"Injecting" RAID into a functioning Vista build

Hello, all.

I have a current Vista Home Premium (32-bit) build. I have 4 WD 160GB SATA
drives, non-RAID. I also have an external backup solution. My motherboard
supports software RAID through an Intel controller. Here's what I would like
to do:

Go from a non-RAID setup to a RAID 0 configuration, without having to
reinstall Vista (along with everything else currently installed).

I have taken a full system backup, changed the drives into a RAID0 config,
then restored the OS et. al from backup. Yet when I try booting, the system
crashes. In my understanding, this is because the RAID drivers are not
installed in my backed up configuration. (At least, this is what would make
sense to me.)

So, the question is, how can I "inject" the RAID drivers into my current
build of Vista, take a backup of that build, switch the drives to RAID0,
restore the backup, and have my system come up cleanly?

Thank you in advance!

Jeff

"Jeff C" <JeffC@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EFC934DF-B127-44BA-A18B-829EC77CC02C@microsoft.com...
> Hello, all.
>
> I have a current Vista Home Premium (32-bit) build. I have 4 WD 160GB
> SATA
> drives, non-RAID. I also have an external backup solution. My
> motherboard
> supports software RAID through an Intel controller. Here's what I would
> like
> to do:
>
> Go from a non-RAID setup to a RAID 0 configuration, without having to
> reinstall Vista (along with everything else currently installed).
>
> I have taken a full system backup, changed the drives into a RAID0 config,
> then restored the OS et. al from backup. Yet when I try booting, the
> system
> crashes. In my understanding, this is because the RAID drivers are not
> installed in my backed up configuration. (At least, this is what would
> make
> sense to me.)
>
> So, the question is, how can I "inject" the RAID drivers into my current
> build of Vista, take a backup of that build, switch the drives to RAID0,
> restore the backup, and have my system come up cleanly?
>
> Thank you in advance!
>
> Jeff


Take a look here..

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=830

BUT, read these two first..

http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=24

http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles?&id=29

--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

No, I hadn't tried the repair. I wasn't aware that the repair would actually
diagnose a RAID issue and preperly install the drivers. I'll give that a
whirl.

Thank you for the information!

Jeff

"Phillips" wrote:

> Did you try to repair Vista and during setup to install the Raid drivers? It
> should find the OS already there.
> Otherwise, if your backup does not work, go back to your initial setup and
> try theses steps:
> http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...ticles/47.html
>
> Michael
>
>
> "Jeff C" <JeffC@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:EFC934DF-B127-44BA-A18B-829EC77CC02C@microsoft.com...
> > Hello, all.
> >
> > I have a current Vista Home Premium (32-bit) build. I have 4 WD 160GB
> > SATA
> > drives, non-RAID. I also have an external backup solution. My
> > motherboard
> > supports software RAID through an Intel controller. Here's what I would
> > like
> > to do:
> >
> > Go from a non-RAID setup to a RAID 0 configuration, without having to
> > reinstall Vista (along with everything else currently installed).
> >
> > I have taken a full system backup, changed the drives into a RAID0 config,
> > then restored the OS et. al from backup. Yet when I try booting, the
> > system
> > crashes. In my understanding, this is because the RAID drivers are not
> > installed in my backed up configuration. (At least, this is what would
> > make
> > sense to me.)
> >
> > So, the question is, how can I "inject" the RAID drivers into my current
> > build of Vista, take a backup of that build, switch the drives to RAID0,
> > restore the backup, and have my system come up cleanly?
> >
> > Thank you in advance!
> >
> > Jeff
>

Good afternoon, Mike.

Thank you for the reply. I guess I should have specified that my OS would
go on the RAID0 as well. The information you provided unfortunately
addresses new OS installations only. That defeats the purpose of not wanting
to reinstall the OS and all associated programs.

Jeff

"Mike Hall - MVP" wrote:

> "Jeff C" <JeffC@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:EFC934DF-B127-44BA-A18B-829EC77CC02C@microsoft.com...
> > Hello, all.
> >
> > I have a current Vista Home Premium (32-bit) build. I have 4 WD 160GB
> > SATA
> > drives, non-RAID. I also have an external backup solution. My
> > motherboard
> > supports software RAID through an Intel controller. Here's what I would
> > like
> > to do:
> >
> > Go from a non-RAID setup to a RAID 0 configuration, without having to
> > reinstall Vista (along with everything else currently installed).
> >
> > I have taken a full system backup, changed the drives into a RAID0 config,
> > then restored the OS et. al from backup. Yet when I try booting, the
> > system
> > crashes. In my understanding, this is because the RAID drivers are not
> > installed in my backed up configuration. (At least, this is what would
> > make
> > sense to me.)
> >
> > So, the question is, how can I "inject" the RAID drivers into my current
> > build of Vista, take a backup of that build, switch the drives to RAID0,
> > restore the backup, and have my system come up cleanly?
> >
> > Thank you in advance!
> >
> > Jeff
>
>
> Take a look here..
>
> http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=830
>
> BUT, read these two first..
>
> http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles.php?id=24
>
> http://www.pugetsystems.com/articles?&id=29
>
> --
> Mike Hall - MVP
> How to construct a good post..
> http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
> How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...help&style=toc
> Mike's Window - My Blog..
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx
>
>
>
>
>

If all else fails you probably would still have the option of restoring the
image to a single drive, installing the RAID drivers then making a new
image.

FWIW,

Len

"Jeff C" <JeffC@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9E7BDFA4-D1B2-4F6B-9F5D-3A08BF571CF6@microsoft.com...
> No, I hadn't tried the repair. I wasn't aware that the repair would
> actually
> diagnose a RAID issue and preperly install the drivers. I'll give that a
> whirl.
>
> Thank you for the information!
>
> Jeff
>
> "Phillips" wrote:
>
>> Did you try to repair Vista and during setup to install the Raid drivers?
>> It
>> should find the OS already there.
>> Otherwise, if your backup does not work, go back to your initial setup
>> and
>> try theses steps:
>> http://www.techsupportforum.com/cont...ticles/47.html
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> "Jeff C" <JeffC@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:EFC934DF-B127-44BA-A18B-829EC77CC02C@microsoft.com...
>> > Hello, all.
>> >
>> > I have a current Vista Home Premium (32-bit) build. I have 4 WD 160GB
>> > SATA
>> > drives, non-RAID. I also have an external backup solution. My
>> > motherboard
>> > supports software RAID through an Intel controller. Here's what I
>> > would
>> > like
>> > to do:
>> >
>> > Go from a non-RAID setup to a RAID 0 configuration, without having to
>> > reinstall Vista (along with everything else currently installed).
>> >
>> > I have taken a full system backup, changed the drives into a RAID0
>> > config,
>> > then restored the OS et. al from backup. Yet when I try booting, the
>> > system
>> > crashes. In my understanding, this is because the RAID drivers are not
>> > installed in my backed up configuration. (At least, this is what would
>> > make
>> > sense to me.)
>> >
>> > So, the question is, how can I "inject" the RAID drivers into my
>> > current
>> > build of Vista, take a backup of that build, switch the drives to
>> > RAID0,
>> > restore the backup, and have my system come up cleanly?
>> >
>> > Thank you in advance!
>> >
>> > Jeff
>>