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Q316308: HOW TO: Configure a Stripe Set in Windows NT Server 4.0

Article: Q316308
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster
Last Modified: 09-APR-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0 
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IN THIS TASK
------------

- SUMMARY

   - Requirements
- How to Configure a Stripe Set

- REFERENCES

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.

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.

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.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information about managing volumes on a Windows NT Server 4.0-based
computer, see Module 6 of Microsoft Official Curriculum, Course Number 922, at
the following Microsoft Web site:

  Supporting Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Core Technologies
  (http://www.microsoft.com/trainingandservices/syllabi/syllasearch.asp?coursenumber=922&coursetitle=supporting+microsoft+windows+nt+4.0+core+technologies&hasclass=yes&pageurl=/trainingandservices/content/syllabi/922bfinal.txt)

For additional information about using the Rdisk.exe utility, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q158866 How to Manually Create an Emergency Repair Disk

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbAudITPro kbHOWTOmaster 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNT400search kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400
Version           : :4.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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