ASRock ION 330HT-W7HP, ION 330HT-BD, ION 330PRO, ION 330HT Installation Guide

RAID Installation Guide

1. NVIDIA BIOS RAID Installation Guide ……………………............ 2

1.1 Introduction to RAID ……………………………………......... 2

1.2 RAID Configurations Precautions ………………………....... 3

1.3 Create Disk Array ....................………………………......… 4

2. NVIDIA Windows RAID In stallation Guide ……………………....... 8

2.1 Introduction to RAID ……………………………………......... 8

2.2 RAID Configurations Precautions ………………………....... 9

2.3 Create Disk Array ....................………………………....... 10

1. NVIDIA BIOS RAID Installation Guide

NVIDIA BIOS RAID Installation Guide is an instruction for you to configure RAID functions by using NVIDIA RAID Utility under BIOS environment. After you make a SATA / SATAII driver diskette, press <F2> to enter BIOS setup to set the option to RAID mode by following the detailed instruction of the “User Manual” in our support CD, then you can start to use NVIDIA RAID Utility to configure RAID. This section includes examples of using NVRAID RAID Utility for creating RAID arrays.You may choose to use RAID 0 or RAID 1 function on this motherboard.

This motherboard supports RAID / AHCI function under Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / Vista 64-bit, RAID / AHCI function is not available.

/ VistaTM 64-bit only. If you install Windows® XP / XP

1.1 Introduction to RAID

The term “RAID” stands for “Redundant Array of Independent Disks”, which is a method combining two or more hard disk drives into one logical unit. For optimal performance, please install identical drives of the same model and capacity when creating a RAID set.

RAID 0 (Data Striping)

RAID 0 is called data striping that optimizes two identical hard disk drives to read and write data in parallel, interleaved stacks. It will improve data access and storage since it will double the data transfer rate of a single disk alone while the two hard disks perform the same work as a single drive but at a sustained data transfer rate.

Although RAID 0 function can improve the access performance, it does not provide any fault tolerance. Hot-Plug any HDDs of the RAID 0 Disk will cause data damage or data loss.

RAID 1 (Data Mirroring)

RAID 1 is called data mirroring that copies and maintains an identical image of data from one drive to a second drive. It provides data protection and increases fault tolerance to the entire system since the disk array management software will direct all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of the data in the other drive if one drive fails.

1.2 RAID Configurations Precautions

1. Please use two new drives if you are creating a RAID 0 (striping) array for performance. It is recommended to use two SATA drives of the same size. If you use two drives of different sizes, the smaller cap acity hard disk will be the base storage size for each drive. For example, if one hard disk has an 80GB storage capacity and the other hard disk has 60GB, the maximum storage capacity for the 80GB-drive becomes 60GB, and the total storage capacity for this RAID 0 set is 120GB.

2. You may use two new drives, or use an existing drive and a new drive to create a RAID 1 (mirroring) array for data protection (the new drive must be of the same size or larger than the existing drive). If you use two drives of different sizes, the smaller capacity hard disk will be the base storage size. For example, if one hard disk has an 80GB storage capacity and the other hard disk has 60GB, the maximum storage capacity for the RAID 1 set is 60GB.

3. Please verify the status of your hard disks before you set up your new RAID array.

Please backup your data first before you create RAID functions. In the process you create RAID, the system will ask if you want to “Clear Disk Data” or not. It is recommended to select “Yes”, and then your future data building will operate under a clean environment.

1.3 Create Disk Array

After the system powers on, press <F2> key to enter BIOS setup utility. Highlight Advanced and press <Enter>, then the main inter-face of BIOS setup utility will appear. Please set the option “SATA Option Mode” to [RAID].

Advanced

SATA Configuration

Onboard SATA Controller

SATA Operation Mode [RAID]

SATAII_1 SATAII_2 SATAII_3 ESATA

BIOS SETUP UTILITY

[Enabled]

[ATAPI CDROM] [Hard Disk] [Not Detected] [Not Detected]

Options

Enabled Disabled

Select Screen

Select Screen Select Item

Select Item

+- Change Option

+- Change Option F1 General Help

F1 General Help F9 Load Defaults

F9 Load Defaults F10 Save and Exit

F10 Save and Exit ESC Exit

ESC Exit

After adjusting the system BIOS to RAID mode, reboot your system. Wait until you see the RAID software prompting you to press <F10>. The RAID prompt appears as a part of the system POST and boot process prior to loading the OS. You have a few seconds to press <F10> before the window disappears.

Detectingstoragedevices... 1 SATA_2 Slimtype DVD A DS8A3S

Press F10 to enter RAID setup utility.

After you press <F10>, the MediaShield BIOS - Define a New Array window appears. By default, RAID Mode is set to Mirrored, but please set it to Striped if you want to create RAID 0. And the Stripe Block is set to Optimal as default. We take RAID 0 for example to show you how to use MediaShield BIOS to create RAID 0 (Striped). If you plan to use MediaShield BIOS to create other RAID array, the Stripe block size is given in kilobytes, and affect how data is arranged on the disk. It is recommended to leave this value at the default Optimal, which is 64KB, but the values can be between 8KB and 128KB (8, 16, 32, 64, and 128KB). Then, you have to assign the disks. The disks that you enabled from the RAID Configuration BIOS setup page appear in the Free Disks block. These are the drives that are available for use as RAID array disk, the operation procedures are similar to the steps of creating RAID 0.

MediaShield BIOS Aug 18 2008

- Define a New Array -

RAID Mode:

Free Disks Port Disk Model Capacity

SATA_3 Hitachi HTS545 465.76GB SATA_1 Hitachi HTS545 465.76GB

[ESC] Quit[F6] Back [F7]Finish [TAB]Navigate [ ]Select [ENTER] Popup

Striped

Stripimg Block:

Array Disks Port Disk Model Capacity

[]Add

[]Del

Optimal

A. Tab to the Free Disks section. The first disk in the list is selected. B. Move it from the Free Disks block to the Array Disks block by pressing

the right-arrow key.

C. Continue pressing the right-arrow key until all the disks that you want

to use as RAID array disks appear in the Array Disks block.