Tech Tip of the Day: How to configure a RAID volume on an Intel motherboard

Description: This guide will walk through how to create a RAID volume on an Intel motherboard. Most Intel motherboards will support RAID 0 or RAID 1. RAID, or Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks is a technology that provides storage reliability through redundancy, combining multiple hard disk drives in to one logical unit wherein data is stored in multiple copies across multiple hard drives.

There are many types of RAID but the two most common are RAID 1 and RAID 0. RAID 1 is a duplicate drive, essentially Drives 1 and 2 will be exactly the same. This is done so that if either of the two drives fail, an exact copy of that drive is readily available.

Example:
Drive 1: File A, File B, File C, et cetera.
Drive 2: File A, File B, File C, et cetera.

RAID 0 is in fact not really RAID at all because it is not redundant. RAID 0 splits a file in to pieces and puts some of the pieces on Drive 1 and some on Drive 2, to increase speed. The theory is that if Drive 1 reads the first part of File A, and Drive 2 reads the second part of File A, the information is actually read twice as fast and thus the computer is twice as fast. The major downside is that this actually doubles your susceptibility to hardware failures as if one drives fails, all of the information is lost.

1. Make sure two hard drives are connected to the motherboard and are connected to the power supply.
2. Enter the standard BIOS by pressing the F2 key repeatedly on POST.
3. Once in the BIOS go to the Configuration tab, then select SATA Drives
   
   


4. Within the SATA Drives heading set the Chipset SATA Mode to <RAID>
   
   


5. Save changes and Exit.
6. After the settings have been saved, power down the machine
7. Power on the machine and immediately begin tapping the Ctrl key and the I key repeatedly. This will access the RAID BIOS.
8. The RAID BIOS will show both drives connected to the system. In this menu select Create RAID Volume
   
   


9. Select a Name for the volume and press the Tab key
   
   


10. Select the RAID type (0 or 1) using the up or down arrow keys and press Tab again.
    
    


11. Press the Tab key through the rest of the options until you get to the Create Volume option and press the Enter key.
    
    


12. A data loss warning will appear when creating a new volume: All data will be lost on both drives. Press the Y key to create the RAID volume.
    
    


13.  The two drives will show in a RAID once this is complete. Press ESC then Y to Exit the RAID BIOS then install your operating system on your drives which are now in RAID.
    
    

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Know Your PC: Basic Answers you need to be able to tell your "computer geek"

"What kind of PC is it"? "Grey." (An actual answer to an actual question.)

Sooner or later you're going to have a problem with your computer, a question about its operation, or the need to upgrade it for better performance. If you're bringing your computer with you to Micro Center® it's easy for our sales associates to find the right item you need. But what if you're just stopping in to ask a "quick question", or contact our Central Technical Support group? Here are some basic answers you'll want to have stored in your smart phone…

1. What is the Manufacturer, Make, Model, and possibly Variant?

Saying that you have an "HP" computer is like saying you have a "GM" vehicle. Make a note of the information found the sticker on the bottom or back of your computer. So why wouldn't "Compaq Presario" be good enough? Compaq has been using that model name on both its desktops and laptops for many, many years. The full description of your machine will look something like "Compaq Presario laptop model F700, variant F702US". If you can't find the model details, check your vendor's web site for instructions on how to locate the sticker or what details are important.

The HP web site has pictures of where the model information can be found for HP and Compaq computers.

When you do locate the sticker, they identify the important information their service or support people will need.

2. What is your Operating System version, as well as any "major" software packages?

Sometimes your questions will have more to do with the software that's running on your system than the system hardware itself. When this is the case, you'll need to be just as specific on the Operating System (OS) or the software application in question.

Using Microsoft as an example, saying your computer is running "Windows" covers too many decades of products. By convention, when Microsoft says "Windows" they always mean the current version of their OS; otherwise they state the full name of the product.

Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 1,2, or 3, Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, 32 or 64 bit, Service Pack 1 or 2, Windows 7 Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, 32 or 64 bit – all of these "answers" to "What OS are your running?" can lead to different solutions.

Right Click on My Computer and select "Properties" to see basic information about your Windows OS, CPU and RAM.

Continuing with the Microsoft example, saying you have "Office" helps somewhat, but not as much as saying Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2010 plus the suite name (Home and Student, Home and Business, Professional, Standard, etc.)... and all of those options are just in the Microsoft world; Apple has its own set of products.

