How to clear disks and start from scratch

[shaunvis]

I'm setting up a new Unraid box. A few of the disks I'm using are from an old Unraid setup. So when I add them to the array they mount as separate disks.

 

How do I clear all my drivers (I don't need data from them), add them all to a new array and start everything from scratch?

 

thanks 

[Vr2Io]

Install unassisted devices plugin, then unassign target disk and it show in UD then delete its partition.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Vr2Io

[shaunvis]

2 minutes ago, Vr2Io said:

Install unassisted devices plugin, then unassign target disk and delete its partition.

I'm assuming typo and you mean unassigned devices plugin. If so, I have that installed but nothing shows up under it. Meanwhile, I can pick my disks even though they're not assigned. So maybe the plugin isn't working. 

 

[Vr2Io]

Yes typo.

 

It seems something wrong in your plugin installation.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Vr2Io

[JonathanM]

If you can't get UD to cooperate you can always change the preferred format on the array disk by clicking on it, then when the array is started it should show unmountable and give you the option to format it. Then you can change the format type back to whatever you want to use and format it again. Doesn't take more than a minute or two.

 

If you really want the drives cleared, and not just formatted, for data security reasons, then wait to add them until you have valid parity. You would need to assign one data drive and the parity drive, let parity build, then any drives added after that will be cleared. Alternatively you could use the preclear utility. Clearing takes WAY more time, hours and hours.

[shaunvis]

Thanks for the help. I finally fumbled my way through it by picking those disks as the parity disks, letting parity start, stopping it, doing a new config, then formatting the ones that shoed up as unsupported. 

 

There was probably an easier way, but I still got there & should be good now.

[JonathanM]

1 hour ago, shaunvis said:

Thanks for the help. I finally fumbled my way through it by picking those disks as the parity disks, letting parity start, stopping it, doing a new config, then formatting the ones that shoed up as unsupported. 

 

There was probably an easier way, but I still got there & should be good now.

Actually that's a pretty clever way to accomplish the same thing. Probably just as fast once you got the rhythm down, it wouldn't take but a few seconds of "building parity" to wipe out the format on a disk.

[shaunvis]

17 hours ago, JonathanM said:

Actually that's a pretty clever way to accomplish the same thing. Probably just as fast once you got the rhythm down, it wouldn't take but a few seconds of "building parity" to wipe out the format on a disk.

Yea, it worked, lol. Probably would have taken longer to find the preferred method