Windows 7 install issues with 2x3TB in RAID1

installationraidwindowswindows 7

Not sure what I've done wrong. Built one PC before successfully in a similar way but this one seems to be struggling.

I have the following components:

  • Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V/Pro Gen 3 (updated to latest firmware)
  • RAM: 16GB (2 x 8GB)
  • Power Supply: corsair HX850
  • HDDs:
    • 2 x 3TB drives on the intel z68 controller
    • 1 x 128GB SSD on the Marvel controller
  • Graphics: Sapphire 7950 (not using on-board graphics)

The problem

  • I set up my 3 TB disks in RAID1
  • controller appears to recognize them fine during boot as one 2.7TB raid1 volume
  • windows setup sees two disks, both 746 GB, but will only let me install to one and appears to work fine.
  • windows appears to install fine
  • after installer reboots, I receive "windows failed to start" error referencing code 0xc000000e and "\Windows\system32\winload.exe
  • every time I do an install, a new additional "win7" entry is added to the boot menu; all lead to this error.

What I've tried:

  • updated the BIOS to the latest firmware
  • attempted to repair the install
  • tried clearing / removing raid / re-raiding drives
  • tried formatting the drives during install
  • attempted to clear the menu Of entries (can't figure out how to do that)

No matter how many times I destroy the raid array, format the disks, etc. the boot entries keep piling up. Any idea where I'm going wrong?

Best Answer

The answer was quite involved, so I turned it into an item that hopefully others will get some lasting use from.

Warnings / Notes Before You Start

  • You will lose all data on your hard drives during this process. Back it up if you need to.
  • If you already have your drives in a RAID configuration, you may want to delete it (again, losing all data) to follow along with this process.
  • No warranties or guarantees, etc. etc. -- worked for me, but try it at home only if you know the consequences.

How to Install Windows 7 on an Intel Z68 Chipset with Drives Larger Than 2TB

This guide will take you through the process of installing Windows 7 x64 on a new machine using the following:

  • Drives larger than 2TB in a RAID 1 Configuration (for our examples, we're using 2 x 3TB HDDs)
  • An SSD Drive
  • An Intel Z68 Chipset Processor
  • A motherboard supporting the Z68 Chipset (in my case, an Asus P8Z68-V/Pro Gen3)
  • Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
  • A USB Stick you have laying around (any size good, formatted to FAT32)

On a Good Machine: Put Intel RST Standalone Drivers onto a FAT32 USB Drive

On the New Machine: Update Your Motherboard's Firmware

  • Follow whatever your manufacturer recommendations are to obtain and flash to the latest BIOS. For the ASUS P8Z68-V/Pro Gen3, check out the download page for the motherboard. Download the latest BIOS drivers.

Create the RAID Array

(This assumes you have your PC entirely together, hardware wise, which is outside of the scope of this article)

  • During boot, when the Intel storage screen is shown, press Ctrl + I to enter the RAID setup screen
  • Follow the prompts to create a RAID1 array from your two large drives
  • At this point, the drive should be seen as their actual size (approx 2.7TB using the 3TB drives)

Adding Special Drivers to Windows 7 Setup

  • Plug your USB Drive in
  • Boot from the Windows 7 CD-ROM in UEFI mode (select the UEFI option for your dvd drive from the boot list menu -- there will be two options, one with and one without UEFI).
    • It's important that you boot from UEFI mode, as this is the only mode that can create GPT drives.
  • Choose a Custom Install (again, losing all data)
  • When you reach the screen displaying your disk drives, you'll notice they're showing the wrong size.
  • Click the "Load Drivers" button.
  • Navigate to the place on the USB drive where you have the Intel RST drivers and click OK.
  • Click Next to load the driver.

At this point, your RAID1 array should show as one large drive of 2.7 TB.

Convert the RAID Array from MBR to GPT

  • From the screen asking which drive you want to install windows on, Press Shift + F10 to bring up the command prompt
  • type diskpart to open the disk partition utility
  • type list disk to list all of the drives
  • Find the drive that is listed as the large drives and find what number it is (on mine, the large RAID volume was disk 0)
  • type select disk # (where # is the number of your large volume, e.g. select disk 0 for my example)
  • type clean. This will erase all data about the drive and ensure it is as good as a raw drive.
  • type convert gpt to convert the disk to a GPT disk from an MBR disk.
  • type exit to exit diskpart and exit again to exit the command prompt
  • Restart the computer (yes I know you're in Windows setup; no, you don't need to finish it)

Check to Make Sure the GPT Conversion Worked

  • Enter windows setup again, load the intel drivers again, and bring up the command prompt by using Shift + F10 again.
  • Type list disk. This time, check to make sure that the disk you converted has an asterisk (*) in the "GPT" column.

Install Windows

  • Open windows install from UEFI BIOS again and load the Intel driver again.
  • Your large drive should now show as unallocated space.
  • Click Advanced and click New to create new partitions.
    • You will receive a message that Windows may create additional partitions. This is good; it means that Windows is creating a GPT partition structure.
  • Install Windows to the large RAID drive's primary partition as you normally would.

Boot into Windows and Extend the Drive

When Windows first boots, it won't recognize the drive as a full 3 TB drive -- 760 GB will be left unallocated.

  • From the start menu, open "Computer Management" (shortcut: type compmgmt.msc and hit enter)
  • Go to "Disk Management".
  • Right-click your large drive structure and select "Extend".
  • Extend to fill the rest of the space.

You now have a 3TB RAID1 array fully recognized in Windows 7 64-bit.

Other Recommended Actions

  • Install the Intel RST Software from your motherboard manufacturer or the web site if you're feeling savvy.
  • Install the Intel management center as well (it's usually bundled with the RST software). This is what will allow you to use an SSD to accelerate your RAID1 array (a great feature).

References

Related Question