9100 - Will Setting "RAID ON" in BIOS affect non-RAID SATA boot disk?

I have a Dimension 9100 currently with a non-RAID SATA boot disk. BIOS is set to "RAID AutoDetect/AHCI"  All is well...

 

1. I installed two identical 320G SATA drives that I want to configure as a RAID-1 array. 

2. I have installed the latest Intel Matrix Storage Manager software/drivers.

3. Intel Matrix Storage Console just shows the 3 SATA drives, but gives me no option(s) to create a RAID array.

4. Pressing CTRL-I at boot (Dell Logo), doesn't bring up the Intel Option ROM

 

From reading on these forums, I understand that #3 and #4 is because I need to have "SATA Operation" in the BIOS set to "RAID ON" -- once I do that, then CTRL-I should work and the Intel Matrix Storage Console should allow me to create the RAID array.

 

Question 1: Is that true?  Must I have the BIOS set to "RAID ON" to enable the creation of the RAID array?

 

Assuming the answer is "Yes" -- I'm VERY reluctant to set "RAID ON" when it gives the dialog box warning about losing data and not being able to boot.  My assumption is that this warning would only apply if I was going to add the BOOT drive to the RAID array -- which I am not (it will continue to be a non-RAID standalone drive).  However, I am VERY reluctant to proceed on the basis of an assumption...

 

Question 2: Does anyone KNOW (ie not "assume", not "well it should work this way", not "it works that way on XYZ" -- but has actually done this and KNOWS) that it won't affect the boot drive if I turn "RAID ON" in the BIOS as long as I don't make the boot drive part of the array?

 

Thanks for any help.   (And I apologize if its already been answered elsewhere in the forum -- I spent ~2 hours reading and couldn't find a definitive answer...)

 

L