3. How much Memory (RAM) and Storage (Disk Space) do you have?

Rather than rely on a specification sheet for the general answer, it's better to know the amount of memory, also called RAM, and storage, also called disk space or hard drive size. The units of measurement of these two pieces of hardware are similar – they are both measured in gigabytes (GB) or on older system in megabytes (MB). Want to be really prepared to provide this answer? Here are some details for each that are very helpful:

• RAM
  • Total amount (as in 1GB) - This may be displayed in the system information window.
  • Number of "sticks" of memory (as in 1 or 2 or 4)
  • Number of memory slots on your motherboard (as in 2 or 4 on most boards).
• STORAGE
  • The number of hard disk drives in your system
  • The capacity of each drive and if they are IDE (wide grey ribbon cable) or SATA (thin connector)
  • Any special drives, like SSD drives
  • Any special drive configurations such as RAID 0, 1, etc.
    (RAID 0 = two or more "striped" drives for improved performance; RAID 1 = two or more "mirrored" drives for redundancy.)

Some of this information you can determine with system applications that show you details about your computer. Still confused? Just bring the unit into Micro Center and we'll figure it out.

Belarc Advisor is free for personal use.

One helpful tool that you can download from www.belarc.com or download.cnet.com is Belarc Advisor. This tool will scan your Windows computer and report details on the OS, system memory, hard drives, and will also detect many different applications. For programs like Microsoft Office, Belarc Advisor can also report the product key that was used to install the program - all very good to know if you were to have a hard drive fail...

Note: Belarc Advisor is free for personal use, but not permitted for business, educational or government systems; special corporate licensing is available.

4. Who is your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and your service level?

As more of owning a computer means being on the Internet, it's helpful for us to know who is providing your service, what type of service it is (dial-up, DSL, Cable), and what level or speed you have.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Backups and Archiving

1) Plan your backup

The first step is to determine what needs to be backed up. How and what to backup are personal decisions based on how you use your computer. The following are some examples.

Basic system: Data only

Do you use your computer for personal use with its original factory configuration and perhaps an additional program or two? Consider a Data Only Backup Solution. Frequency of Backups would depend on how often information is added or changed. The more often you add or change files, the more often you should back them up. For programs like Outlook and Quicken, where it’s not obvious where their data are kept; their help files usually describe how to back them up.

Complex system: Hard drive imaging plus separate data backup

Do you have a large number of programs installed and/or complex configurations that would take many hours to recreate? Would you or your business suffer if you had to take the time to set everything up from scratch? Consider a disk imaging solution. A disk image, created with a program such as Symantec’s Ghost, is an exact copy of an entire hard drive. Create a new disk image every time a major system change is made. Then Backup your data as needed.

Business system: Automated, complete system backup

Does your computer contain real-time business data that changes frequently? Consider an automated software backup solution and redundant hardware systems. Implement a backup media rotation system and rotate a set off site. Super critical systems warrant complete backup computers and even entire off-premise facilities, called hot-sites.

Things to consider

Try to implement the simplest plan possible which will still accomplish your goals. The less effort it takes to back up your computer, the more likely you will have a current backup when you need it. For example: configure your applications so they keep their data in a central location. By doing this, a backup can be accomplished by simply copying that one folder to a blank CD.

The programs and operating system on your computer are interconnected. A portion (Just the OS or a single Application) will not function apart from the whole. Data files, on the other hand, are portable. Backup (and restore) either the entire computer or just the data; anything else won’t work. In addition, operating systems are unique to the machine on which they were installed. If you restore an OS onto a different computer, it most likely will not work. There are ways around this problem, but they are difficult to implement. If you are dealing with irreparable or stolen hardware, your most straightforward option is to install your programs onto a replacement computer and restore only data.

Even if you choose a complete disk backup solution, not all the files need to be backed up. Some commercial music or video files are encoded so they will only work on the unit where they were originally downloaded. Whether they can be used on a different or recovered system depends on the Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme used. Also, things like the Internet Cache and temporary files folders have no value. Backing them up will only waste your time and space on your backup media.

2) Determine if backup software is necessary

For most basic backups, simply copying the files to external media is adequate. For more complex situations, backup software can provide added flexibility. Backup software allows you to specify what parts of your computer you wish to include and exclude from the backup. They allow you to make Incremental or Differential backups, where only the files that have changed since the last backup session are copied, speeding the backup process.

Most backup programs also have a schedule or timer feature, which can perform the backup after office hours. If the selected media cannot contain the entire archive, some programs allow backups to span multiple pieces of media. The resulting media can contain the following: Plain files (copy), disk images (Ghost), and archive files (backup programs). Everything except for the plain file copy requires using the creating program to restore files.

In order to restore a backup, you need a functioning computer. Some backup programs come with bootable disks, which will allow you to use a computer with a corrupted (non-bootable) operating system. Many programs even support performing a data restore over network connections.

