How can I copy my existing hard drive to a new RAID 1 array?

By jane | March 13, 2010

  • Hello, I am planning to set up a RAID 1 array on my computer. I have purchased two new Seagate 160GB ATA drives (both brand new, unformatted, unpartitioned) that I plan to use as a 160 GB mirrored array. However, currently I have a smaller capacity hard drive that I am using now as my primary boot drive with the operating system installed (Windows 2000, NTFS formatted). The mechanics of setting up the RAID array seem straightforward, but my question is, is it possible to duplicate the contents of my existing hard drive to the array? This would save me the trouble of reinstalling Windows, plus all my applications, drivers, settings, etc. My motherboard is the Soyo KT-333 Dragon Ultra Platinum which uses the Highpoint HPT372 chipset for hardware RAID. The hard drives are unopened Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160023A drives. I would like them to use the NTFS format. I am looking for instructions on how to accomplish this, if it is possible. I would greatly prefer a solution that does not require the purchase of additional software. Open source or shareware programs (that have the needed functionality enabled) are fine. Knoppix, maybe? Thanks!


  • You could try using a product like Norton Ghost or boot to a linux disk and try something like this: dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb Note: this is pseudo-code and is only to give you a general idea of how to clone a disk in Linux.


  • First, I would like to thank bschonec for the comment. I should also clarify that I do not have any familiarity with Linux; my Knoppix suggestion was based on my knowledge that it is quite useful in recovering data from bad drives. I was theorizing that maybe Knoppix would be able to manipulate the data on my drives since it is running from memory and thus not dependent on the drives themselves.







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