rrpalma@synopsis.ws mailto:rrpalma@synopsis.ws wrote:
Hello,
Does anybody know if it is possible to have a software RAID 0 config under Linux with SATA drives that is also accesible from Win XP? What I would like to do is to configure 2 drives as software RAID 0 under Linux 64, using FAT32. Then configure those 2 same drives under Win XP, and also access them as RAID 0, obviously with no data loss.
Is this possible?
Thanks!
Ricardo, Theoretically you could partition each disk in half (or some other ratio), use RAID 0 on the first partition of each drive for Win XP and RAID 0 on the second partition of each drive for Linux. But Linux and Windows approach RAID differently. BUT, Win XP does not support software RAID (directly). Win XP does supports software RAID 0 using the BIOS level drivers that come with some SATA "RAID" controllers. But, alas, at least int he setups I have seen, the entire drive is taken up, not just one or more designated partitions. It is very frustrating trying to do software raid and share a drive between Linux and Windows - I spent a lot of time trying. The good thing about the Windows approach is that it appears you are doing hardware RAID, where the entire drive is "mirrored" (RAID 1) or striped (RAID 0). The good thing about the Linux approach is that its usually considerably faster than the Windows driver approach. The two best answers I know of are to either: 1) Spend the bucks on a true RAID contoller (about $300 US) that will let you partition as many "partitions"/volumes as you need, one for each OS; or 2) Buy four drives, two for each OS. With Fry's and others selling 80GB Western Digital drives for a net of $50 these days, thats not a bad way to go. Good luck - Richard