Here is a collection of RAID 0 "how-to-do" from posts at OCAU:

How to set-up a Raid 0 Array and Install the OS on the Array
(a) After connecting the 2 (or more) disks you want to RAID to the RAID controller, power up, go into the RAID controller BIOS and set up the desired RAID type. For most ppl. this will be a RAID 0 array in order to improve performance. In the Raid controller BIOS' you also can and SHOULD set the block stripe size for the RAID 0 array: if you have the Highpoint HPT 372/374 PCI stand-alone PCI or onboard RAID controllers (for example at Abit and Epox mainboards), you can set up stripe sizes starting from 16k and going up to 1024K. Choose 16K! This is the best stripe size for usual desktop jobs like gaming, e-mailing, and web surfing or working with MS Office. In the very rare case you use the RAID 0 array for audio and video editing which means working with huge files, a bigger size stripe like 64K or even more might necessary.
(b) In case you have a Promise LITE on-board RAID controller (for example at MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte boards) select "performance". This will set up a RAID 0 array. Then select "desktop” as RAID 0 purpose. This will automatically set a small stripe size (I think it’s 8 K), which is better for usual desktop jobs. In the Promise LITE BIOS it is NOT possible to select the array stripe size by yourself. Also: In case you later change the stripe size, all data on the array will be lost, this of course also applies for the Highpoint RAID controllers.
(c) In case you have a stand-alone PCI Promise Fastrack TX/2 or TX/4 Raid controller follow (a).


How to Install the OS on the Raid 0 Array
(a) In case you install W2K/XP you MUST hit "F6" immediately after the blue welcome screen pops up. After hitting "F6" you will be asked whether you want to install a driver for a storage device not included in the W2k/XP own device driver inventory, confirm this and push the floppy with the RAID drivers in the slot. Soon afterwards you will be asked to select the RAID driver from the floppy, and then the selected drivers will be loaded. You find the necessary drivers either on the RAID controller installation floppy disk, or -in case you have an on-board controller- copy them from the mobo installation CD to a floppy. In case you have Win98/ME, it is NOT necessary to load any "outside" driver during the installation process. You have to do this AFTER the first boot into Win98/ME. AGAIN: if you have W2K/XP and if you miss "F6", means you don't load the RAID drivers from the floppy, there is no way that W2K will work: When you try to boot for the first time you will be greeted by a BSOD, because W2K cannot find the drivers for the RAID controller and cannot recognize the RAIDed HDD. In case of XP some older RAID controller drivers are already included in the OS, in that caes theoratcially it's not necessary to hit F6. But the newer ones, for example for SATA controllers are not included. You should therefore always work with the F6 key and load the dirvres during installation from a floppy.



(b) If you use NTFS and you want to format the partition on which you intend to install the OS in a cluster size of 16K (recommended), the easiest way is with 3 disks. Install the OS first to the 3rd (single) disk, then partition and format the RAID 0 array (on the RAIDed disks 1 and 2) in 16K clusters from the installed OS on the 3rd disk, and finally install the OS on the RAID 0 array. During the installation process you HAVE to select "use existing partition".


(c) But most ppl. don't have 3 disks. You cannot format in any other cluster size than the default 4K during the XP/W2K installation routine, also: NTFS partitions CANNOT be formatted from a DOS disk. This here is the way to out-smart the W2K/XP installation routine, which always, by default, formats NTFS in 4k clusters. As a result you get your W2K/XP OS installed on a RAID 0 array with a NTFS file cluster size as you desire (and not only the default 4K). It looks difficult at first glance, but it is not:

(c1) After connecting the 2 (or more) disks to the RAID controller interface, power up, go into the RAID controller BIOS and set up a RAID 0 array with the desired stripe size, be it for the Highpoint controller (as we have it on Abit or Epox boards) 16K, 32K, or 64K, or in case of a Promise controller (Asus for example) 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K, 64K, 128K, 256K, 512K, and 1024K.

(c2) Then you reboot and start installing W2K/XP. After properly loading the RAID controller driver from a prepared floppy by hitting "F6" at the beginning of the installation routine you arrive at the blue W2K/XP installation screen. It will ask you where you want to install W2K/XP. At that moment you have the choice to set up and format partitions. The problem is that you can only format in the default size of 4 K, which is not what we want. But this is what we do: you partition and format at least 2 drives: c:/ and d:/. The c:/ drive will later be used as the "real" installation drive for W2K/XP. The d:/ drive is where you install XP now as a temporary solution. Choose whatever size you wish for c:/ (it can later be changed) and give the temporary installation drive d:/ the minimum size you need for a proper XP installation, which is 2GB.

(c3) Then you install W2K/XP on the d:/ drive. After the installation is completed, run W2K/XP and go to "My Computer", right click "Manage", call for "Disk Management" and RE-PARTITION and REFORMAT the empty c:/ drive (which was previously formatted with the default 4K cluster size) with the desired NTFS cluster size, be it 8K, 16K, 32K, or as maximum 64K. Make SURE to format c:/ as PRIMARY partition and set it ACTIVE afterwards. Then you reboot and re-peat the W2K/XP installation process. But this time, when arriving at the partition screen, you will tell W2K/XP to delete the d:/ drive with the temporary W2K/XP installation. Then you install W2K/XP fresh on the already existing c:/ drive, which you previously formatted in the desired cluster size.


This works 100%. It is, as far as I know, the only way for ppl. with only 2 disks to format a RAID 0 array in NTFS in another than the default 4k-cluster size. And 4K is NO good for RAID 0 performance.

Source: On overclockers.com.au This is a collaboration of posts by OCAU members, Chainbolt put the posts into one tutorial.

Hope this might help people who need to speed up their systems :)