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I want to set up a RAID0 configuration. I only have a 80 GB drive and a 750 GB drive. I was hoping to only RAID 80 GB of the 750 GB drive so that it would match the 80 GB drive. I heard that this may be possible, but that I would not be able to use the remaining 670 GB of the 750 GB drive. Is that true? I'm planning on using a hardware RAID on Windows 7. Let me know if you think software RAID is good enough.

So the question is: Can I create a RAID0 with a partition of hard drive (1) so that it matches the size of the other hard drive (2) and still use the left over partition for storage on hard drive (1)?

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  • Please keep your questions readable, so it's easier for people to answer them ;-)
    – Ivo Flipse
    Dec 2, 2009 at 8:02
  • Thanks for your editing quack. I don't like your title though :) Dec 2, 2009 at 17:42

2 Answers 2

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I initially thought about the Intel Matrix Storage Manager and its Matrix RAID feature, where 2 different types of RAID arrays (1 RAID1, 1 RAID0) can be stored on only 2 disks. But it's not possible with Matrix RAID to have one part of the hard disk not in a RAID unfortunately.

However, is it really worth the hassle? Seems to me like a very complex setup and also pretty crash-prone. Furthermore, performance won't be great as all accesses to the non-RAID part of the HD1 will impact the speed of the RAID volume (running on HD2 and a part of HD1).

With that in mind, wouldn't it be wiser, simpler and speedier to buy a second 750 GB disk, put both 750 GB in a RAID0 array and copy over the 80 GB disk? Or eventually use the Matrix RAID feature if you have a supported Intel chipset?

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    Accessing the storage portion of the drive could even cause delays in accessing the 80 GB partition, which the RAID controller may interpret as degraded RAID. The question should not be can you, but should you. And the answer is no.
    – ridogi
    Dec 2, 2009 at 18:04
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I think you can with software RAID, but not with hardware RAID. What OS were you planning on using and were you planning on using hardware?

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  • thanks for the response, check my post again i updated. Sorry I didn't include it at first Dec 2, 2009 at 5:38

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