week/month for backup, and keeping the extra drive separate from your rig.

RAID1 will not protect you if you accidentally delete a file, or if your psu blows up & takes your drives with it. Or if your HDD controller fails & writes garbage to to drives, or if your pc is stolen, or if there is a fire, or if...

Sistum Id

Thanks

For the eSATA, is there a way to have it automatically back up at a users set time?

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FYATT

ComGuards

It depends on the controller - some controllers give you the option of specifying a "Source" hard-drive, and the initialization process will also perform an initial synchronization of the data.

If you have enough space, say on an external drive, I'd suggest copying everything off and then copying back onto the created-array.

Depending on your operating system, it is possible to perform scheduled backups of your data without 3rd party software. NTBackup included in WindowsXP does it quick and dirty. I haven't played with Windows Backup as provided in Vista or 7, so I can't tell you about those.

You can also look at Microsoft SyncToy 2.0. It's nominally a manual process, but there are guides on how to create a scheduled task to run a particular folder sync.