XPS 420 Raid options

Assuming you've to a WD Raptor 10K drive (the 74 G unit), saddling it with a 7200 rpm 234G drive will simply reduce its performance - not to mention waste most of its capacity.  You'll end up with a 150G array running at the slower speed.

 

You're better off with the Raptor as the boot drive and the other one as a separate, storage drive.

 

Eventhough the 74GB drive is not a Raptor, I agree with ejn63 in that you'll waste drive capacity since RAID 0 will result in a 150GB array volume. You're better off buying another 234GB drive (320GB i'm assuming) then setup your RAID 0 and enjoy 4684GB of space.

Hello CMB, It is possible to create a Raid array on the XPS 420. I have a Raid0 (stripped) setup on my XPS 420 and it works beautifully. However, it must be done in the correct manor, or it will not perform properly, if at all. The first thing you need to do is install the A04 BIOS update if not already done. This update is listed by Dell as "Urgent" and addresses, among other issues, the Raid array. The basis for a Raid array is to have 2 or perhaps, more drives, in  the array. It is possible to create a Raid array with different sizes, brands, and models of the drives you install, however this is not advisable because the Raid array will be created at the size of the smaller drive times 2 or 3, depending on how many drives you have in the array, and also at the slower speed of the drives. For optimal use and performance, it is recommended to use the same brand, size, and model of all the drives to be included in the Raid array. Otherwise, you will encounter problems. Also, it is best to go with as large as you can with the size of the drives because you will encounter a loss of disk size in the array. An example is a Raid array of two 500 GB drives in a Raid0 array will give you approximately 931 GBs of usable drive space, depending on the size of the sectors. You also need to be aware, that if you loose one drive in the array, you will loose all data on both drives, so a fresh and comprehensive backup approach needs to be implemented. Backup, and do it often, to prevent your data loss. I have used Raid0 arrays for over ten years now without any issues at all. But that is not the norm, so be forewarned about the backups. I use a third drive for backup purposes. If you cannot setup your Raid array in this manor, I would not even attempt it, because you want be happy with it. If it is set up properly, the system will be much more responsive than a normal single drive setup. My system Raid0 array yields 177.4 mbps and the single drive yields 54.5 mbps. So the Raid0 array is over three times as fast in the read mode, and is very noticeable. If you go with a Raid array, I wish you good luck. You want be disappointed. Hope this helps.

I have an external hard drive that I use for back ups. if I got with 70GB for each drive, for a total of 140GB I will have plenty of space on my external drive for back ups, I wont even come close to using all 140GB either. Is there a step by step instruction manual somewhere? I already have my Vista installed so will I need to reformat? Any help to get it set up will be appreciated.

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@CMB wrote:

I have an external hard drive that I use for back ups. if I got with 70GB for each drive, for a total of 140GB I will have plenty of space on my external drive for back ups, I wont even come close to using all 140GB either. Is there a step by step instruction manual somewhere? I already have my Vista installed so will I need to reformat? Any help to get it set up will be appreciated.

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Hello CMB, It is not possible to create a Raid array on an external hard drive. In your specs. shown, you have a 320 gb hard drive. If I were going to Raid, I would determine the brand and model, you already know the size, and purchase another hard drive just like the one you have. You could use your external drive as a backup drive. All you need to back up are documents, photos, downloaded files, etc. that you don't have disk to reinstall after the Raid array and OS are installed. The Dell XPS 420 manual gives some information on creating a Raid array but not everything you need to know. If you decide to go this route, there are many members that can walk you through the process. It is not hard at all, just a few things that need to be followed properly to get it right. You will be impressed with the Raid0 array performance but you MUST keep a current backup of the files that cannot be replaced due to a Raid failure. Hope this helps.

no no no,forget my specs they are wrong. I have a 230GB internal HD and a 74 GB internal HD, I also have a 140GB external HD. I want to make the 2 internal HD's RAID. I realize if I go raid the 230 GB will be reduced to 74GB usable space but I do not care. Dell instructions are no help.

