is it possible to partition 3 hard's to make1

[kurt476]

is it possible to partition 3 hard drives together to make 1 partition on windows?

[InTheWayBoy]

Not without extra hardware...what you are wanting to do is something similar to RAID...striping to be exact...take an amount of HD's and combine them into one. Of course, if one goes out then the rest are F.U.B.A.R but that's a chance you'll have to take. You can pick up a consumer level RAID card for like $50...last one I used was a Highpoint RockerRAID 100.

Windows 2000 Server and I assume Server 2003 have a software RAID mode, but that's more hastle than it's worth anyways.

[nateklomp]

Hiya,

You can create a "software RAID" in XP(PRO ONLY!) via the Logical Disk Manager, using dynamic disks:

Windows XP Resource Kit Chapter 12: Disk Management

[tarquel]

but be warey that if one HD dies, the whole partition (i think) will be lost i.e. you'll lose everything

Its probably best to get a new HD with enough space on it for what you want.

Plenty of topics on that already so i wont suggest any, but if its a IDE style one, then they are dirt cheap really.

All the best,

N.

[brian873]

I would only use this type of configuration for a profesional setup, meaning with a good backup solution.

I agree with it_ybd if it is for home use just buy a 300gb drive if you want lots of storage.

hail hail

[tarquel]

lol indeed, although I cant think of any situation where I would use "software" raid.... hmmmm.... too much can go wrong in my opinion

Hardware RAID (with backup solution) or buy another HDD is what I'd suggest.

Regards,

N.

[kurt476]

@nateklomp

Witch part you create "software RAID" i don't know witch part in that microst chapter could you possilbly show witch part?

[InTheWayBoy]

Here's an external link to a guide on software RAID:

http://www.techimo.com/articles/index.pl?photo=149

But just as I and others suggest...beware...

[kurt476]

Don't worry i'm not tuching C drive at all i'm just combining D, E, J to gethere

[[deXter]]

It doesn't matter if you do C: or not. The fact is that you'd be combining all your drives into dynamic disks, which make them dependent on each other. And since RAID0 doesn't offer any redudancy, any failure of a drive would mean a complete loss of data. Drives/Volumes/Partitions etc dont make sense anymore.

Personally though, I've been running on software raid since the past 5 years, and my drives (2x40GB Seagate) haven't crashed till now (touchwood). But maybe its because I run them 24x7...

Btw, you may also want to use a S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring tool like Active SMART to keep a check on your drive's health and temp. Also make sure that you got proper ventilation in your cabinet so that your drives dont heat up. And you also need to take that extra care so that you prevent drive crashes. Things like having a good UPS (Even if you have good power supply), making sure that your cabinet is kept on a sturdy base and not subjected to jerks, regular CHKDSKS, Defrags and SpinRite's go a long way in maintaining your drive.

[Gangaskan]

what you are wanting to do is something similar to RAID...striping to be exact...take an amount of HD's and combine them into one. Of course, if one goes out then the rest are F.U.B.A.R

well he has 3 hdd's he could do raid 5 if he can support it so he has some fault tollerence if one hdd goes out