Cause:
The cause of this issue is unknown.

Resolution:
To resolve this issue, please connect the My Book Studio II via USB or 1394b (FireWire800) and perform the RAID change again.

Important: There are many different implementations of RAID. Among the most common are RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 5.

RAID 0 uses striping to create a single large-capacity drive with high throughput. RAID 0 is much faster and more efficient than using two separate drives. However, a major disadvantage is that the stripes are not redundant; if one of the drives fails, all of the data will be lost. Therefore, RAID 0 should not be used as "data backup insurance." RAID 0 is all performance and no protection.

RAID 1 is redundant but not striped. The same data is stored on two (or more) different drives. RAID 1 is also called disk mirroring. The data is protected, but performance is much slower with RAID 1.

RAID 5 uses three or more drives (usually between three and five). RAID 5’s redundancy is based not on mirroring but on parity. Parity is a computational method in binary logic that generates a parity value from a set of data. If any one of those data elements is lost, it can be recreated using the remaining data and the parity value, no matter which element is lost. In RAID 5, this means that parity can completely reconstruct one of the drives in the array in the event of a failure.

Notes:

• For support for Samsung hard disk drives set in a RAID array, see the documentation for your PC’s motherboard or your host controller card.
• If you don’t know what motherboard or Serial ATA controller you are using, see the instruction or owners manual for your computer. You can also contact your computer manufacture for support. Not all manufactures are listed here, the tables below offer a list of the most common manufactures. If your manufacture is not listed here perform a Google search for their support site.

RAID 1 Explained
The RAID level 1 architecture uses the concept of mirroring. This means that errors and failures of all disks can be accommodated in the disk array, except one. However, there can be maximum two disks only. RAID 1 is designed for faster read operations than write. RAID 1 recovery is only possible when one of the two disks have failed. While using any modern multi-threaded operating system (Windows or Linux), RAID 1 array gives better performance for split seeks, that is, access of same memory location by two different users. There needs to be a RAID 1 controller for each disk in this array for best performance.

RAID 5 Explained
In the architecture of RAID 5 disks, the array is so arranged that failure of one disk can be kept hidden. If the second disk fails before the replacement of the first, then there cannot be any data recovery. The maximum number of disks that can be accommodated in the architecture are three, out of which one is kept as a backup. When the first disk fails, the backup disk springs into action and data recovery is possible. In RAID 5, a failed disk needs to be replaced as early as possible. RAID 5 performance suffers whenever there is a read-modify-write operation.

Recovery in RAID Disks
RAID 5 as well as RAID 1 have one common assumption. Every failure is independent of the other. However, this is not completely true. Due to the mechanical nature of the storage disk, failure of one disk may mechanically be dependent on the other. There are techniques such as, parity resynchronization or stale sub-disk recovery, where recovery is possible but these are restricted to specific scenarios. Data loss due to software reasons (a virus or accidental deletion) is however a different issue. The data recovery techniques used in RAID disks and recovery through data recovery softwares are not directly related.

Advantages of RAID 1

• Redundancy of the data is hundred percent.
• Data need not be rebuilt in case of a single disk failure.
• Even though there are two disks in the array, the rate at which data gets transferred is that of a single disk.
• Very easy to understand and implement.

Advantages of RAID 5

• RAID 5 has an inbuilt load balancing mechanism.
• RAID 5 is ideally suited for database applications which are heavily read oriented.
• Applications that perform random read operations work well on RAID 5.
• High fault tolerance typically requires additional disk space. RAID 5 is highly efficient in that scenario.

The seven levels in RAID have been developed gradually over a period of time. Different arrays are suited for different situations. The above RAID 5 vs RAID 1 comparison may be helpful in understanding these disk array structures.

The following are the steps necessary to configure a RAID 1 (mirrored) volume on your OneTouch III Turbo 1TB drive:

Currently only the OneTouch III Turbo 1TB (Terabyte) drives provide RAID 1 (Mirrored) support. Configuring a RAID volume is a data destructive process. It is strongly recommended that you backup any/all data on your OneTouch III Turbo drive before proceeding.

