I've explored my system some more and have learned this:
The RAID arrays I am running are being supported by Intel Rapid Storage Technology 9.6.0.1014.
As I poked through the help file I discovered the System Requirements section:
System Requirements
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology provides enhanced management capabilities and detailed status information for Serial ATA AHCI and RAID subsystems. This application is supported on the following operating systems and hardware components:
Supported operating systems
· Microsoft Windows* XP Professional (current, soon to be past OS)
· I deleted those that did not apply
· Microsoft Windows* 7 x64-bit Edition (soon to be new OS)
Supported Intel® Chipsets (Mine is P35)
· Intel® 3 Series Chipsets
· I deleted those that did not apply
■ Intel® ICH9R SATA AHCI/RAID controller hub
This suggests to me that I do not need to install new RAID software to get going. I can boot into XP and use Intel Rapid Storage Technology 9.6.0.1014 to set up my two new SSD hardware in RAID1. I then connect these drives to Ports 0 and 1 and they should be recognized as the place I want Win7 x64 to be installed.
Should I have the installation exe file for Intel Rapid Storage Technology 9.6.0.1014 on my flash drive so I can install it as soon as possible?
I tried exploring the Intel Download Center but got very confused. It directed me to a page where I was being offered much older versions of Intel Matrix Storage Manager rather than the newer Intel Rapid Storage Technology version I've been using. Perhaps I misused it?
Thanks in advance