Converting Vista raid0 to single drive

I have a Dell XPS Vista using RAID0 and want to convert it to a SATA3 single disk using TI-10. I have another SATA drive installed in the machine now besides the RAID and am using it to back up files. I bought a new SATA 500gig drive to make the clone.
Here are the questions I have.

1. Do I have to format the new SATA drive or will TI do that?
2. Should I make an image or clone the RAID to the new drive?
3. When the new drive is ready and I take out the RAID drives, will I have to change the BIOS to non-RAID?
4. Should I use the rescue cd to do this or create the image or clone using TI-10 from within Vista?

Thanks for any advice you can give me. I've replaced drives before, but I know next to nothing about RAID.

 

I would just try the procedure and see if it works. Windows hopefully will drop down to non-RAID okay.

1. Create an Entire Disk Image of the RAID 0 drive to your backup drive. This can be done from Windows or the TI CD.
2. Shutdown the computer.
3. Remove the RAID 0 drives.
4. Install the 500GB drive.
5. Boot into the BIOS and set the BIOS SATA controller to Standard or AHCI (or whatever the non-RAID mode is that you want).
6. Set the 500GB drive as the boot drive. Save the BIOS changes.
7. Reboot and enter the BIOS again to verify your settings were correctly saved.
8. Boot from the TI CD and restore the RAID 0 image to the 500GB drive. You can resize the partition if you want.
9. When finished, remove the TI CD and reboot.

If you're using TI 11, it should update the BCD file for you. However, I would still have a Vista DVD ready in case you need to do a boot repair.

 

I just followed MudCrab's advice to a T, but Vista begins to load and then reboots the system. I came here looking for a way to fix the problem, so I'm encouraged that at least MudCrab and I agree on the first part.

I restored the MBR when doing the restore from TI, so I'm not sure if that is the problem.

Using Vista Repair didn't work.

Other info on the Web seems to indicate Vista isn't going to like the switch beteen RAID (when the image was taken) and SATA/AHCI (when the image is restored).

Any luck?

-Jay

 

Vista may not like switching drivers between RAID and non-RAID. It's kind of a try it and see if it works thing.

Does the BIOS have an IDE compatible mode for the SATA controller? If so, you might try that.

Also, since Vista starts to boot, can you start in Safe Mode (press F8 before the Windows logo screen)? You may be able to remove the RAID drivers and reboot and have it work or perhaps you can install the non-RAID drivers.

 

Hello jdoty and shadesofjay,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for delayed response.

Please notice that changing from a RAID to a single drive is like moving a system to a different hardware (depending on controller used). The resulting system may fail to boot as it lacks necessary drivers.

Acronis solution for transferring of a system to different hardware is Acronis Universal Restore. Acronis Universal Restore technology provides an efficient solution for hardware-independent system restoration by replacing the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers.

Note that Acronis Universal Restore is a plug-in for corporate versions of Acronis True Image and in your case we would recommend that you use Acronis True Image Echo Workstation.

Acronis Universal Restore is used with image archives and you can find basic instructions on how to use it here. Detailed instructions can be found in the Acronis True Image Echo Workstation User's Guide.

We recommend you to download and install the free trial version of Acronis True Image Echo Workstation to see how the software works on your computer. With the trial version of the product you will be able to fully use the Windows version for 15 days. The bootable rescue media will be limited to restore function.

Please also be aware that the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore is not available on Acronis web site. In order to obtain the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore please contact Acronis Support Team. Explain your wish to obtain the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore and provide your personal information (full name; phone number along with the area code; company name, if any) along with the link to this thread. We'll provide you with the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore as soon as possible.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

Mudcrab and Marat,

If RAID is not enabled via BIOS, it doesn't matter if the RAID drivers are present in the Vista being restored. The drivers won't load. And even if they did load, they are not going to cause Vista to not recognize the built-in SATA controller because it doesn't need special drivers to do so. If shadesofjay was going standard SATA to SATA with RAID, there would be an issue.

Something else is wrong here.

shadesofjay,

Did you verify the backup? How big was the RAID0 array? You could try cloning the array to the new drive, if it has enough capacity.

S-