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[PC] Ask The Experts Thread


arjun
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Guys a basic doubt: what exactly is a raid configuration ? Please explain in layman terms, no patience for reading wiki.

 

RAID configs are mostly used in servers for performance and data replication reasons, where there is a lot of disk activity . The concept goes like your disk controller can gain a lot of throughput by improving read/write access times by adding one or more hard drives to your raid configuration. RAIDs can also be used to automatically mirror your data from disk to the other. So if one disk is dead you can always use the mirrored disks. You can setup raid configuration with two identical hard drives on your home PC but you won't notice much difference. Go for an SSD if you want faster loading times.

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^^ Thanks. Now I plan to add another 1 TB HDD to my system. Is it more beneficial to have it in RAID mode (RAID 0 or RAID 1 ?) or just use it as a slave hdd ? Also, currently I've a 500GB HDD, if I add 1 TB HDD can I configure both in RAID 0 config ?

 

I hope my queries are making sense :P

Raid 0 will use both the HDDs without mirroring, therefore say you are using 2 1 TB HDDs, you will have 2 TBs in all. But Raid 0 is comparitively unreliable & even if 1 disk fails, your complete data is gone.

Raid 1 mirrors data on both disks. So 2 1 TBs will actually give you just 1 TB of space, mirroring the primary HDD on the other one. Here both discs must fail for the data to be gone.

Don't think there's much difference in terms of disk performance in daily activities, unless you use image/video editing or other intensive tasks, where Raid 0 has an edge.

Here's an infographic.

Edited by Dr.McNinja
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Oh and if you add different HDD sizes, you are limited to the size of the smallest HDD.

So if you add up a 500 with 1TB, in Raid 0 you will have 500+500GB = 1TB.

In Raid 1, you will have only 500GB.

Only makes sense if you add in 2 similarly sized HDDs.

 

If you need faster OS speeds, esp. booting, fully format your HDD & make a partition of 10-20GB depending on what you would mostly need on it (OS+ necessary drivers & apps). Reason being that the 1st partition is normally located on the outer area of the HDD which is seeked much faster as compared to the inner ring. Same reason why there's a burst in speed in the beginning when the HDD tries to move/copy a file but then gradually the speed reduces as the head moves towards the inner ring.

 

Edit: Also, hardware Raid controllers are faster than software ones.

Edited by Dr.McNinja
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No, actually speed is not a concern, space is. I wanted to buy an extra hdd, but instead of configuring in regular pri slave/sec slave mode, I thought of going in for raid config. I understand from your replies that its not entirely helpful.

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No, actually speed is not a concern, space is. I wanted to buy an extra hdd, but instead of configuring in regular pri slave/sec slave mode, I thought of going in for raid config. I understand from your replies that its not entirely helpful.

Well, the only benefit you might have using Raid 0 is using the whole array of disks as 1 set. Then again there's a problem if you are using different HDD sizes. Plus there's a chance of risking your data.

Better stick with the master/slave setup..!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anybody using MetroTwit ?

UI seems awesome ! :O ..

Not installing on my desktop though :wallbash: .. The installer opens up an IE window which closes within 1 sec. And a connection opens up to some link (can see it just for a sec DU meter traffic) just for 1 sec, after which nothing happens. Zilch. :(

 

feature-screenshot.gif

 

Any help ? :unsure:

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Which version of IE? Maybe it's using some idiotic way to call the twitter API which forces an IE window to open up.

 

Today my day of experimentation starts with Ubuntu again. Reinstalled Steam. Now to delete it and point my Windows steam directory and see if Puzzle Quest runs.

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IE9 beta - give IE8 a fair chance at least.

How do I do that ? IE9 beta overwrites IE8 AFAIK. So my system has no IE8 to speak of ! :|

And don't wanna uninstall IE9. It's just so much better than IE8.

 

Edit: There's no uninstaller for IE9 :| .. No entry under "Programs & Features" or CCleaner :|

Edited by F@tm@n
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Try Removing it from Window's components?

My PC gets all PMS-ing whenever this particular entity is launched :P

 

Anyways, new problem. :(

My Dell (Yes beeches DELL :angry:) monitor S2409W crapped. It's not powering on. The problem started 4-5 days back when this would be a random occurrence but since today morning it's not powering on at all. Tried different sockets & different ports, nothing works :( ..

Called up their CC & after telling the product number they insisted that 1 year is already over for this device. But I bought it on 23rd March 2010 and so they asked me to mail a scanned copy of the invoice (which also says 23rd March 2010). Did the same & now waiting for their reply. :|

So how should I go about it now ? What to expect ? Any experiences/recommendations ?

 

:|

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My Dell (Yes beeches DELL :angry:) monitor S2409W crapped. It's not powering on. The problem started 4-5 days back when this would be a random occurrence but since today morning it's not powering on at all. Tried different sockets & different ports, nothing works :( ..

Called up their CC & after telling the product number they insisted that 1 year is already over for this device. But I bought it on 23rd March 2010 and so they asked me to mail a scanned copy of the invoice (which also says 23rd March 2010). Did the same & now waiting for their reply. :|

So how should I go about it now ? What to expect ? Any experiences/recommendations ?

Are Dell monitors not covered under 3years of warranty?

 

Anyways if you have sent them invoice, I guess they will provide warranty.

 

EDIT - lol, just checked you mentioned power cord was loose :chair:

Edited by mixke
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