Hello CMB, OK, I misunderstood what you were asking. Sorry for that. You say that you have a 230 gb and a 74 gb internal hard drive. I don't want to question your accuracy on these drives, but I have never heard of drives of this size. Can you advise the brand and model of each of the drives so I can look up the specs. and see what you have? I understand about the Dell manual on Raid arrays. Not much help there. I had no problem setting up my Raid on the Dell system, but I have done this many, many times and sort of knew what to expect. When I can research your drive brands and models, I can then know what we are dealing with. This is very important for the Raid to work properly. You can go into the Control Panel/Device Manager and look for the Disk Drives and find some information on them. Thanks

The sizes are afer formatting, usable space, the 74 GB is a Seagate, its really something like 75GB. The other is a 240GB with a 10 GB partion, this 230 GB. If ihave to lose that 10GB partion, its not the end of the world. They are both 7200 RPM.

Sorry to be so long returning but I had some business I had to attend to. I would not recommend creating a Raid array with these two very different hard drives. You would loose the 10 gb partition. If you want to try and get these two hard drives to work together, and were successful, you would end up with a Raid0 array with something around 130-135 gbs of available hard drive space. Even though they are both 7200 rpm drives, the cache size may be different, which would effect the Raid array substantially. Hard drives with this much difference is greatly discouraged by everyone I know that uses Raid. If you still want to try though, We can proceed and I can advise how to set the Raid0 up on your XPS 420. Just let me know.

ok, let me humor you, J/K :smileywink: I just bought 2 500 GB Seagate Barracuda Hard drives.

 

Now where do we begin :)

A04 Update, CHECK.

I plan on removing both current internal HD's right now, and installing the 2 new Barracudas (how are these by the way???)

 

Ok, That sounds great. Before we begin, are you going to install the new drives and remove the previous drives. The reason I ask is that the XPS 420 will only accomodate a total of 3 hard drives and the 3rd one has to be installed in the flex bay (floppy drive) area. This is the way I went but you may not want to do it this way since you have an external drive for backup purposes. Also, Have you updated the BIOS to the latest A04 version. This needs to be done before you start.

I understand the Seagate drives are very good. Before we get started, make any backups that you may need to such as documents, photos, downloded files, etc. Then update the A04 BIOS. Just in case you are not familuar with how to do this, just go to the Dell website and enter you service tag number in search and you will be sent to the download page for your system. Locate the BIOS update and download it to the desktop. Doubleclick on the icon as you normally would and the update will begin. It will reboot the system and enter the BIOS update. Takes a few minutes, reboot and when the Dell Logo screen appears, press F2 to enter the BIOS. When in the BIOS make sure the first boot option is DVD and the second is Raid. Also set the Raid option to Raid. Insert the Vista disk in the DVD drive and press ctrl, alt, delete and the system will reboot. Immediately when you see the Dell Logo appear, Press ctrl+I key at the same time and this will put you into the Intel Raid Setup Utitilty. The first option will be "Creat Raid0". This should be highlighted. Press enter, then use the arrow keys to scroll down to the next option, press enter, scroll down and continue until you get to the point that it ask for the disk to be used in the Raid0 array. Highlight the first drive and press the space bar and it will be selected. Move the arrow key down to the next drive and press the space bar again. Both drives should then be selected for the Raid0 array. They should show up as such. Exit out of the Raid Utility and when the system reboots, at the Dell Logo press the F12 key to enter the boot priority. It should show the DVD drive first and the Raid array second. If so exit out of this and reboot and the system should boot to the DVD with the Vista Disk. Follow the instructions on the screen from there. If you have any problems, let me know.

I just happened to think about the cables for the drives. The SATA cables need to be connected to the SATA Port0 and Port1. These ports are located to the immediate right side of the memory modules in the upper right corner of the motherboard. They may already be connected there. Also, the new drives need to be installed exactly in the reverse order as the previous drives were removed. The blue hard drive caddy needs to be installed on the drive with the drive label facing upward, otherwise it want let you insert into the drive cage.