Recently I decided to go through the process of going from a single SSD to two SSD's in RAID 0.
On my first try I used an external hard drive to store the backup and created the Restore Disc using the Backup Utility Wizard.
When I switched my drive configuration from AHCI to Intel Matrix RAID, setup RAID 0, then restored my backup I was unable to boot Windows 7. I couldn't even fix it using the various utilities the backup disc provided.
I then went through the process detailed below to get it to work.
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I went through the process of using the built-in Windows 7 Backup Utility to create a system image of my computer to a network location.
After this completed I went ahead and created the Windows 7 x64 Restore Disc that the Backup Utility Wizard will create for you.
I then rebooted my computer and changed my drive configuration in my BIOS from AHCI to RAID.
After that I went into the Intel Matrix RAID configuration and setup RAID 0 on my two SSD's.
I then booted off of the Restore Disc to restore the network backup.
At first when I tried to access the share I kept getting an error concerning the network. Upon realizing Windows 7 wouldn't have network drivers for a newer motherboard I added the network driver for my motherboard when the wizard gives me the option.
After I was able to discover the backup I selected it.
I then loaded the Intel Matrix RAID drivers for my motherboard when the wizard gives me the option to load drivers.
After that I initiated the restore and was able to successfully boot into Windows.
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Upon looking into this further an associate and I went through the process of testing a theory that only concerns the Intel Matrix RAID.
The theory was Windows 7 already has a driver for Intel Matrix RAID, AHCI, and Legacy IDE.
When the OS is installed it will turn on the necessary driver (AHCI or Intel Matrix RAID).
AHCI and Intel Matrix RAID can be turned on by editing these registry entries:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStorV
Set REG_DWORD Value of "Start" to Decimal Value "0"
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci
Set REG_DWORD Value of "Start" to Decimal Value "0"
By having all of these set to "0" you can switch between AHCI, Intel Matrix RAID, and Legacy IDE at will.
The way tested this is detailed below:
We had a machine with Windows 7 already installed and configured for AHCI mode with the BIOS set to AHCI.
We went into the BIOS, changed it to RAID and tried to boot into Windows 7 and it failed to boot.
We then changed the machine back to AHCI in the BIOS then successfully booted into Windows 7.
In Windows 7 regedit we then changed the value of REG_DWORD "Start" to be Decimal Value of "0" in key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStorV.
We then rebooted the computer, went into the BIOS, changed the drive configuration to RAID and booted into Windows 7 successfully.
The theory detailed above will only work for the Intel Matrix RAID controller built-in on all Intel Motherboards since the 3-Series Chipset.
The method detailed above this theory concerning restoring a Windows System Image from a Network location should work for all RAID controllers.
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