Question : Problem: Mirrored Volume Questions - 250 Points

Hi,

I currently have a Dell Poweredge sc420 server that has one harddisk.  I was thinking of setting up a mirrored volume to provide fault tolerance.

1. Do I need to buy the exact harddrive that I currently have?  (same manuf., model, spec.?)
2. The hard disk now is a basic disk.  If I convert it to dynamic disk, is there any threat of losing data on the hard drive?  
3. How long will the coversion to basic disk take for a 40 GB hard disk?  Will it affect server performance?
4. I currently have a Seagate st340014a hard drive.  What second drive will be compatible with this drive?
5. Once I create the mirror, will the operating system ask which drive I should boot from each time I restart?

Thanks

Answer : Problem: Mirrored Volume Questions - 250 Points

If you don't want to reinstall your OS, just first install the controller's drivers. Then connect the 2nd HD and enter the controller's firmware utility (usually you'll have some shortcut key combination like ctrl l or ctrl s during the bootup sequence, just check the manual). Once inside this utility you should find the options to create the array and use the first disk as the one to copy the data from, but again check the controller's manual, it should be explained there.