Configuring RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.


  1. Posts : 5
    Windows 10 Pro x64
       #1

    Configuring RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.


    Hi everyone!
    I want to do a clean installation of Windows 10 Pro x64 (UEFI mode) on a newly assembled PC. The only connected drive (boot drive (C:)) is the Samsung 970 PRO NVMe SSD-512GB. I will connect the SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe-1TB as a data drive (D:) after the OS installation. I am going to connect the second SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe-1TB as a data drive and setup it in RAID1 in the future. In addition, I am going to connect four HDDs to the SATA-III controller and setup them in RAID10.
    How should I setup RAID configuration in BIOS(UEFI) to avoid re-installation of Windows after connecting additional drives(above) in the future? Could it cause boot or other problems? Is it safer to install Windows without RAID mode now and reinstall Windows with RAID mode in the future?

    Settings -> IO Ports -> SATA Configuration:
    SATA Mode: AHCI / RAID -?
    NVMe RAID mode: Disabled / Enabled - ?
    RAID Array - ?

    My PC:
    OS: Windows 10 Pro x64
    Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 Auros Xtreme (BIOS F11)
    CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X
    CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
    RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z Neo 32GB
    GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 480
    Drive1_OS: 7. SSD Samsung 970 PRO NVMe-512GB
    Drive2_Data: SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe-1TB
    PSU: Seasonic PRIME Ultra 1000W

    Drives_in the future: HDD 8TB x 4 (Not installed) + SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe-1TB (Not installed)
    Thanks.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #2

    Can you apply RAID to individual ports on the motherboard? You are probably looking more at doing software RAID for your added drives, rather than hardware RAID with the motherboard.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #3

    Hi there

    assuming the controller card will let you configure RAID and be bootable the chances are that you will also have to load a driver at Windows install time.

    You'll probably see after the Windows installer starts --No Hdd's -- but there (unlike earlier versions of Windows when you had to inject drivers from floppy disks etc) is an option "Load driver" which should be able to load the RAID driver and then your HDD's should be acessible for Windows installation. Have the driver disk / USB stick etc available at boot time too.

    Example here where I'm using a special parvirtualised Disk I/O driver to install Windows on :

    Configuring  RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.-screenshot_20200122_120712.png

    Configuring  RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.-screenshot_20200122_120807.png

    Configuring  RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.-screenshot_20200122_120856.png

    Configuring  RAID in BIOS for clean Windows 10 installation.-screenshot_20200122_121033.png





    Non RAID HDD's should be just fine -- I'm assuming you want to install Windows on the RAID set however you've configured it.

    This won't stop you being able to boot from other NON RAID devices but to access the RAID hardware drives you'll still need to have the RAID drivers.

    Note some cheaper RAID boards are sort of "Fake RAID" which have pretty lousy performance --these probably have all the required software / firmware embedded in their chipset so Windows will see drives without any issues --I'd avoid these types of cards like the plague --If you want proper RAID do it sensibly --it's well worth it. !!

    Cheers
    jimbo
    Last edited by jimbo45; 22 Jan 2020 at 07:15. Reason: added screenshots add driver to W10 install
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 88
    Windows-7 Pro
       #4

    NavyLCDR Please help me with this W-10 - Raid-0 question.


    NavyLCDR

    I am 79 and have not grown tired of Windows-7 Pro yet.
    I am however considering moving to Windows-10 Pro.
    My reason for wanting to move is a potentially easier implementation of Raid-0 if
    the O/S can be installed on Raid-0.

    Ideally, I'd like to have Raid-0 on two physical 4TB SSD's with whatever other software I want on C: - MS Office, etc.
    D: Would have Picasa installed plus any / all of its scanned photos.
    These two physical drives would be partitioned Drive C: = 2TB and Drive D: 6TB.
    Raid-0 C: (1TB on each of the two physical drives).
    Raid-0 D: (3TB's on each of the two physical drives).

    My question to you is, can Windows-10 be run using Raid-0 as described?

    Note! My terminology may be incorrect as Windows-10 is NEW to me.
      My Computer


 

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