Install RAID driver - how it works
The easiest way to install a RAID driver in Windows is surely directly with a new installation. Especially if you want to install Windows on a RAID volume, there are hardly any alternatives. It gets tricky if you want to equip your system with an additional RAID, but your system should be on its own hard drive. In this case, you have to tinker something until you get Windows up and running without reinstalling. It is best to read these tips before installation.
Install RAID drivers for a new Windows installation
With Windows XP you had to install a RAID driver via floppy disk, later versions of Windows make it easier for you. The most common RAID systems are recognized during installation and you do not need to do anything else. If Windows does not recognize your RAID controller, you have the following options:
- Deliver the RAID driver on a USB stick when Windows asks for it. You will probably find the driver in the support section of the manufacturer's website. Make a note of the exact model or serial number before you start searching.
- If you are using your motherboard's internal host RAID, have a look at the mainboard manufacturer's website. You can find the driver by looking for the model number of your motherboard.
- If you cannot deliver the driver via USB stick, you can use a trick. Just slipstream your Windows installation. With a slipstream, repackage the installation files and drivers and you can implement your RAID driver directly. The following article shows you a slipstream of Windows 7 and Service Pack 2.
Install the RAID driver in Windows later
If you want to add a RAID to an existing Windows installation, it gets tricky. Windows will no longer boot if you simply set up a RAID and install it next to your system hard drive. You can only convince Windows of your RAID with a few changes to the registry and the new driver.
- The prerequisite is that you do not include the system hard drive in the RAID volume. In this case, formatting the RAID will also erase your system and all data will be lost. So make sure to only make your new hard drives a RAID volume.
- Even if your system hard drive is not part of the RAID now, it is still managed by the RAID controller and no longer by the AHCI driver. Windows will look for your hard drive there and refuse to boot. You therefore have to change something in the registry before the first boot with the RAID.
- Start your Windows with the normal hardware and without active RAID. Search for "regedit" in the start bar and run the program.
- Search for the entries "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Msahci \ Start" and "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ IastorV \ Start" and set both keys from start to "0". This switches off the standard AHCI driver and the standard RAID driver.
- Now install the RAID driver of your controller or mainboard and then shut down the computer.
- Now you can install and activate the RAID. The RAID should be recognized the next time it boots.
It is best to always back up all data before doing this. The above method may not always work. Reinstallation is most successful if you want to switch to RAID. Or maybe a NAS with a RAID is a solution for you. In the following practical tip you can read how to install and configure FreeNAS.