Windows Software Raid 0

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. In fact, one of the most popular types of arrays in workstations is RAID 0, which is also called 'striping'. It takes all of the data and splits it into equal parts to be spread across each drive in the array.

Ask any enthusiast with a competent desktop PC tower and they’ll tell you that one of the best advantages of a traditional rig is the easy upgradeability.

Create Software Raid 0 Windows 10

Indeed, there truly is no pleasure greater than that which results from popping a spare SATA cable onto a brand-new SSD or hard drive. Unfortunately, the thrill often stops there.

Dynamic neuromuscular stabilization exercises. As you begin to install new apps, divvying up folders between multiple drives, seemingly basic tasks become obstructive challenges. Once you run out of storage for your overwhelming archive or Steam games, the question arises: should you move something from your current Steam folder to the Recycle Bin or start a brand-new one on a secondary drive?

For instances like this, there’s a clear-cut solution that we don’t talk about enough in the computing world. Dubbed RAID 0, a name that refers to the redundant array of independent disks (RAID) and the level zero at which it’s performed, this technique is designed to “stripe” data between multiple drives.

Windows 7 software raid 0 setup

In turn, a RAID 0 configuration will produce a single virtual drive listed under the “This PC” section of File Explorer, effectively cutting down on all the clutter. In this tutorial, we’ll explain how to achieve this yourself in , covering everything from the prerequisites to the final, consolidated product.

First steps to RAID 0 in Windows 10

The first step in prepping your PC for some much-needed storage blending is to make sure that each of the drives you plan on unifying are the same make and model, and use the same firmware.

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Of course, it’s certainly possible to fuse different drives in a RAID 0 arrangement, but it’s not ideal as the configuration will automatically assume the speed of the lesser drive.

After you’ve checked for brand solidarity, it’s absolutely essential that you relieve the drives completely of any file systems or volumes. That means, yes, you’ll need to backup everything on the drives in question prior to forging a RAID 0 array.

Once you’ve backed everything up, head to the search bar at the bottom left-hand side of your screen and key in 'Disk Management'. This will bring up the the option to 'Create and format hard disk partitions'.

Click that before locating the drives you wish to combine in the lower half of the newly opened window. Next you’ll want to clear any evidence to your PC that the drives still exist by right-clicking each volume followed by the 'Delete volume' command.

Pro tip: if you have a recovery volume still lingering on a previous boot drive (where an operating system was once stored), the best way to get rid of this is with outside software like . Without familiarity with the command line interface, removing these without the use of third-party apps can be unnecessarily painful.

Using Storage Spaces

Now that your drives are unallocated and your conscience is clear, it’s time to get to work. Windows 10 doesn’t call RAID 0 by name, but you’ll find the option to create a RAID 0 array under a search term called 'Storage Spaces'. Type that in the Search bar next to the Start button and simply click on the resulting match.

At this point, a new window will open, headlined by the 'Manage Storage Spaces' label. Subsequently, navigate to the Create a new pool and storage space hyperlink and click it.

Microsoft will then ask for administrative privileges, which you’ll want to approve in order to carry out the RAID 0 array. On the next screen, verify that the unformatted drives listed are the ones you’re looking to merge and select 'Create pool'.

Survivor computer game. The next step may take a few minutes, but at the same time you don’t really have to do anything at all. So sit tight and grab a coffee or something as Windows prepares your drives to initiate their impending RAID 0 composition. On the next screen, you’ll be asked to choose a name, “resiliency type” and size for your array.

Resiliency type is just a fancy way of attributing the level that we talked about early on. In the accompanying drop-down menu, you’ll want to opt for 'Simple (no resiliency)', which is Microsoft jargon for RAID 0. The drive letter and name are only important for your own sake, personal identification and so forth. You can assign whatever you want to these sections, but it’s best to keep the file system as NTFS.

Final steps

Windows Xp Software Raid

If it’s still open, you may want to close out of the Disk management window as well as any other application that may be utilizing your drives. If you used MiniTool Partition Wizard or anything else to eradicate the volumes on your solid state or hard drive, close out of them before creating a RAID 0 array. Finally, click Create storage space to commence the procedure.

And that’s all there is to it. You’ve now established your first RAID 0 array on a Windows 10 PC. Assuming it consists of two identical drives, you can now store twice the number of files and applications on the “same” device – at least that’s the illusion presented to your computer.

If you backed up both of your drives preceding the operation, now is the time to restore that data back to your freshly conceived storage space.

Active1 year, 5 months ago

I have always had a hardware RAID 5, but recently lost tons of data due to a drive loss, even after recovery steps.

I am trying to set up a RAID 1 on 3 drives, and I do not see the option 'Add Mirror' which I saw on many How-tos.


(Click images to enlarge)

EDITHere is when attempting to click on a simple volume and no volume.

EDIT 2 Fun fact, I booted off my Windows 7 and attempted the same thing .. THERE IT IS!

EDIT 2016: Windows 10 Home Edition does not have support for most Raid setups. It's recommended to use Storage Spaces but if you get Windows 10 Pro or higher it will have the Raid support I wanted.

c3cris
c3crisc3cris

2 Answers

It is not surprising that Microsoft has lowered support for software RAID,as since Windows 8 it has incorporated a more advanced RAID technologythat is called Storage Spaces. Microsoft always phases-out older technologyin favor of newer one.If you really want the classic RAID, you'll need the Pro or Enterprise editions of Windows 10.

Storage Spaces are volumes rendered upon spanned pools utilizingmultiple drives, in effect the same as RAID, just much easier to set up.

Windows 8 Software Raid 0

Here are a couple of references from the thousands that you can find on the Web:

If you are multi-booting Windows 10 and Windows 7, beware -Windows 7 will not understand Storage Spaces.

harrymcharrymc
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Ability to add a mirror may only exist on Windows 10 Pro and Higher versions. I noticed you were using Home in all versions shown.

Looking for that option in Windows 10 Pro, I was able to select the 'New Mirrored Volume' option.

There seems to be multiple other users noting this behavior on Microsoft's forums.https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/becca8a4-14c1-4341-9bb7-4730079819a3/i-dont-have-add-mirror-option-in-disk-management-in-windows-10?forum=w8itprogeneral

ShirowShirow

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