HOW TO: Configure a Stripe Set in Windows NT Server 4.0 (316308)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to configure a stripe set on a Windows NT Server 4.0-based computer. A stripe set is made up of equal-sized areas of free space on from 2 to 32 disks that are combined into a single volume. When data is written to the volume, it is striped across all of the disks in the stripe set. A stripe set provides a means to store more data than a single disk can hold, and affords faster read and write speeds than a single disk volume, but does not provide any fault tolerance.

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Requirements

You must be using a computer (that meets the requirements that are listed on the Hardware Compatibility List) on which Windows NT Server 4.0 is installed. Additionally, from 2 to 32 blank hard disks that are not partitioned must be installed in the computer.

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How to Configure a Stripe Set

You must be logged on as Administrator (or as a user with Administrator permissions) to configure a stripe set. To configure a stripe set, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools (Common), and then click Disk Administrator.
   
   If a Disk Administrator dialog box appears and states that that this is the first time that Disk Administrator has been run, click OK.
   
   If a Confirm dialog box appears, click Yes to write a signature to the disk. If additional Confirm dialog boxes appear, click Yes in each dialog box.
2. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click the area that is marked "Free Space" on the first hard disk that you want to use in the stripe set. Then press and hold the CTRL key while you click the area that is marked "Free Space" on each additional disk that you want to use as a part of the stripe set. Release the CTRL key.
3. On the Partition menu, click Create Stripe Set.
4. In the Create Stripe Set dialog box, type a number for the total disk space (in megabytes) that you want this stripe set to use. The minimum and maximum sizes for the stripe set are listed in this dialog box. Click OK.
5. On the Partition menu, click Commit Changes Now. In the Confirm dialog box, click Yes.
   
   If another Confirm dialog box appears, click Yes. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click OK.
   
   If another Disk Administrator dialog box appears, click OK to shut down and restart your computer. When the computer restarts, log on as Administrator and start Disk Administrator again.
   
   You have now created a stripe set. Next, you must format the stripe set before you can use it to store data.
6. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click the area that is marked as "Unknown" on any hard disk in the stripe set.
7. On the Tools menu, click Format.
8. In the Format dialog box, click the file system that you want to use for the stripe set in the File system box.
   
   NOTE: If the size of the stripe set is larger than 4,096 megabytes (MB), you must use the NTFS file system.
9. In the Volume label box, type a volume label for the stripe set. If you want to perform a quick format, select the Quick Format check box. If you chose NTFS as the file system, and you want to use compression on the stripe set, select the Enable Compression check box. Click Start.
10. In the Format dialog box, click OK. When the Formatting dialog box appears, indicating that the format is completed, click OK. Click Close. Quit Disk Administrator.
11. Because your computer's disk configuration has changed, use the Rdisk.exe utility to create a new Emergency Repair disk.

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