HOW TO: Configure a Mirror Set on a Windows NT Server 4.0-Based Computer (316311)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to configure a mirror set on a Windows NT Server 4.0 computer. A mirror set is a set of two equal-sized partitions that are exact duplicates of each other, and which are located on two separate physical disks. When data is written to the mirror set, it is written to both partitions. Mirror sets can be very useful because provide a very high level of fault tolerance.

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Requirements

• A computer (that meets the requirements listed on the Hardware Compatibility List) on which Windows NT Server 4.0 is installed.
• One blank hard disk, that is at least as large as the partition you want to mirror, must be installed in the computer. If you are configuring a mirror set of the boot partition, the disk should be identical (same manufacturer, model number, and size) to the disk that contains the boot partition.

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Configuring a Mirror Set on a Windows NT Server 4.0 Computer

You can use Disk Administrator to configure a mirror set on a Windows NT Server 4.0-based computer. Any partition can be mirrored to another disk of equal or larger size. You must be logged on as an administrator, or as a user that has administrator privileges to configure a mirror set. To configure a mirror set:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools (Common), and then click Disk Administrator.
   
   If a Disk Administrator dialog box appears, indicating 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 one.
2. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click the partition that you want to mirror. Press and hold CTRL while you click the area that is marked Free Space on the additional disk that will be used for the mirror set, and then release the CTRL key.
3. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click Establish Mirror on the Fault Tolerance.
   
   If a Disk Administrator dialog box is displayed, indicating that this is a mirror set of the boot partition, click OK.
4. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click Commit Changes Now on the Partition menu. In the Confirm dialog box, click Yes.
   
   If another Confirm dialog box is displayed, click Yes. In the Disk Administrator dialog box, click OK.
   
   If another Disk Administrator dialog box is displayed, click OK to shut down and restart your computer.
5. Because your computer's disk configuration has changed, it is recommended that you use the Rdisk.exe utility to create a new Emergency Repair disk.
   
   In addition, if you have mirrored the partition that contains your Windows NT Server 4.0 system files (sometimes called the "boot partition"), it is recommended that you create a fault-tolerance boot disk.

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