RAID 0 and defragmentation

Is it necessary

from JoeUser Forums
I recently acquired a DELL XPS M2010 which is quite sweet despite initial memory problems.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m2010?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

One thing that just came to my mind was if the disks should be defragmented. It has two harddrives and runs RAID 0.

Would defragmenting be a good or a bad thing?
8,564 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Generally, defrag is a good thing.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
To the OS, the Raid 0 looks like just a single hard disk, so it will get fragmented over time. Defragging as Bichur says, is a good thing.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And it should be defragged on a regular basis.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Actually, Raid anything looks like a Hard drive to the OS, so defragging will never hurt. Just with Raid 5, you are getting the performance of more workers for the OS (Raid 1 is actually no different from a single hard drive for performance - if you have a good Hardware raid controller). So defrag! Cant hurt! Can Help.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hahaha!

Thank you all and Dr Guy. I defrag very regularly on my other machines but I have never had a Raid 0 laptop (or whatever you can call an 8.1 machine).
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
jelvis,

One thing to keep in mind if you are new to RAID and RAID 0 in particular. Make sure you keep backups of ALL your important data. With a RAID 0 array any disk issues will result in the loss of ALL of your data on BOTH disks. There's no way to get the data back unless you are willing to spend the money to send it for professional recovery.

Just something to keep in mind!!
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
One thing to keep in mind if you are new to RAID and RAID 0 in particular. Make sure you keep backups of ALL your important data. With a RAID 0 array any disk issues will result in the loss of ALL of your data on BOTH disks. There's no way to get the data back unless you are willing to spend the money to send it for professional recovery.


Thank you Kevin_C but fortunately I already know that. I recently bought an external USB harddrive for that single purpose.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I figured you knew, but better to be safe than sorry I always say!