RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a common method of configuring multiple hard drives to perform better and/or provide better protection against data loss than a single hard drive. Various types of RAID levels can be used such as RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 0+1. To set up a basic RAID array you will need two or more hard drives, preferably of the same size and speed, and a motherboard with RAID support. You will then need to set up your motherboard’s manual for instructions.
The most commonly used RAID array is a pair of similar drives in RAID 0 formation, which provides the best all-round performance at minimal cost. RAID 0 usually beats any single drive configuration in terms of speed, particularly for gaining, due to there being two independent drive heads constantly seeking data in place of one. However RAID 0 also provides absolutely no fault tolerance at all, meaning if one of the drives suffer a serious error you lose all your data on both drive since the data is split evenly across both drives. Therefore if you really do require protection against data loss, I recommend a RAID 5 configuration which is more costly but far safer.
In any case once you have connected your drives and set up your RAID array using the options in the motherboards BIOS, you will need to have a floppy disk handy with the correct RAID drives prior to starting the Windows installation procedure. Then during Windows Setup startup, press F6 key when prompted at the bottom of the screen, and enter your driver floppy when prompted again and load up the RAID drivers, along with any other drivers (such as SATA drivers) necessary. If you miss this step, the hard drives will not be detected by Windows as one hard drive, and you will boot be able to install Windows.
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