Help installing raid 0 using Samsung 850 EVO SSDs on Dell XPS 8300

System: Dell XPS 8300, i7-2600, 3.4 GHz, 16 GByte memory running Windows 10 PRO. Currently the boot device is a Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB. The motherboard is a Dell 0y2mrg containing an H67 Express Sata/6 controller(chipset). The performance is very good, particularly with Rapid mode(a disk caching app by Samsung) enabled. There is a secondary 1 TB hard drive which is used as storage for less active files. The graphics has been replaced with an NVidia 750 GTX with two HDMI outputs. I have to admit this is a quick system, my major uses are using Excel with large files(5-100 MB) and number crunching. I've decided not to replace the CPU or MBoard until one or the other fails, thinking i7-6800. I run an incremental Acronis backup every day with full saves every 20 days.

I'd like to add another Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB to this system and run both together in raid 0 and use the raid structure as the boot device. I already own the second 850 EVO. My major motivation is capacity, followed by speed. I should have purchased a 1 TB SSD but didn't.

Can anyone direct me to the literature that explains how to implement raid 0 with Windows 10 PRO? I realize the entire conversion process may involve a lot of moving stuff around and so forth. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Glen

Most likely, it would involve a clean install. Your first step is to check the BIOS to see if it is supported. I was going to make the case to not even bother with RAID0 with SSDs, but if your BIOS doesn't support it, I would avoid software RAID at all costs.

The gain on ssd with raid is zero and if one disk dies everything is lost

I realize there won't be much of a performance gain if any. However the capacity gain is worth some effort.

The MB does have a raid option. Where do I go from here?

Thanks for your efforts and I should have purchased the 1 TB 850 EVO but what I have is 2 500 GB 850 EVOs.

It will require a fresh install, but you connect both SSDs, configure the array in the BIOS, and then boot to your Windows 10 and install as you normally would. Your system should see a single 1 TB drive, if you configured the array properly.

DeaconFrost said:

It will require a fresh install, but you connect both SSDs, configure the array in the BIOS, and then boot to your Windows 10 and install as you normally would. Your system should see a single 1 TB drive, if you configured the array properly.

there is no need for that ........ and no data is lost ... if you use the Intel RST Software in Windows...... if the drives are of equal size ....which they are in this case, it's fairly easy, you can also set the Stripe size etc (64K) while doing it . In my case the 2 SSD's aren't even the same brand ..a Crucial M4 and a Plextor M5 both at 128GB though.

Certainly it may have been easier for me as I already had Raid Enabled , as I have a Raid0 Data Array too , I am using RST Driver and Software Package 11.7.4.1001 , since Drivers in the 13 series Corrupt Data in Windows 10 on the ICH10R.

Personally , on this old machine as it is only SATA2 capable It didn't double the speed in AS SSD Benchmark but it certainly looks like it helps in some areas but I am no expert on this.

Happy to post more if you still need help.....

KB

the Plextor on its own



the Crucial on its own




and the Raid0 array


It did tell me there was an Error when I told it to make the Array , I couldn't stop the "create" process but once it was completed and verified it turn out the Error was that although RST saw the 238GB Array , it had not Merged the two drives as far as Windows was concerned , so I had to Use Minitool Partition Wizard to Expand C:\ into the Unallocated Space on the Array. Not sure if that is usual or not as I have only done this once , so far all seems well.


KB.

I assume you are on AHCI now ? so you would need to do this below. 1st to get Raid Enabled ...however be prepared for a failure and make sure to have full image backs 1st just incase.


Change to RAID mode from AHCI mode or IDE mode:Warning: Spoiler! (Click to hide)

• Exit all Windows-based programs.
• Press [Win] + R or take the RUN option from the start menu.
• Now type regedit there and press Enter Key to open up the Registry Editor Window.
• If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
• Locate and then click the following registry subkeys:Code:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\msahci
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStorV
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\iaStor
  
  
• In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
• In the Value data box, type 0 [3 is default], and then click OK.
• On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
• Restart your computer
• Go to UEFI/BIOS and enable RAID, Save & Reboot
• Another restart will be required to finish the driver installation.
  Note: If you have an AMD systems you may need to look here too: http://superuser.com/questions/30003...s-installation

above info stolen from :

How to: Change SATA Modes After Windows Installation

Thanks to both DeaconFrost and KBird. I'm slowly working my way through this. So far I've been unsuccessful so here goes:

1. I opened up regedit and located iaStorV, but not iaStor or msahci. Variations of those two keys exist elsewhere in the registry but not in

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\. None of these variations is exact.

2. if I do find the proper keys, there several names listed, which one do I change? None has the value 3.
3. I did get two SSDs connected and I can boot from either one. Neither is new; both have Windows 10 OSes installed.
4. Changed the SATA mode from AHCI to RAID, saved and then rebooted.
5. The Intel Rapid Storage Technology screen came up and listed all the devices attached to the SATA controller. The status of each drive was non-raid which is correct. The screen also had a line that said "type control-I" to enter the configuration dialogue. I pressed control-I and f6 both in various combinations and in all cases the screen closed and I received an error that said no boot device could be found. Also if I failed to press any key, the screen disappeared in a few seconds and I received the same error. Since I failed to update the registry, maybe the system would configure raid.

Any ideas?

Thanks again.