HDD formating questions

[disturbed13]

okay i have a 1.5 TB HDD in the rig in my sig
and it only shows 600 something GB
so if i would put it in a RAID1 array with another 1.5 TB HDD
could i then disconnect the second drive and re-format the primary and then use the RAID array to restore of my information?

or what if i was to use the RAID array and then just use the second HDD that has all 1.5 TB available, and make that the primary HDD
then re-install the original HDD and format that so that its the secondary in the the array

would any of these ideas work?
or has anyone ever tried?
thanks for all of the help

 

[Russel1]

okay i have a 1.5 TB HDD in the rig in my sig

I don't see a rig in your sig...

...so if i would put it in a RAID1 array with another 1.5 TB HDD
could i then disconnect the second drive and re-format the primary and then use the RAID array to restore of my information?

I wouldn't recommend doing it that way, but it should work. Keep in mind that in order to create the mirror array both hard disks will be formated so you will need to back up your data somewhere else while you build the array.

 

[disturbed13]

so then would the second HDD be formated with the same space as the first?
so then i should just back up my info and use an external HDD or another source of storage space

sorry about the rig in sig thing
it must have slipped my mind

 

[Russel1]

so then would the second HDD be formated with the same space as the first?

That is a good question, it depends on your system. If you have a second drive, you could simply try to format it and see if you get the full drive space.

If you are comfortable installing the operating system, it sounds like you are, I would back your data on whatever you can and repartition and format your primary drive. That would mean reinstalling everything and copying your data back. Before you do that though, check to see if your hardware and OS will recognize and be able to use the full 1.5 TB.

What motherboard and processor do you have? What operating system are you using?

[edit]

I just ran across your post here:

http://computerforums.org/showthread.php?t=86618

If those are your specs then yes your hardware should definitely be able to utilize the full 1.5 TB. If you go into Control panel | administrative tools | Computer management and click on disk management does it show unpartitioned or unallocated space on the drive?