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saintjamestkob

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I want to replace my two SSD raid 0 drives

Both C and D drives are raid 0.  C drive is SSD, the D drive is not.  C drive size is 212 GB (i.e. two 125 GB or something like that).  

I want to replace the C raid 0 drive with 1 terrabyte drives.  

I've coped the C drive to a USB drive.  I made a bootable CD for the USB drive.

What I was planning on doing was remove the SSDs (C raid 0) and install the new SSD drives; then copy the contents back to the new SSD drives.

First question, will this work?  
Second, would I then reboot and configure a raid 0?
Third, could I change the raid configuration instead to a raid 1?  (using the other new SSD as a ghost drive?)

I had this computer built for me but the builder won't advise me.

It's running Windows 7 with 64 of RAM (really).  It's even water-cooled.  It's a beast.
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Anwar Saiah

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saintjamestkob

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What is confusing me is this:  If a raid 0 setup looks at two drives as one, i.e if they are both 125 gig, then the raid 0 drive = 250.  If the two drives are considered on drive, how can I remove one, because it would be like removing half of it, wouldn't it?

When there is a raid 0 setup, are the two drives comprising the "one drive" exactly the same?
You're doing all your work off-line.
So it's no problem to move one of the drives. The system wouldn't know it.


And you are doing both drives because ,why not!!
>>  I've coped the C drive to a USB drive  <<   what software did you use? is it an image, or a file backup ?

assuming it's an image, you need a bootable cd, or usb device, to put the image back

in your case i would simply start from fresh to avoid problems, so :
-setup a raid 1 system
-put your backup on it

that's the safest, instaead of changing drives, then converting Raid o to 1
You do NOT want to clone your drives one at-a-time !

You need to use a RAID-aware imaging utility to IMAGE the "C:" drive (the array); and then restore that image to your new "C:" drive (the new RAID-0 using 1TB drives).

Assuming you have a hardware controller installed in the system, this is relatively easy.   Most 3rd party utilities will "see" the RAID set as one drive.

You said you "copied" the C: drive to a USB drive.   This is NOT what you need.   You need an IMAGE of the C: drive, which is NOT the same  (a copy will not include many critical system files).

I would try Image for DOS and see if it "sees" your C: drive as a single drive.   If it does, then it will work find for what you need.    If not, you'll need another utility for this, but the key is your imaging utility has to see the C: drive as a single drive ... NOT as its two individual components.
Your best bet to use vendor provided tools including easyus todo backup.
Instead of repeating your initial mistake, have you considered an alternate option that would make your setup more reliable?

does your system support multiple raid groups! I.e. Have the existing raid 0 and add the two new ones as a raid 1?
1) Take backup image of the current configuration.
2) Reconfigure the RAID as you want.
3) Restore from backup image over new configuration.
Note, I would use the SSD drives in software RAID if the hardware RAID controller is not SSD drive aware (allows TRIM). Software RAID means that drives are dynamic in Windows and you build the configuration according to your needs using Windows tools.
rindi,
If the answers stimulate other questions on the same topic, do I need to initiate new questions, or can I just continue the thread here?
It depends on how related they are. Generally if this Question was answered, you should accept the correct comments and open a new Question for your other issues. If the answers for this one clear to you, and your other Questions are just more for clarification to get this one answered, you should ask for the clarification here.
It depends on how "new" the questions are.    For example, if your question is HOW to do the image/restore, that's just a continuation of this question.    If you have a different topic, it's best to start a new question.
... Seems rindi & I were typing at the same time :-)
Sweet.  Here it goes:

Drive C is raid 0+1
Drive D is raid 1

My understanding is that the way C is "raided," that two drives are seen as one by the operating system.

The two drives on D as a raid 1 are being mirrored.

1. This being true, I can remove one of the drives in the D configuration, clone or ghost the C drive to it,
2. Replace the drive I removed from the D side.
3. Remove the C configuration drives.
4. Replace with the cloned/imaged drive.
5. Install the 2nd (virginal) new SSD drive.

Assuming this is right, then . . .

In my new world, I want both the C and the D drive to both be raid 1, so that there are mirrored copies of each.  Do I do this when I reboot?
It sounds like drive C: is RAID-0, NOT 0+1  (0+1 would require 4 drives).
   
You don't want to "remove one of the drive in D: => it's a RAID-1 mirror, so just leave it alone.   The RAID-1 provides you with fault-tolerance for your data "drive" (D:) ... there's no reason to break that mirror.

What you want to do is IMAGE the C: "drive" to a folder on D: -- then shut down; replace the two SSDs that make up your RAID-0 with a pair of larger SSDs;  boot to the RAID controller and set up a new RAID-1 array; and then boot to your imaging utility and restore the image you made to the new RAID-1.

Alternatively, if you have enough SATA ports on your RAID controller to do it, there's another way you can do this that could be done entirely from within Windows.     Add your two new 1TB SSDs to the system;  go to the RAID controller and create a RAID-1 array with those two drives;  then boot to Windows and using a "live imager" [An imaging utility that works within Windows] such as Image for Windows, do a Copy of the RAID-0 array to the new RAID-1 "disk".    When that's done, shut down, disconnect the two older SSDs, and then boot to the BIOS and set the boot device to the new RAID-1 SSD array.
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THanks
I could not respond to this thread because, although all the suggestions were great, the drives were ultimately doomed to be replaced.  I was able to archive my files through Acronis and then go back and pick which ones I wanted to save.  What an ordeal this all way.  Never again.