Different between remove mirror and break the mirror in Windows Server 2008 R2

(For your reference only, I only try in a VM one time to do the “remove mirror” and “break mirror”).

Remove mirror will also remove all the data on the designated mirror disk. (Disk A will keep current data, but Disk B will remove all the data and volume)

Break mirror will stop the mirroring of the volume, but it will keep the data in both disk. (Disk A and Disk B which creates two separate and independent volumes containing identical data)

Please do not try the “Remove mirror” or “Break mirror” in your production system unless you have full data backup and well prepare disaster recovery of your system. (Take your own risk)

Different between remove mirror and break the mirror in Windows Server 2008 R2

How to setup the software RAID 1 on Window Server 2008 R2?

Step 1: Open the “Server Manager” -> Storage -> Disk Management

Step 2: Select the “System Reserved” volume

Step 3: Right click on “System Reserved” volume and select “Add Mirror…”

Step 4: Press “Yes” to start the disk conversion and mirroring.

After the mirroring of the “System Reserved” volume is complete, you will see the Disk Management like the following:

Step 5: Select the “Volume C:” and “Add Mirror….”

Step 6: Select the disk you want to form mirror with your selected volume.

Then wait for few hours until the mirror is complete. The following screen is the disk starting to form mirroring. There are yellow alert on Disk 1 since the mirroring is not complete.

When the mirroring is complete, you will the Disk Management like the following:

 

How to boot into Windows if the Disk 0 is fail?

In the boot menu, select “Windows Server 2008 R2 – secondary plex”

Remark: Since this is a software RAID, please do not use this setup for the mission critical system. (Use this setup for your own risk)

How to setup the software RAID 1 on Window Server 2008 R2?