Lolight

Four drives in 16 months strongly suggests a selection issue rather than bad luck. Before you pick another one of the same, search for eBay item number 326046070546 -- industrial grade USB drive, currently around $4. Plug it into a USB 2.0 port on your motherboard. It will serve you far better than anything you have.

Yes but there's much more to it. The guide will explain.

The Creator will flag your drive if it thinks there's a problem with its GUID. https://unraid.net/blog/new-usb-creator Don't order anything until you know what to look for. Check the guide in this section: https://forums.unraid.net/forum/119-usb-flash/ If you're in a hurry, get this: eBay item number 326046070546

If you've already used one recently for the Cruzer Fit replacement, the next switch may require a support contact.

For the USB drive question, Amazon is not the right place to shop for this -- MLC is rarely disclosed in listings and what is disclosed can't always be trusted. Have a look at this thread instead: https://forums.unraid.net/topic/196990-mlc-consumer-and-industrial-usb-flash-drives/ It covers several consumer ebay drives, including an Innodisk industrial drive currently available on eBay for around $4 eBay item number: 326046070546 Check this guide for in-depth info if you have time: https://forums.unraid.net/topic/196967-unraid-boot-device-guide-usb-and-nvme-hardware-selection/#comment-1606140 For the VM/network issue -- that deserves its own thread where it can get proper attention from people familiar with Virtio and USB NIC passthrough.

The following output was kindly shared by @landS and reproduced here with their permission. Innodisk USB Drive 3ME -- 64 GB, USB 3.0 -- Industrial USB Flash Drive: P/N: DEUA1-64GI61BW1SC-B345B, Made in Taiwan Year: 2026 -- eBay purchase, $3.99 GUID: YES Controller: Silicon Motion SM3261 AB Possible Memory Chip(s): Toshiba 983C95937A51, 15nm Memory Type: MLC VID: 196D PID: 0201 Physical Disk Capacity: 64 GB USB Version: 3.00 Declared Power: 504 mA eBay item number: 326046070546 https://www.innodisk.com/en/products/flash-storage/others-usb-usb-edc/usb-drive-3me

The pack of 10 makes total sense as a decision at the time. But consider what just happened -- a single boot drive failure cascaded into two parity rebuilds and a week of stress across a carefully built system. With 8 Cruzer Fits left, that's 8 more opportunities for the same cascade. A single quality MLC drive will likely outlast all 10 of them and the 10-pack cost is already spent either way. On the BIOS point -- skipping updates is harder to maintain than it sounds, especially on AMD platforms where AGESA updates carry real stability and security fixes. "Don't update often" tends to quietly become "haven't updated in 3 years".

Glad you got it sorted -- what a week indeed. One suggestion: avoid replacing the Cruzer Fit with another Cruzer Fit. The flush form factor traps heat, which is hard on NAND over time. A standard full-size USB drive with MLC NAND will serve you much better. On internal boot -- it will solve the cheap USB drive problem but introduces new ones. Routine BIOS updates with Secure Boot key changes can brick internal boot entirely. Worth understanding before making the switch.

If you like Corsair then Corsair RM1200x (Shift or Standard) is a much better choice. EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 P+ or G+ is another good choice with a massive single 12V rail. There are other good choices: https://tuerie.github.io/psu-tier-list/ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1akCHL7Vhzk_EhrpIGkz8zTEvYfLDcaSpZRB6Xt6JWkc/edit?gid=1719706335#gid=1719706335

Thank you! Flash ID code: 983C95937A51 it's Toshiba's A (Advanced) 19nm a "half-node" shrink of the original 19nm node. It's post-2016 production using 15 nm Toshiba MLC. Thanks again for providing that detailed NAND readout! Do you mind if I copy that output over to my MLC collection thread to archive specs for different MLC drives to keep all this technical data in one place. I’ll make sure to credit you for the dump.

If you're not using a UPS, you should. Also, be very selective about the quality of new USB drives.

The 64GB eMMC in the Steam Deck uses 3D TLC NAND with a proper wear-leveling controller, so it's significantly more durable than a typical flash drive for continuous writes -- definitely a reasonable repurpose for syslog or similar. If you want even better NAND quality on the cheap though, there are Innodisk 3ME industrial USB drives on eBay right now for around $4 -- these use MLC NAND which is substantially more wear-tolerant than consumer grade TLC flash. This specific ebay listing is worth a look: 326046070546. Could be worth migrating your boot drive to one of those depending on what you're currently using. If you want to learn more about the subject, check the Boot Device Guide in the Boot Devices section of this forum.

Thanks for posting the USB info output. I'm assuming you've used the Flash Drive Information Extractor utility. Could you also run ChipGenius just to see if it shows any Flash ID info? Would you mind checking if any S.M.A.R.T data comes through? A quick way to test is via HWiNFO Innodisk has a S.M.A.R.T readout tool for their industrial USB drives called iTracker, designed specifically for USB drives -- it provides visualized S.M.A.R.T information, including P/E cycles and health status. But there's no "one-click" download on the main Innodisk site. It's managed through the MyInnodisk portal and requires registration.

