MSI H87-g41 Manual

Appendix B
Intel RAID (optional)
This appendix will assist users in configuring and enabling RAID functionality and accelerating system on platforms  

Appendix B
B-2Intel RAID

Introduction
The motherboard comes with the Intel RAID controller that allows you to configure SATA hard drives as RAID sets.
SATA hard drives deliver blistering transfer speeds up to 6 Gb/s. Serial ATA uses long, thin cables, making it easier to connect your drive and improving the airflow inside your PC. The most outstanding features are:
Supports 3 Gb/s or 6 Gb/s transfers with CRC error checking.
Supports Hot-plug-n-play feature.
Data handling optimizations including tagged...

Appendix B
B-3Intel RAID

Using Intel Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM
The Intel Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM should be integrated with the system BIOS on all motherboards with a supported Intel chipset. The Intel Rapid Storage Technology Option ROM is the Intel RAID implementation and provides BIOS and DOS disk services. Please use  +  keys to enter the “Intel® RAID for Serial ATA” status screen, which should  appear early in system boot-up, during the POST (Power-On Self Test). Also, you...

Appendix B
B-4Intel RAID

After pressing the  and  keys simultaneously, the following window will appear:
Create RAID Volume 
Select option 1 “Create RAID Volume” and press  key. The following screen appears. Then in the Name field, specify a RAID Volume name and then press the  or  key to go to the next field.
Use the arrow keys to select the RAID level best suited to your usage model in RAID Level. 
■
1.
2.
[                                     ]CREATE VOLUME MENU
[             ]HELP
           Name...

Appendix B
B-5Intel RAID

In the Disk field, press  key and use  key to select the disks you want to create for the RAID volume, then click  key to finish selection. This field will become available according to the selected RAID level.
Then select the strip size for the RAID array by using the “upper arrow” or “down arrow” keys to scroll through the available values, and pressing the  key to select and advance to the next field. The available values range from 4KB to 128 KB in power of 2 increments....

Appendix B
B-6Intel RAID

Then the following screen appears to indicate that the creation is finished.7.
Go to the Create Volume field and press , the following screen appears for you to confirm if you are sure to create the RAID volume. Press  to continue.6.
[                                     ]CREATE VOLUME MENU
[             ]HELP
           Name :
Press  ENTER  to  create  the  specified  volume.
[ ↑↓] - Change        [TAB] - Next          [ESC] - Previous Menu         [ENTER] - Select 
      RAID...

Appendix B
B-7Intel RAID

Delete RAID Volume 
Here you can delete the RAID volume, but please be noted that all data on RAID drives will be lost. 
 Important
If your system currently boots to RAID and you delete the RAID volume in the Intel RAID Option ROM, your system will become un-bootable.
Select option 2 Delete RAID Volume from the main menu screen and press  key to select a RAID volume for deletion. Then press  key to delete the selected RAID volume. The following screen appears.
[...

Appendix B
B-8Intel RAID

Reset Disks to Non-RAID 
Select option 3 Reset Disks to Non-RAID and press  to delete the RAID 
volume and remove any RAID structures from the drives. The following screen  
appears:
DISK / VOLUME INFORMATION[                                                ]
4.       Recovery Volume  Options4.       Recovery Volume  Options5.       Exit
RAID  Volumes :None  defined.
Physical  Devices :Port  Device  Model                 Serial  #...

Appendix B
B-9Intel RAID

Recovery Volume Options 
Select option 4 Recovery Volume Options and press  to change recovery volume mode. The following screen appears:
[                                              ]RECOVERY VOLUME OPTIONS
[             ]HELP
Enable  Only  Recovery  Disk - enables  recovery  disk  if  available  and disables  master  disk.Enable  Only  Master  Disk - enables  master  disk  if  available  anddisables  recovery  disk.Actions  will  result  in  change  from  Continuous  Update...

Appendix B
B-10Intel RAID

Degraded RAID Array
A RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10 volume is reported as degraded when one of its hard drive members fails or is temporarily disconnected, and data mirroring is lost. As a result, the system can only utilize the remaining functional hard drive member. To re-establish data mirroring and restore data redundancy, refer to the procedure below that corresponds to the current situation.
Missing Hard Drive Member
Make sure the system is powered off. 
Reconnect the hard...