Finding those drives


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All,

 

I have an UNRAID server that has been in operation for many years now.  Sadly, way back then I didn't map the drives to which slot they were in.  So, I'm at the point I'm trying to upgrade my drives.  I need to update the parity drive first (capacity).  

 

So I know there are 3 HGST drives, one of which is the parity.  So I unplugged one and it went into disconnected states (offline).  Great, I know that's slot 1 and NOT the parity drive.  

 

SADLY: (and I know there are threads on this), there is no way to get that drive back online without a full rebuild.  Ouch.

 

So now I'll have to do this process until I find the parity drive?  

 

Surely there has to be a better way !?!?    (Going forward I'll have these documented, but for now ...)

 

Any thoughts?  

 

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Set the array to not autostart (Settings - Disk Settings), then unplug on, turn on the machine.  It'll tell you which one is missing.  Repeat until you've got it.  Then you can start the array.

 

But, if you can make out the serial numbers then you're rocking -> I always stick a label on the back (or front) of the drive that has the last 4 digits to make identification easy

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58 minutes ago, Squid said:

Set the array to not autostart (Settings - Disk Settings), then unplug on, turn on the machine.  It'll tell you which one is missing.  Repeat until you've got it.  Then you can start the array.

 

But, if you can make out the serial numbers then you're rocking -> I always stick a label on the back (or front) of the drive that has the last 4 digits to make identification easy

 

Brilliant !!  Huge time-saver.  Once my current drive rebuilds, I'll do that next. 

 

The serial numbers ...   is that the extended string on the drive list on the dashboard?  I need to pull the drives to see what info is on the labels.  
Yeah, this is a position I won't find myself in again.  #FAIL

 

A huge thank you to you!

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1 hour ago, Ellis34771 said:

The serial numbers ...   is that the extended string on the drive list on the dashboard?

It normally is, unless you have a controller that makes its own disk identifiers. RAID controllers (and USB enclosures) are not recommended for this and many other reasons.

 

Usually, the last 4 characters of serial number are enough to uniquely identify a disk.

 

Some disks already have those on a small label on the end of the disk opposite the connections.

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