3) Select where you are going to put your backup

Once you know what needs to be backed up and how you can select appropriate media, some things to consider include the following:

• Will the media hold the entire backup, or will you have to "babysit" and swap in blank media as needed?


• How long it will take to run the backup?


• Do you want multiple sets of backup media to rotate off-site? (This can be difficult with an external hard disk drive, but easier with tapes or recordable DVDs if the amount of data is not too great.)

Some people opt not to use removable media at all and instead synchronize their data across multiple computers, such as between their home and office. Others choose on-line data warehouses on the Internet where they can store their backups. And still others put their trust in redundant (mirrored) drive systems. In the end, it’s up to you to decide what’s right for you.

Media	Avg. Capacity	Speed	Pros and Cons
USB "Thumb" Drives	2GB and up	Fast	Small, easily lost or damaged
Recordable Optical Disks	650MB (CD) 4.7 - 9.4GB (DVD)	Medium	Inexpensive, easily damaged
Removable Disks	1.4MB (floppy) 500MB+ (MO)	Varies	Media can be expensive, availability issues
External Hard Drives	80 - 1TB	Very Fast	Huge capacity, fast, may not be very portable
Local Area Network (Shared server storage)	Varies	Medium	Requires network, ties up network bandwidth
Internet-Based Backup	Varies	Slow	Off-Site, accessible anywhere, requires broadband; ongoing cost
Network Attached Storage (NAS) Stand-Alone Storage (SAS)	Varies	Medium	Requires network, can tie up network bandwidth
RAID (mirroring)	Varies	Very Fast	Real time, requires no user intervention, no off-site storage or history

4) Make a recovery plan and recovery kit

The best time to determine how to restore a system is not in the middle of a crisis. Consider making a written plan of the steps necessary to restore your computer before it is needed. Keep this plan updated and, if possible, test it to make sure it works. In addition, test your backups, making sure the media is readable and that it contains everything it is supposed to.



If your hard drive fails catastrophically, having a current backup can be
critical.

Be aware that viruses and other malicious programs are just files on the
hard drive and can inadvertently be included. A comprehensive anti-virus package should be used on every computer.

Create a recovery kit and keep it in a secure, but accessible, location.
If your backup contains critical Business information, two copies are suggested, keep on on-site for immediate access, and a second copy off-site as a precaution against catastrophic events.

Your recovery kit should contain the following:

• An up-to-date copy of your recovery plan


• Operating System or restore CDs and product key


• All application installation CDs and their product keys


• All programs needed to recover the backup data


• Anything else needed to make this or another computer functional

Windows XP includes a backup utility that can save your files to removable media, a different hard drive, or a network drive.

Note: It does not directly support burning to recordable CD or DVD media.

Windows 7 Backup application adds an option to create an emergency boot disk and can make a complete system backup or incremental backup either at a scheduled time or on demand.



Backup 2.0.2 is available to .Mac members by selecting the Backup icon on the .Mac website and via Automatic Software Update to .Mac members who have already installed a previous version of Backup.

If you use OS X 10.5 or 10.6 and are a subscriber to MobileMe, download the current version of MobileMe Backup to keep items in your Home folder in sync across multiple computers and devices. This includes email, contacts, calendar, bookmarks and other content. To backup items outside of the Home folder, Apple suggests using Time Machine, which can back up your entire hard drive to a Time Capsule, hard drive, or network volume.

What is NAS or Network Attached Storage?

Network Attached Storage/Server or as known as NAS is simply a storage device connected through a local network connection. For example, if a home office has several PCs connected to the same LAN, you can perform regular backups of each system to the same storage location. For both security and a disaster plan, it is critical that you have current copies of your operating system and personal files made on a weekly or at least a monthly basis. NAS is a great solution, because it offers larger storage capacity plus can be access from any PC within the local area network.

There are several options for network attached storage offered by Buffalo Technology, Seagate and Western Digital. Each NAS comes in a various size capacities ranging from 1Terabyte to 8Terabyte which provides 1000 – 8000 Gigabytes of storage capacity. In addition, each server has built-in file encryption and auto-backup features. These servers are also multi-compatible with most operating systems including Windows, Mac and Linux, and can connect up to 10 computers at once.

Here are some NAS product examples:

Seagate Black Armor
http://bit.ly/IyiSK

Buffalo LinkStation
http://bit.ly/OH7WO

Western Digital My Book
http://bit.ly/flMfP5












Shop NAS on Microcenter.com »
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Reference:
Seagate. Network Storage Troubleshooter.
http://bit.ly/dItoYc

Seagate Black Armor
http://bit.ly/IyiSK

Buffalo LinkStation
http://bit.ly/OH7WO