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How to RAID External Hard Drives on Windows 11
It’s a cost-effective solution even for regular users
6 min. read
Updated onOctober 30, 2023
updated onOctober 30, 2023
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Key notes
RAID, orRedundant Arrays of Independent Disks, is a data storage technology where multiple external drives are combined into one. It was widely employed when large hard disks were expensive, but many still prefer the approach to RAID external drives.
There are severallevels of RAID, each meant for a specific purpose. Remember, regular users don’t have to understand the intricacies and a simple setup of RAID 0 or RAID 1 should work fine.
Reasons to consider raiding external drives:
How do I RAID external drives on Windows 11?
Before you RAID external hard drives, here are a few prerequisites to be aware of:
Once you have it all ready, choose any method to set up RAID systems.
1. Via Settings
That’s how you can connect multiple external hard drives together with RAID and use them for data storage with advanced protection measures. Remember, it’s best to keep the RAID options simple or go with the default choice for an error-free experience.
2. Use a third-party software
The easiest and fastest way to create a RAID Array with your external drives is of course to usededicated partition management software. These tools are easy to use and most of the settings for optimization and data loss prevention are only one click away.
For this task, we recommend using AOMEI Partition Assistant as it is a professional tool offering many features that will help you optimize your disk.
Besides allowing you to set up your RAID accurately, this software also allows you to recover, clone, convert, and many other disk operations. It is altogether a powerful and complete software.
AOMEI Partition Assistant
3. From Control Panel
That’s how you canset up a RAID arraywith 2 external hard drives. Remember, it only works for RAID 0 and RAID 1. The other more advanced types require a higher number of drives.
4. Through Command Prompt
4.1 Convert to dynamic
4.2 RAID external hard drives
4.3 Format the external drives
You can easily RAID external drives in Windows 11 via the Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell, but with these commands, it will be a RAID 0 level. To set up another level, you will need to run several additional commands.
Remember, Diskpart is an advanced tool and helps eliminate any errors encountered earlier.
RAID levels – understanding your options
There are several RAID Levels, each categorized underStandard,Nested, andNon-standard. The Standard RAID category was the first to be released and find extensive use even today. It comprises:
TheNested RAID levelsare a combination of standard levels, for instance, RAID 10 (RAID 1 + RAID 0).
Remember, you don’t necessarily need external drives for the process. You can RAID 1 external hard drive by creating virtual drives on it! Now that you know how RAID works be sure to check our guide onRAID 0 vs RAID 1to learn all the differences between the two.
Besides, if you encounter any issues,download the RAID controller driverfor seamless performance.
For any queries or to share how RAID benefits your setup, comment below.
More about the topics:external hard drive,Windows 11
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim has always been fond of technology, be it scrolling through the settings on his iPhone, Android device, or Windows PC. He’s specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
Long-time Windows user, Kazim is ready to provide a solution for your every software & hardware error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any previous iteration. He’s also one of our experts in Networking & Security.
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Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim is specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
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