Promise Technology 150TX2, User Manual

Page: 73 / 82

Appendix A: FAQs
69
Drive Issues
Q: Can I add a drive to a FastTrak S150 TX2plus RAID array via hot-swap and
dynamically adjust the array size/configuration?
A: No. The FastTrak S150 TX2plus system does not support dynamically
adjustable RAID size/configurations.
Q: Do the HDDs on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus have to be the same size?
A: The HDDs that you use with the FastTrak S150 TX2plus do not have to be
the same size. If the sizes differ, the FastTrak S150 TX2plus will truncate the
bigger HDD so the drives match. The resulting difference in HDD space is
unusable, so avoid using HDDs of significantly different capacities.
Q: I already have an array on an older FastTrak controller. Can I move that
array to my new FastTrak S150 TX2plus controller?
A: Yes. All FastTrak controllers read the arrays the same way and can be
moved from one controller to another.
Q: Can I take a drive used in a FastTrak S150 TX2plus array and access it
directly with a different controller, such as the one integrated on the
motherboard?
A: Only Single-drive striped (RAID 0) and Mirrored (RAID 1) array
configurations allow the drive(s) to be accessed individually on another
controller.
Multiple -drive striped (RAID 0) will not work.
Q: If I have a problem with one of the drives on the FastTrak S150 TX2plus,
how can I low-level format it to correct the problem?
A: Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting IDE drives is unnecessary and
generally does not correct problems commonly experienced during use.
Errors such as bad sectors or ECC/CRC failure are best remedied by completely
replacing the drive. For this reason, do NOT low-level format the drives attached
to the FastTrak S150 TX2plus controller.
Q: Do I have to install disk management software on my array in order to
access the full storage capacity of drives?
A: No! Disk management software will only complicate things. The array
should be fully addressable by your OS as it is. Remember that some operating
systems have varying limits on the sizes of partitions and logical drives that can
be defined. Consult your OS documentation about partitioning larger drives.