i am running 2 320 gb sata hardrives in a raid(not sure which raid it is i just kno that it shows the system one big disc consisting of 640gb). I want to add a new drive to my system ( a 1tb sata). Can i add this to the raid? how do i do this?
Most likely a stripe Raid0 array for performance, otherwise it will be JBOD ("just a bunch of disks") array, which is less common than raid0 - also harder to achieve. It will tell you the array type in the post screen, only one of these arrays can help you add your 1TB drive to the array - and thats the JBOD again, that depends on the array. unfortunately if you are running the array as RAID0 you will have to remove the array and re-create it as a JBOD, this can be done in the raid screen (usually CTRL+F10 or CTRL+I) it will tell you all the details. - you won't be able to add the TB drive to the raid array as all drives have to be the same size and probably the same types If your drives are already JBOD you may be able to simply add the drive to it with no problems, just go into the array post screen utility and add the drive. you will need to change some settings in bios i guess - your manual will help you do this remember, its JBOD you're after, NOT raid0. Again, if you are running RAID0 you will have to remove it which means your files will be destroyed and you will have to start again. - which may be a good idea to just have the drive as a seperate one
The short answer is "no". The more detailed answer is not really, unless you want a really asymmetric RAID-5, where you would throw away more than half of your 1TB drive. As Dwarfer suggested, you could change the array to a JBOD (which isn't technically a RAID array). Things to keep in mind: On a cheapo software RAID controller (like NVIDIA, VIA or Silicon Image) to my knowledge you cannot preserve the data during this process; you'd essentially have to backup and reformat. And of course, JBOD stands for "Just a Bunch Of Disks", meaning the system addresses it as one big drive. However there is absolutely no redundancy with a JBOD, and no speed bonus either, so it would be slower than your existing RAID-0.