1. Double-click on the Maxtor OneTouch Manager icon on your Windows Desktop. This will launch the Onetouch Manager application.  
   If this icon has been removed from the desktop, click Start > Programs (All Program for Windows XP) > Maxtor > OneTouch > Maxtor OneTouch^T Manager
2. Click on the Settings button.
3. The Settings window appears. Click on the RAID Settings button.
4. The RAID Settings window appears. At any time you may click on the link "How do these RAID Settings work", located at the bottom of the screen to learn more about the offered RAID configurations for the OneTouch III Turbo Edition drives.
5. By default the OneTouch III Turbo drive is configured with a RAID 0 (Striped) volume – this RAID setting provides speed, but no redundancy in the event of of a single disk failure. To setup a RAID 1 (mirrored) volume, click on the RAID 1 – Redundancy radio button and click Next.
6. A Warning displays notifying you that configuring a RAID 1 volume is a data destructive process. It is recommended that you backup any/all critical data on your OneTouch III Turbo drive. When you are ready, click Continue
7. You will see a window stating that the RAID Setup is in progress. When the setup is finished, you will be prompted to format the newly created RAID 1 volume. Click OK to close this window. The RAID Setup process may take awhile to complete.
8. When the RAID Setup is finished, a window displays prompting you to format the new volume. Click Format to proceed.
9. To confirm that you want to prepare the RAID 1 volume, click Format.
10. At this point, the RAID volume is partitioned and formatted. This may take awhile to complete.
11. When the format is complete, click OK. The OneTouch III Turbo Drive is now configured with a RAID 1 volume.

Maxtor OneTouch III Video Tutorial – Performing Diagnostics From a Windows PC

This page will link you to a Flash Video that shows you how to configure a RAID 1 (mirrored) volume on your Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo drive.

How to configure a raid 1 volume on maxtor onetouch iii turbo drive

Highlights

• User-configurable RAID solution
• Use RAID 0 for high performance disk striping or RAID 1 for automatic mirroring
• Up to 1 TB storage capacity
• FireWire® 800 for fast data transfer
• Oxford 924 chipset
• Pre-formatted for Mac; easily formatted for Windows®
• Available in RAID 0 only, and RAID 0 / RAID 1 (user configurable) configurations.

What does this mean?

Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo drives are shipped with 2 drives inside the enclosure. These drives are configured in such a way that the drive letter or volume spans both drives to make one large drive. This is known as RAID 0 or RAID Striping.

When data is written to this large volume, the data is "striped" across the two drives.  The stripe size is 64 KB. What this means is that a file written to the array is split into two parts, one for each drive. This translates into significant improvement in reads and writes because two drives can do the work of one in roughtly half the time. This usually means throughput of 30-40% higher than a single drive, and sometimes can be nearly 50% higher.

The file splitting is automatically handled by the operating system so it makes it a simple and robust solution for adding speedy storage or backup.

RAID is an acronym which stands for "Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks" which is not entirely accurate for the way RAID 0 is used because there is no redundancy. A RAID 0 volume needs to be backed up but is extremely fast.

The following illustration shows how data is arranged on the two drives in RAID 0 and RAID 1:

RAID 0/1 drives support both modes, requiring a reformat to switch the mode. The RAID 0/1 version of the OneTouch III Turbo is expected to ship within a few weeks of the RAID 0 model.

Cause:
The cause of this issue is unknown.

 Resolution:
To resolve this issue, please connect the My Book Studio II via USB or 1394b (FireWire800) and perform the RAID change again.

1. With the computer powered off, follow the instructions for installing the RAID controller correctly and connect both Serial ATA hard drives to the controller.
2. Boot your computer with the controller and drives already installed.
3. Watch your boot screens for a prompt that will ask you to press the Control and F keys at the same time to enter the Fastbuild utility and press those keys to enter.
4. Press the 1 key to enter Auto Setup.
5. Verify that the top of the screen says Optimize Array for: Security.
6. If the top of the screen says Performance instead of Security, highlight the word Performance and press the right arrow button to change the word to Security.
7. Press the Control and Y keys at the same time to save the array configuration.
8. Press the Y key to create and quick initialize the array.
9. You will be warned that all data on the drives will be erased, press the Y key to proceed.
10. The array is now created, press any key to reboot.

To use the array for extra data storage only:

• Install the latest service pack for your operating system to enable large drive support and use Disk Management to partition and format the array.

To use the array as your bootable system drive:

• Set your BIOS to boot to CD first and boot from your Windows 2000/XP CD to load your operating system onto the array.
• Windows will treat the array as one large drive and will install on the array just as it would on a single drive.
• When you are prompted by Windows setup to press the F6 key to install SCSI or RAID drivers, you will need to press F6 and insert the driver disk that came with your RAID controller.
• Once the drivers for the controller are installed you will be able to finish the installation of Windows 2000/XP onto the array. After the installation of Windows, please install the latest service pack for Windows to enable large drive support and avoid data corruption.

Note: Your system BIOS may require you to change the order of your boot sequence before you can boot your computer from a controller. For more information about adjusting options in your system BIOS, please contact the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard.

Please Note:   Depending on how the WD ShareSpace RAID is setup, that RAID array may not be recoverable from a drive failure.

