CBFalconer <cbfalconer@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:46532FE6.D42F733F@yahoo.com:
> Pecos wrote:
>>
> ... snip ...
>>
>> I haven't looked at the firmware versions of the two drives yet,
>> but the model numbers and model names are the same and everything
>> seems to be working perfectly. I can't tell you how good it feels
>> to have my RAID working again. I won't ever go back to a single
>> hard drive in any system I buy or build in the future.
>
> Please satisfy my curiosity. Why? With two drives you, at best,
> have an automatic immediate backup (IMO). I personally prefer to
> make backups on command. The immediate operation prevents you
> going back more than one version, assuming the software makes that
> version. There may be a slight speed advantage, but that effect
> should be minor. Again, IMO.
>
1. With RAID 0 (striped) my OS and apps load up in slightly more than half
of the time they would on a comparable single drive setup. With RAID 1
(mirrored) that doesn't apply for a write operation but does for a read
operation.
2. I can and still occasionally do backup to a third drive for any
important files. This gives me a prior version that I can reference if
need be. Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise also have the ability to
store and retrieve what Microsoft calls 'previous versions'. *One* shadow
copy of the file is automatically saved, but this feature has to be
configured properly to work on the partition(s) that you need to retrieve a
'previous version' - but don't get me started on Vista, this is the wrong
group for that.
So, I am pretty well covered as far as backups and previous versions go.
3. I don't prefer to do backups or worry about them. With RAID 1 and a
drive failure (any drive can fail at any time without warning) backups are
done immediately. The only data you would lose would be anything you might
be working on since your last save.
I wasn't sure about RAID when I first decided to try it out, but my recent
drive failure has only proven, to me at least, that it is a real lifesaver
and timesaver.
For the price of hard drives these days, RAID is an inexpensive and
reliable way to have a little peace of mind.
--
Alan Norton
Reviews: ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Mb's
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/