Re: [tlug] Hard Drive Failure (Was: Help! Total hardware failure)

[tlug@example.com]

Dear Dave,

On Sunday 14 September 2008 22:22:51 Dave M G wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestions.

You are welcome!

> I understand what a RAID is. And, going by what Mark said, it's also
> more expensive than I can afford right now. For me to set up a RAID from
> this point would cost me an additional 36,000 to 40,000 yen. Whereas a
> second drive like the one I got would cost me less than 10,000 yen.
>
> I get the advantages, but my cash flow is what it is, so that's what I
> have to work within.

You can implement RAID using software with the same second drive that you plan 
on getting.  You do not have to buy any special RAID hardware or expensive 
drives.  The product that Mark was talking about is a NAS appliance that uses 
RAID; such appliances are convenient, but one pays for the convenience.  From 
your description of your needs, a NAS appliance is not what you want anyway.

All you need to do is:
- Get a second drive like the one you already have (same size required, 
preferably same model) and install it into your computer.
- Backup any data that you want to keep from your first disk to external 
media.
- Reinstall the OS.  During the OS installation, set up software RAID 1 
partitions.

For example, here is a HOWTO of how to do it in Ubuntu:
http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-ubuntu8.04-with-software-raid1

Cheers,

Travis