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I just bought a second HDD for backups, it is exactly the same model as the first one. Both drives are secondary, I have SSD for the system. My motherboard is an Asus Gryphon Z87.

My questions:

  1. Should I use Windows or chipset RAID?

  2. If I remove one of the mirrored drives, will the system still see what is on the other when I run it?

  3. Can I still use Acronis True Image to restore my system without possibility of loosing what is on the RAID?

  4. In the past I used to have RAID 0 for speed and a few times the RAID matrix got corrupt and I lost the data. Is it possible that with RAID 1 when matrix gets corrupt the data on both drives will be unreadable? Or can I use disks separately, normal way?

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    "I just bought second HDD for backups, it is exactly the same model as the first one.", If your goal is backup, then stop now -- RAID IS NOT A BACKUP
    – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007
    May 29, 2014 at 18:37

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So @techie007 beat me to the statement about RAID not being BACKUP.

With that out of the way:

  1. Chipset every time. It is likely to be far more efficient and reliable.
  2. Do you mean: Can I use 1/2 of a RAID1 array in another PC? If so, probably not. At least not directly. Probably depends on the RAID controller though. Certainly I wouldn't rely on it without testing first.
  3. Yes. The array will appear as a single disk to Windows. Another good reason to use the chipset RAID if possible. Though watch out for drivers, I don't think you should need any if the system is relatively new but in the bad old days you used to have to add the chipset drivers to the Windows install at the right time.
  4. Yup, you've spotted the elephant in the room. RAID actually multiplies the risk of a failure. When used with consumer grade disks and controllers I rarely recommend it. It is perfectly possible for a corruption to be copied across both disks in RAID1. Using RAID also limits your flexibility and can leave you with issues if you want to have a multi-boot setup.

Personally, I would say that, having only 2 disks, use the 2nd as a local backup drive rather than RAID. Indeed, mount it in a removable fashion if you can so that you can lock it away somewhere safe when you go away. Get a 3rd drive when you can afford it and swap them round to limit loss on failure. Better still, pay for an offsite backup such as CrashPlan unlimited instead of a 3rd drive. You can also use the CrashPlan client software for free to back up locally - or indeed to share space with a friend/family.

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  • Thank you for your exhausting answers to my questions. As I suspected making RAID 1 will cause me more trouble than it's worth it. I think I will stay with it. So far I have been using simple synctoy from microsoft every time something significant was changed and it has been working pretty well for me. I've got used to it so much that it has became a second nature to me.
    – Hector Lamar
    May 29, 2014 at 22:44

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