Why RAID controllers & SATA plugs are so badly made and why I'll never use RAID again

[format c:]

Sounds like your running raid 0, which is the least secure of the raid varieties, Becuase your data is striped across two drives ( Split ) it is risky, so when one drive is disconnected or dies your data is useless
Raid 1 is a mirered array and much more secure, If one of the drives dies or is diconnected your data is intact
For the best of both worlds go with a raid 0+1 array of four drives , If one is disconnected the array will still function
If you want to keep costs down, go with a fast SATA drive and a new SATA cable, Use a hard drive in an enclosue or your trusty tape drive for back ups
I would avoid raid 0 altogether
Now about your cables that fall of when you breathe hard, Try a littl glue as suggested to keep them in place
I know on my DFI board ( N-force 4 ) I have fun trying to unplug the darn things , Maybe you got bad cables, try a new one
Or after you move your machine double check those cables to make sure they stayed put

[gemstone]

For the hard drive connections I cured the same problems by epoxy gluing a power and data connector together (used a duff drive to line them having put epoxy on the sides) works well and I have not had a 'fallen' data cable since, plus you dont need to renew those cables when the drives no longer any use. I got the idea from the WD Raptor connector which uses a block that plugs into the data cable port and locks into the power port, you have to use a molex for power, but those blocks will never fall out.

I agree entirely as an engineer the design of these things is pathetic and very amatuerish.