Qty of 2 – 1TB internal hard drives:

• RAID-0 – 2TB – (Not recoverable)
• RAID-1 – 1TB – (Recoverable)
• RAID-5 – (Not Supported)

Qty of 3 – 1TB internal hard drives:

• Spanning – 3TB – (Non recoverable)
• RAID-0 – 3TB – (Non recoverable)
• RAID-1 – (Not Supported)
• RAID-5 – 2TB – (Recoverable)

Qty of 4 – 1TB internal hard drives:

• Spanning – 4TB – (Non recoverable)
• RAID-0 – 4TB – (Non recoverable)
• RAID-1 (Double Mirror) – (Recoverable)
• RAID-5 – 3TB – (Recoverable)

For a recoverable RAID mode:
To recover the ShareSpace from Drive failure, or from a degraded RAID array, you must replace the failed drive with a Western Digital unformatted drive of the same model and size. Once the drive is replaced, the ShareSpace will re-sync the drive back into the RAID array and automatically start the RAID re-build. No further user intervention is needed, other than replacing the failed drive in the unit.

RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of independent Disks. With RAID enabled on a storage system you can connect two or more drives in the system so that they act like one big fast drive or set them up so that one drive in the system is used to automatically and instantaneously duplicate (or mirror) your data for real-time backup.

There are three reasons you might want a RAID system of drives.

1. You need tons of storage space and you need it to be fast. (RAID 0)
2. You want to instantaneously and automatically backup your data. (RAID 1)
3. You want both. (RAID 5)

Which RAID mode should i use?

1. Speed (RAID 0)

Set in high-performance mode (also called striped mode or RAID 0) the storage system gives you the power you need when you’re:

• Designing huge graphics and need a lightning-fast photoshop scratch space.
• Recording large DV files while maintaining clean audio performance.
• Editing DV or HD video and want a smooth work flow with no dropped frames.
• Rendering complex 3D objects or special effects.
• performing disk-intensive database operations.
• Driven to be the first geek on your block with a computer so fast it blows your socks off.

Why is RAID 0 so fast? it’s a bit complicated, but suffice it to say that two or more heads, or in this case, drives, are better than one. picture multiple hoses filling a bucket at the same time or several men bailing a boat and you can understand why two drives striped are faster than one. Data is saved (striped) across both drives and accessed in parallel by all the drives so you get higher data transfer rates on large data accesses and higher input/output rates on small data accesses.

2. Data protection (RAID 1)

Set the system to data protection mode (also known as mirrored mode or RAID 1) and the capacity is divided in half. Half of the capacity is used to store your data and half is used for a duplicate copy.

Why do i want that kind of redundancy? it’s your data, your family pictures, your movie of baby’s first steps, your first novel. is it important? You decide. if it is, then RAID mirroring is for you.

3. Data protection and speed (RAID 5)

in systems with three or more drives (like 4 TB WD ShareSpace™ Network Storage System) we recommend that you set the system to RAID 5. This gives you the best of both worlds: fast performance by striping data across all drives; data protection by dedicating a quarter of each drive to fault tolerance leaving three quarters of the system capacity available for data storage.

About Spanning (Linear)

Spanning, which is not a RAID mode, combines all the drives in a system into one big volume so they act like one giant drive.  The drives are filled up one drive at a time.  The advantage of using this mode is that you can add more drives without having to reformat the system.

1. Open the Maxtor OneTouch Manager.
2. From the main menu, select the OneTouch III Turbo drive and click select Settings.
3. From the Setting screen, click the RAID tab.
4. To create the mirror, click the RAID 1 for Safety button. 
   All data currently on the OneTouch III Turbo drive will be erased during this process. It is recommended that you backup any/all data stored on your OneTouch III Turbo drive before continuing.
   Click Erase to proceed.
   If prompted, enter your USERNAME and PASSWORD to authenticate.
5. You will be prompted to, "Please Confirm That You Intend to Destroy All Data On This Drive". To do this, type the number located in the left field into the empty text field located on the right of the confirmation screen. Once the number has been entered, click Erase Drive.
6. At this point, the RAID volume is configured. This may take awhile. After the volume has been configured, you will be prompted to initialize the drive. From the window displayed, click Initialize…
7. This will launch the Apple Disk Utility. Select the Maxtor drive located in the left column and click Erase.
8. From the Erase options, maintain the default Volume Format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), enter a volume Name (e.g., Turbo) and click Erase.
9. The Erase Disk confirmation appears on your Desktop. Click Erase to proceed. At this point the OneTouch III Turbo Drive is partitioned and formatted. When complete, the newly created volume will appear on your Desktop.

Maxtor OneTouch III Video Tutorial – How to configure a RAID 1 Volume on the OneTouch III Turbo Edition for Mac OS X.

This will link you to a Flash Video that shows you how to configure a RAID 1 Volume on the OneTouch III Turbo Edition for Mac OS X (OS X – 10.3.9 & newer) using the Maxtor OneTouch Manager.