Sorry to hear. Kanguru has removed any mention of the NAND type from their documentation -- it used to be clearly stated as MLC. Take a look at the Unraid Boot Device guide in the USB Flash section of this forum first -- it explains what to look for. Prices have skyrocketed lately for the industrial types: https://au.rs-online.com/web/c/?searchTerm=usb+flash+drive&rpp=100&sortType=ASC&sortBy=price&selectedNavigation=availability=IN_STOCK https://au.mouser.com/c/embedded-solutions/memory-data-storage/storage/usb-flash-drives/ There’s one clear bargain I’m aware of: an industrial USB stick being sold at liquidation-level prices. However, the shipping cost makes it less of a deal for those located in Australia: eBay item #: 326046070546 Another good option is legacy, new-old-stock MLC consumer drives. You can find examples in the "MLC-Based Consumer USB Flash Drives" thread.

For what you're describing -- NAS, Docker, and a decent UI -- Unraid is honestly a pretty solid fit, especially for beginners. The mixed drive size array is the thing that sets it apart. You can throw in whatever drives you have lying around without needing matched pairs, which is great when you're starting out and building gradually. The Docker side is handled through Community Apps which makes installing things like Plex, Jellyfin, Emby or whatever else you want genuinely painless -- most popular apps have one-click templates. A couple of honest things worth knowing before you pull the trigger. There's no built-in data backup solution which is a gap that comes up a lot in the community -- you'd need to sort that separately through a Docker container. And security patches have historically been on the slower side, though that seems to be improving. The 30 day trial is fully featured so there's no reason not to just try it before spending the $71. A few weeks with it will tell you pretty quickly whether it clicks for you. One more thing worth knowing if you do go ahead -- the quality of your USB boot drive matters a lot more than most people realize. Not all USB drives are created equal for always-on server duty and the wrong one can fail on you within a couple of years, or even months. Before you buy anything check out the USB Flash section of this forum -- there's a guide there that explains exactly what to look for and what to avoid.

Internal boot has more drawbacks than benefits https://forums.unraid.net/topic/196967-unraid-boot-device-guide-usb-and-nvme-hardware-selection/#comment-1606140

The vast majority will end up with a single cheap QLC NVMe. Don't those fail? And how easy is the recovery process compared to a failed USB boot drive? btw, the mirrored USB drive pool is also an option if desired.

This DOM has been recently purchased from DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/atp-electronics-inc/AF16GSMGH-AABXP/16374995 ATP DOM - 16 GB, eUSB P/N: AF16GSMGH-AABXP Year: 2025 GUID: UNKNOWN (was not tested) Controller: Silicon Motion SM3257 ENAA Possible Memory Chip(s): Toshiba TC58TFG7DDLTA00, 15nm Memory Type: MLC Flash ID: 983A9493 7651 Flash CE: 1 Chip F/W: ISP 160729-AA0 MP: P0729BT MPTOOL Ver.: 2.05.51 PTEST Date: 2014-12-19 VID: 14AF PID: AF01 Manufacturer: ATP Electronics Product: ATP CG eUSB Physical Disk Capacity: 16 GB Relative Offset: 56 KB USB Version: 2.00 Declared Power: 500 mA

My understanding is that it's pretty much the same thing as with SSDs. Both methods can have a partition allocated for storage it's just not as practical for USBs drives.

Each device in internal boot consumes a license slot. With mirrored USB flash drive in internal boot config they will consume 2 license slots. The license key can be placed on either TPM or third USB drive - your choice. The third USB drive with the license key on it won't consume a license slot.

Mirrored USB drives in a pool is one of the available internal boot configurations. You can't mirror USB flash drives while on USB boot.

One thing worth remembering is that internal boot has several drawbacks. Read up on it first -- the USB boot guide provides lots of relevant info on USB flash drives and internal boot configurations. Then decide for yourself. Besides, it's still in beta - wait for stable.

One thing worth remembering is that internal boot has several drawbacks and only a few advantages. Read up on it first, then decide for yourself. Marketing materials don’t tell the whole story. A good place to start is the USB Flash guide in the Boot Devices category of this forum.

Same boat here -- ~ 50TB offsite backup server is exactly what I'm trying to figure out myself. Don't want to run any complicated custom setups. For the power on/off question ConnerVT's thread linked above covers it well -- WOL to wake the backup server, S3 sleep plugin to send it back to sleep when done. Works reliably without needing IPMI hardware. For the sync software I've been looking at three options and haven't committed yet. Syncthing is simple -- zero configuration networking, bidirectional sync, web UI only, no CLI required. Resilio Sync is very user friendly but proprietary. Duplicacy has better versioning and chunk-based deduplication which protects against the kind of ransomware scenario where a simple mirror would just replicate the encrypted files. One thing worth knowing if Duplicati (not Duplicacy) comes up as a recommendation — Spaceinvaderone's tutorial on it has a disclaimer added recently noting restore reliability issues. Worth reading before going that route. Duplicacy is the more reliable alternative in the same general space. Still weighing the options myself. Would be interested to hear what others in a similar situation ended up choosing -- especially at the >50TB scale where the initial sync alone is a multi-day project regardless of what software you pick.

The drive is clean and the symptoms were most likely a temporary system state issue. That said, the drive has been in service since July 2017 -- nearly 9 years. At 32GB it's almost certainly planar TLC which is adequate but not the most reliable option long term. Worth running ChipGenius to confirm what's inside. Depending on what you find, sourcing a verified quality legacy MLC drive as a replacement might be the simpler and more reliable path compared to migrating to internal boot -- the USB Flash section guide and MLC companion thread cover exactly what to look for and list specific verified options currently available on eBay. On internal boot -- beta.2 just dropped and the bug backlog is still being worked through. Your pool drives will still be there when stable releases. No need to rush the migration.