I would like to change my RAID to single hard drives on an old sandbox server

You have to use RAID since the controller does not support passthrough/hba mode/it mode, however a single drive set as RAID 0 works fine. Not really RAID I know but that's what you have to pick in the menus.

Check which driver Windows picked, probably LSI MegaRaid since PERC5s are basically MegaRAID controllers.

I will check. I believe it is PERC 6i for the MegaRAID.

On a side note.... be aware that even if the hardware won't support better than 2012R2, you should still be able to install VMs with 2016 or 2019.

And.. yes... you are wise not to trust 12-year-old drives!

Thanks. But, I don't think you can on 2016 or 2019. See:

https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29184426/How-would-I-change-this-BIOS-issue-to-allow-Hyper-V-on-a-server.html 

specifically Andy's comments.

You can't install them since the installer checks but you may be able to import them.

So, just install one 4 TB HDD? How exactly?

Oh my bad, 2TB physical limit on your controller.

Thanks guys,

Yeah, the issue is I have the 2900, and I don't really want to throw it away. Certainly, if I were thinking upgrading the CPU or adding more RAM, basically spiffing it up for way more than one on eBay, then I would do the eBay thing. The problem is I am not in the market for an extra server. I just happen to have one now. I wanted to upgrade the drives just to solve the weakest link and simplify things. But, father time bringing old parts may make it impossible.

Expect problems with the WD Red. It is not a server drive (or even a desktop drive, for that matter) - it is a NAS drive and does not behave the way a RAID controller will expect a drive to behave.

PERC 6 = 2TB disk max (mentioned)
PERC 6 = RAID only, single disk can only be RAID 0 and must be configured (mentioned)

If you are using Samsung EVO's or Pro's, expect problems ... Intel seem to work better on these controllers.

There is a better than average chance that your desktop/laptop SSD's will blink as if they are offline - they may still work but they don't know how to tell the controller their status.

I was able to add 6T drives to a 2900, but I had to buy a different RAID controller.  I bought an H700 for under $30 on eBay.  I had to buy different cables (different connectors on the controller) and they were a challenge.  The inexpensive ones would work, but gave an error on booting.  If you don't mind that, you can get by for about $20/cable (one for each of the two backplanes).  To get around the error I bought ones from Tripplite, around $40 each.  That $100 goes a long way toward one of the $180 servers!

You may be able to find a RAID controller that doesn't require a cable change.  That could make it economical.

Thanks PowerEdgeTech,
Wow. Are you a specific tech for the PowerEdge series?
@CompProbSolver: If you purchase the inexpensive refurbished servers, you still have to purchase drives, correct.
@ Both: This solves like a heckuva project for a server hardware novice. And it is too heavy to take to some shop that I wouldn't trust anyway.

The key is not that I can get something cheaper which is better. I just hate the idea of leaving it there. I could just play with it as is. It is frustrating that 2016 and 2019 won't work with hyper-v. All because of slat. And, the Xeon needs to be 5500, and mine is like 5400 model.

I suppose servers don't allow software RAID. Just seems like I could put one or two 2TB HDDs in the thing.

You can create several RAID 0 2TB logical disks and use software RAID if you want but it'll be slower than creating an array using the PERC.

Slower as in speed of the server or slower to build? I am not worried too much about speed of the server. Just a lot of space and drives that won't fail. Plus, I don't plan to use it in production or keep any important data on it.

What I would love which is why I have to use 2012 is to have a nice sandbox to run VMs on. A place to move VMs, export VMs, etc. 

I really appreciate everyone's help.

"Thanks PowerEdgeTech,
Wow. Are you a specific tech for the PowerEdge series?"

Haha ... a couple of years in Dell server support, and lots of years and servers under my belt since :)

Yeah, SLAT is in 5500 and above, and the 2900 III chipset maxes at 5400 series (sounds like yours is the III, the only revision that even takes 5400).

2012 isn't bad as a hypervisor - it supports most Hyper-V functionality. I'm guessing you'd need SLAT support for the latest versions of VMware ESXi too, but that might be worth a look.

You should be able to get a SAS 5/i or SAS 6/iR for pretty darn cheap and leave the drives unconfigured (passthrough), then mirror in the OS - I have heard drives larger than 2TB will work in non-RAID mode (unconfigured), but I think you are better off using 2TB drives on the PERC 6. (SAS 5/i and the SAS (6) HBA are both non-RAID SAS controllers/cards for managing individual drives.)

Many servers support software RAID (or simple AHCI chipset connectivity), just not this one.

"If you purchase the inexpensive refurbished servers, you still have to purchase drives, correct. "

Depends entirely on the vendor.  

I put together one of these as my main server.  I found 1T Seagate SAS drives for $58 each on Amazon.  You can install up to 8 of those and have numerous RAID choices.

The two $180 deals I've been watching are no longer available.  I did find this one, though: https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Proliant-DL360p-G8-Server-2x-E5-2630v2-12-Cores-16GB-2x-300GB-SAS/173092220028?hash=item284d19ac7c:g:a2AAAOSwqvxeMIkL 
It has 16G of RAM and a couple of 300G SAS drives.  You could use those for the OS and then add the 1T drives for storage.

Yes, this isn't as in expensive as reusing the 2900, but it will be much more flexible.  I have a 2900 here (early model) that I need to get rid of.  It is big and heavy and I can't really see a good use for it.

So just create as Andy has stated in the first post and create a new RAID 0 virtual disk, for each disk you add.

512GB SSD and 4TB WD.

So just change the hardware RAID 1 that is already there to a RAID 0?

yes

you might need to destroy and re-create.

LOL, I am good at that. Well, at least the destroying part.

I am good at that. Well, at least the destroying part.

First removed the Mainpine board
Then the server was destroyed

Drives being destroyed by a 3rd party company. It's free for us anyway.