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I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit from a 2 disk RAID1 volume. I'm using the Intel RAID controller built into my motherboard.

I'd like to have some sort of early warning if one of the drives starts to show signs of death. Can you guys recommend some good monitoring software that'll pipe up and tell me if I need to replace one of my drives?

I haven't used a RAID configuration before today. It was nice and easy to set up, but I'm having a hard time finding monitoring software.

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  • What motherboard do you have? Depending on what RAID chip and motherboard manufacturer, you may have different software packages available.
    – Force Flow
    Aug 21, 2010 at 0:41
  • The motherboard is a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
    – Doctor Jones
    Aug 21, 2010 at 9:07

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Do you know which RAID controller(s) you are using? Your motherboard apparently has four possible controllers, which complicates things.

Most RAID controllers provide drivers/software to monitor/manage the arrays. This same software also typically provides warning if the SMART data reports issues - it is not always possible to read SMART data from individual disks in a RAID array with conventional tools.

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  • I'm not sure which one I am currently using, but I'm happy to switch if you'd advise a particular one above the others.
    – Doctor Jones
    Jun 14, 2012 at 11:29
  • If any one of them uses true 'hardware RAID' as opposed to 'fakeRAID', I would recommend that - but a quick Google search suggests none are true hardware RAID. This forum thread seems to suggest the Intel chip over the Marvell chip at higher speeds, but it's for a different motherboard and you aren't likely to approach these speeds. It's best if you can find out which you are currently using; changing RAID controllers often destroys data.
    – Bob
    Jun 14, 2012 at 11:39
  • You could check under the Device Manager > Storage Controllers. Also, if my hunch about all your RAID controllers being fakeRAID is correct, you probably have the driver for the RAID controller already installed. I personally use the Intel fakeRAID with the Intel Rapid Storage Technology management software, which provides warnings of imminent failure.
    – Bob
    Jun 14, 2012 at 11:41
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I am not sure, but I would try if a SMART monitor (like smartmontools) can read the data from the disks.

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