Disk Mirroring Mac

[tuniiiix]

Hey guys

I have a quick question.
Is there a way to CANCEL Disk Mirroring on Mac?

 

[Slydude]

What exactly do you mean by disk mirroring? If you are referring to Time Machine backups you can turn that off in System Preferences at the Time Machine preference pane. Which version of OS X are you using?

 

[tuniiiix]

My Mac Mini has got 2 hard drives and are setup as RAID 1. Meaning there are 2 disks, pretending to be 1, so in case one dies/crashes, the other one can jump in.


I want to turn off the RAID so I can use the second disk to install Windows.

 

[chscag]

In order to "break the mirror" in a Raid setup you'll need to clone your data to an external hard drive (using something like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper), and then use Disk Utility to erase the drives, set the drives up as separate and restore your data from the clone you made. In other words, you have a bit of work to do.

And by the way, you'll need to find a work around or "kludge" to install Windows on that second drive. Windows will only install to the primary boot drive. It's a Microsoft piracy preventative.

 

[tuniiiix]

So i need to to a backup, erase both disks and just put the data on to one of them only and then use the other one for windows?

 

[IWT]

Yes. Read Admin chscag's post very carefully. Follow exactly what he says.

You need to have a clone of your data first - to an External Hard Drive; then use Disk Utility (DU) to erase both Drives on the Mac Mini. Then set them up as separate Drives. Then restore your data from the clone to one of the Drives on the Mini.

That leaves the other Drive free. Good luck with getting Windows on that.

Merry Christmas.

Ian

 

[tuniiiix]

Getting Windows isnt the hard part. But thanks. Merry Christmas

 

[Slydude]

Getting Windows isnt the hard part. But thanks. Merry Christmas

Getting Windows really isn't the meat of the issue. As Charlie has pointed out in post 4, Microsoft's anti-piracy schemes do not make it easy to run Windows from anything other than the boot drive. I'm not saying it can't be done but it is a bit hit or miss and the methods I've seen are a real pain.

 

[tuniiiix]

Cloning my data to an external hard drive. Is that the same as just doing a backup?

 

[IWT]

No. The backup has to be bootable.

As stated in post #4, you'll need to use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) or SuperDuper! (SD!). Both of these are pay-for apps; but both offer free trials and, I think, free continual use with fewer features.

They can be downloaded from:

https://bombich.com
https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

These websites also provide much help on how to use them, videos included. Both are good and widely recommended. Read carefully and make your choice. Between my wife and myself, we have both.

Ian