New PC - Get 1 HD or 2 ?

[JohnBates]

Hi there -

I am not sure whether I should get 1 60 GB hard drive
OR 1 20 GB and a second 40 GB drive.

I will run Win 2000 Pro and will back up to CD-RW drive.

Would I get better performance by having the OS and apps
on drive 1 and all user data on drive 2 ?

Please offer some feedback as to having 1 hd versus 2.

Thanks, John

 

[butchrecon]

Get two HDD's for several reasons.
1) Yes you will get better performance seperating the applications from the OS drive.

2) Create 4 Partitions the same size. Put the OS on partition 1 (boot drive) set up disk striping for better performance on the other 3 partitions and put the applications and swap files on it..

3) Set the Swap file to run off the stripe set.

Make it look like this:
DISK 1
PARTITION 1-- OS Partition.
PARTITION 2-- STRIPE part 1

DISK 2
PARTITION 1-- STRIPE part 2
PARTITION 2-- STRIPE part 3 Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[avatar8481]

I read these posts, and I'm wondering, how do you do what you're describing. That is, how do you go about setting up stripe sets?

 

[AlexeyGubin]

Assuming you have
40Gb HDD1
20Gb HDD2
you should setup a stripe as follows:
1. C: Normal Volume, first 20Gb (50%) of HDD1
2. D: Stripe Set without Parity, 20Gb (50%) of HDD1 + 20Gb (100%) of HDD2
However, failure of any drive will render the whole array (volume D useless with such a setup. If you have backups at this point, you are to restore form them. If you don't - kiss 40Gb data goodbye. ----
Wbr, Alex

http://z-a-recovery.narod.ru/

: ZAR - FAT16/32 data recovery tool.

 

[osuman]

Unless there's some new technology I'm not aware of, you'll need a RAID controller to setup a striped disk array. These are either built into a motherboard or seperate cards can be purchased. It'll cost you though.

 

[AlexeyGubin]

There is a software RAID capability in Windows NT starting from at least NT 4.0. Windows 2000 Servers also include this capability. ----
Wbr, Alex

http://z-a-recovery.narod.ru/

: ZAR - FAT16/32 data recovery tool.

 

[orlando847]

Here's my two cents guys, I think you should get two hardrives maybe 40 G each and set the up on a raid 0 (may need additional hardware) then partition it in 3 or 4 different sections placing the OS in the first partition...This will increase performance dramatically and you'll have a combine volume of 80G! let me know if this helps

 

[raygg]

To: alexygubin - are you saying that all the software you possibily may need to set up the RAID is on the NT or Win2K package? Is this only on the server version or is it also in the non-server versions?
To JohnBates
Why not get one 40 or 60gb initially - and then put in an aftermarket drive that you can get at a discount?

You are not going to use it all up at once. Since the price differential between a 40 and a 60 is very small - go for the 60 and partition it for all the hall of fame reasons cited above. Then in the spring 2002 you probably can get an 80gb hd for $50 the way the market is going.

I just bought a new WD 7200rpm 40GB HD IDE after rebates from the local compusa for $79.

 

[osuman]

The raid that NT and 2k supports isn't for a striped array. I think it only supports the RAID 1(?) which is for duplicating everything to another drive for back up purposes.

 

[AlexeyGubin]

NT4 Workstation (Windows 2000 Pro) does not support fault-tolerant volumes, but Windows NT4 Server (Windows 2000 Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter) do support:
0. Simple volumes
1. Spanned volumes
2. RAID0 Stripe Sets
3. RAID1 Mirrored Volumes
4. RAID5 Stripe Set with Parity. ----
Wbr, Alex

http://www.z-a-recovery.com/

: ZAR - FAT16/32 data recovery tool.

 

[hotfusion]

Why is striping being recommended? As I understand it, that is only of any use if you're thinking of manipulating absolutely massive video files. For normal usage it is an enormous hammer for a rather small nut. I would (and do) use two drives, OS and apps on P.1, swap and apps temp. folders on P.2, data on remainder of drive 1. Drive 2 is used for storing the files you intend to process using the apps whose temp. folders exist on P.2. with me so far?..... :-D My suggestions are what I would try myself. If incorrect, I welcome corrections to my rather limited knowledge. Andy.

 

[osuman]

To alex:
Are you saying that any of the server flavors you listed will create and support a striped array without any additional hardware? If so, I would be interested to know how to do it. Will it do so with two drives on different IDE channels, or do they need to be master/slave?

Andy,
Striping is being recommend because it's top of the line as far as performance is concerned. You're right in that it's not necessary for most applications. However, HD's are a major bottleneck, and a striped array will effectively double their speed.

 

[AlexeyGubin]

You are speaking about 2 HDDs, so I conclude you are speaking about RAID 0 (without parity and fault tolerance).
Effectively, you need 3 HDDs to implement it - Windows can not boot from RAIDs, so you need a separate partition for system files.

Drives can be anywhere in the system (no IDE channel limitation, no controller limitation). AFAIK you can even create RAID on two HDDs one being IDE and the other being SCSI.

Disks must be dynamic (right click on "Disk X", select "Upgrade to dynamic". Note: this operation is irreversible).

How to implement it (I'm writing as I can remember, do not have applicable setup to test right now):
1. Right click "My computer", select "Manage".
2. Go to "Disk Management".
3. Assuming you have 2 empty hard disks (with no partitions) in DYNAMIC mode, select free space anywhere on those disks, right-click, select "Create partition".
4. When asked about new volume type, select "Striped Volume". It will ask you what disks do you want to use. Mark all applicable, go ahead as with normal partition. ----
Wbr, Alex

http://www.z-a-recovery.com/

: ZAR - FAT16/FAT32/NTFS data recovery tool.