Windows Raid 1

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  1. RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is a storage technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a single logical unit so it behaves as one drive when connected to any other hardware. RAID 1 offers redundancy through mirroring, i.e., data is written identically to two drives.
  2. If you’re thinking that RAID 1 is a lazy man’s backup, think again. RAID 1 is not a backup, and is never, ever a replacement for a good backup. Always remember that RAID 1 is a hedge against.

Instead of having a bunch of separate drives to deal with, why not put them together into one big drive? You can use software RAID to accomplish this, and here’s how to do it.

RELATED:How to Use Windows 10’s Storage Spaces to Mirror and Combine Drives

Windows 8 or 10? Use the new Storage Spaces feature instead.

Performance

Windows has built in functionality to set up a software RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) without any additional tools. This makes it easy to turn your existing spare hard drives into massive storage or even redundant backups. In this example we are going to set up a spanned disk that takes three 2 GB disks and creates one 6 GB disk using Windows 7 Professional.

Editor’s Note: For the example in the article, we’re showing how to create a spanned drive, which isn’t technically RAID, but it works similarly and creating a RAID array is exactly the same—you can choose your preferred RAID option from the context menu.

Image by carlosgomez

Set Up Your Disks

The first step you need to do is backup your information on the disks you want to use in the RAID. While it is not required that you format your disks for some of the RAID options, don’t take the chance and make a backup.

Once all of your information is backed up, open your start menu, right click on computer and open manage.

When computer management opens click on disk management on the left side. Any disk you want included in your RAID you need to delete them from the top area of disk management.

Once they are deleted you should only be left with disks you do not want included in the RAID. The other disks will still be there but they will show up in the lower pane and show their spaces as unallocated.

Create Your RAID

In Windows they don’t call their RAID options by the traditional 0, 1, 5, 10 etc. Instead they use spanned, striped, and mirrored as the options for creating software RAIDs.

Note: RAID-5, although one of the options, isn’t actually available in Windows 7 due to licensing issues. Thanks to the commenters for pointing that out.

A spanned volume will create a single partition that will literally span all of the included disks whereas a striped volume will deliberately break up files across multiple disks in an attempt to improve read and write performance. In both cases there is no redundancy so you need to create your own backups.

A mirrored volume and RAID 5 both have some redundancy but you lose storage space to create the parity files needed for recovery. For this example we are going to go with the simplest volume type and create a spanned volume even though it isn’t technically RAID.

Right click on the first disk you want included in your RAID and select new spanned volume.

This will open up the New Spanned Volume Wizard in Windows. Click next and then select which disks you want included in your new volume (a.k.a. software RAID).

Assign the new volume a mount letter or mount point.

Name and format the volume and click next.

The final step just reviews all of your settings before the disks are formatted and the new volume is mounted.

You should also receive a warning letting you know that if your operating system is on one of these volumes you won’t be able to use it because the volume is now a dynamic volume instead of a logical volume.

Finally the disks will be formatted and once the drive is mounted you should be welcomed with the familiar AutoPlay prompt.

If you browse to Windows explorer you should also see that the new volume has the combined storage space of the three individual disks used to create it.

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Windows Raid 1 Software

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It's not a matter of 'if,' it's a matter of 'when.' Sooner or later the hard drive on your computer will die, and the odds are that you will lose all your files stored on that drive.

Of course, there is a number of ways to prevent data loss. You can, for example, keep a current backup of your computer, you can make copies of your files to an external drive, or you can store your data in the cloud. However, similar to previous versions, Windows 10 includes a feature that let you mirror the data on one drive into another to offer data protection from a drive failure.

In Windows, we call the feature 'mirror,' but the concept actually comes from the standard RAID levels, which define a number of techniques to combine multiple hard drives to offer speed, redundancy, or performance.

On the standard RAID levels, 'mirror' is defined as RAID 1, and it consists of having an exact bit-to-bit replica of the data in another hard drive. Usually, a mirror setup contains two hard drives, but you can always add more, as long you add them in pairs.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to create a mirrored volume on your computer to protect your data from drive failure.

Details before beginning

Before we dive in this guide, it's important to note that to create a mirrored volume on Windows 10, or with any operating system, you'll need at least two physical hard drives. Your second drive should be at least the same size as the original (a larger second drive is okay).

How to create a new mirrored volume

The instructions described below are to create a brand new mirrored volume where neither hard drive have any data.

To create a mirrored volume, do the following:

Windows Raid 1 Slow

  1. Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Disk Management.
  2. Right-click one of the empty drives, and select New Mirrored Volume.

  3. Click Next.
  4. Select the available drive from the left.
  5. Click Add.
  6. Specify the amount of space for the mirrored volume.

    Important: The volume cannot be larger than the amount of the available space in the smaller hard drive, as you can't mirror data to space you don't have.

  7. Click Next.

  8. Assign a drive letter or leave the default settings and click Next.
  9. Select Format this volume with the following settings option making sure file system is set to NTFS, allocation unit size is set to default, and you enter a name for the volume.
  10. Check the Perform a quick format option.
  11. Click Next.

  12. Click Finish.
  13. Click Yes to convert the basic disks to dynamic disks, which is a requirement to create a mirrored volume on Windows.

Create Raid 0 Windows 10

Once the process completes, you'll only see one volume created, and as you store content on the new volume, the data will also automatically get replicated into the secondary drive.

How to create a mirrored volume with data already in the drive

The following instructions explain the steps to set up a mirrored volume when one of the drives already have data on it.

Resyncing

To create a mirrored volume with data already in the drive, do the following:

  1. Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Disk Management.
  2. Right-click the primary drive with data on it, and select Add Mirror.

  3. Choose the drive that will act as a duplicate.
  4. Click Add Mirror.

  5. Click Yes to convert the basic disks to dynamic disks, which is a requirement to create a mirrored volume on Windows.

After completing the steps above, Windows 10 will synchronize the data on the primary drive to the second drive. This process can take a long time depending on the data you have stored in the volume.

How to recreate a mirror after drive failure

Once you set up a mirror, if either hard drive fails, you'll still be able to access your data. However, it's highly recommended that you replace the drive as soon as possible.

To recreate a mirror after a drive failure, do the following:

  1. Use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Disk Management.
  2. Right-click the hard drive in working conditions on the mirror and select Remove Mirror.

  3. Select drive labeled Missing.
  4. Click Remove Mirror.

  5. Click Yes.
  6. Right-click the primary drive with data on it, and select Add Mirror.

  7. Select the new drive that will act as a mirror.
  8. Click Add Mirror.

  9. Click Yes to convert the basic disks to dynamic disks, which is a requirement to create a mirrored volume on Windows.

After completing the steps above, Windows 10 will synchronize the data onto the new drive. Then simply repeat the process whenever a drive fails (which hopefully shouldn't be very often).

Wrapping things app

Windows 10 Disk Management Raid 1

The primary purpose of a mirror setup is to provide data redundancy to protect your files from a hard drive failure. It's not designed to offer speed or performance like other RAID array levels.

Although mirroring can protect your data, it's not a replacement for a data backup. If you accidentally delete a file from one drive, the action will also replicate to the second drive.

Finally, it's worth pointing out that thanks to the Windows 10 flexibility, you can also use Storage Spaces to create a mirrored volume.

Do you use any form of file redundancy on your computer? Tell us in the comments below.

More on Windows 10 resources

For more tips, coverage, and answers on Windows 10, you can visit the following resources: