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    M17 raid.

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by mcdgexxx, Apr 1, 2009.

  1. mcdgexxx

    mcdgexxx Notebook Consultant

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    So I just ordered put a huge order in on newegg for 4gigs of ram, and a WD 320 scorpio HDD, I have an identical drive in my asus i'm using now, and would like to put both of them in my new M17 when it arrives. Has the M17/Whitebooks raid issues been fixed? What do I need to set this up?
     
    mcdgexxx, Apr 1, 2009
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  2. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    yes i believe that raid is fixed on the m17 except with the quad core. i think you willl be fine. just run a fresh install and the hdtune. and some benchmarks and compare it to someone's here.
     
    dondadah88, Apr 1, 2009
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  3. Rob41

    Rob41 Team Pirate Control

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    After you install both HDD's and press the power button enter the bios. You'll need to enable Raid. Other than that it's the same as doing a clean install.
     
    Rob41, Apr 2, 2009
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  4. mcdgexxx

    mcdgexxx Notebook Consultant

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    How do I go about setting it up? Will I have an issue not having the alienware respawn cd?

    edit: oh awesome thanks. So I'll enable raid, then go into the windows set-up and format the drives and install? Will my M17 come with an Vista disc?
     
    mcdgexxx, Apr 2, 2009
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  5. Rob41

    Rob41 Team Pirate Control

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    You will have an install disc that will restore all software as it came from A.W. as well as driver discs etc. Like I said earlier, everything will be the same after enabling Raid in the bios.
     
    Rob41, Apr 2, 2009
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  6. Yamato

    Yamato Notebook Geek

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    Just rmember you need an excatly 2nd HDD to do RAID

    BTW, thereb are some users that never found any problem with M17 raid config... so dont worry and go ahead
     
    Yamato, Apr 4, 2009
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  7. HaloGod2007

    HaloGod2007 Notebook Virtuoso

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    you dont need the exact same HDD to do raid.....like for raid 0 you can do different sizes, brands, cache....however the drives will only operate at the slowest hard drives speed and the smaller hard drive for space, though its best to be the same. Ive done this many times with no issues at all
     
    HaloGod2007, Apr 4, 2009
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  8. real_minime

    real_minime Notebook Geek

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    you might also wanna make a backup of the hidden respawn-partition on a dvd in case you wanna use it later...
     
    real_minime, Apr 4, 2009
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  9. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    wait could i put my SSD and 160 into raid ? what would the speed be? i know it should be the slower speed but im JW
     
    The_Moo™, Apr 4, 2009
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  10. julian-nold

    julian-nold DELETED

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    The speed would be like having two 160ers i think? Because, as HeloGod2007 said, the worse "ability" gives you the limit ...

    I get with the dual 160er 120mb/s avarage, the linked SSDs are mutch faster than that so don't raid them :D

    Greetings
    Julian
     
    julian-nold, Apr 4, 2009
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  11. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    What are the issues of RAID and a the Quad Core CPU? I haven't had any problems.
     
    TurbodTalon, Apr 4, 2009
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  12. HaloGod2007

    HaloGod2007 Notebook Virtuoso

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    insufficient power to cpu and gpus's.....frame drops..stuttering....corssfire dropping to single gpu performance
     
    HaloGod2007, Apr 4, 2009
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  13. Rob41

    Rob41 Team Pirate Control

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    This configuration won't be a problem if two SSD's are used instead of old fasioned HDD's. :D

    SSd's consume much less power and don't generate the heat, less weight, more reliable, much faster etc.

    Also I've read that the OCZ .28 bios addresses this power issue.
     
    Rob41, Apr 4, 2009
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  14. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    i know they would be slower ... i was just pokin thanks guys
     
    The_Moo™, Apr 4, 2009
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  15. mcdgexxx

    mcdgexxx Notebook Consultant

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    The two drives I will be using are exactly the same, the 320 WD Scorpio in my Asus and a 2nd 320 scorpio I Just ordered off newegg.
     
    mcdgexxx, Apr 4, 2009
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  16. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    My two 160GB drives are both WD, but they aren't the same serial number or anything. One came with my M17, and one came out of my old Dell E1705. It doesn't really matter. You will be fine.
     
    TurbodTalon, Apr 5, 2009
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  17. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    So is this RAID0 + Quad Core issue a BIOS thing, or is the power brick not delivering enough juice?

    Would there be any benefit to buying another bigger single drive?
     
    TurbodTalon, Apr 5, 2009
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  18. dondadah88

    dondadah88 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    bios. the psu is perfectly fine.
     
    dondadah88, Apr 5, 2009
    #18