**VIDEO GUIDE - How to Safely Shrink an Unraid Array **

[SpaceInvaderOne]

 

This video shows 2 methods to shrink the Unraid array. One method where you remove a drive then rebuild the parity and the second method where the drive is first zeroed then removed preserving the parity.

[JonathanM]

8 minutes ago, SpaceInvaderOne said:

drive is first zeroed then removed preserving the parity.

Have you figured out what was causing this method to be unsuitably slow for most people? The last time I tried, it was on pace to take more than a week to clear a 2TB drive in a healthy array.

[boianski]

On 2/8/2022 at 5:47 PM, JonathanM said:

Have you figured out what was causing this method to be unsuitably slow for most people? The last time I tried, it was on pace to take more than a week to clear a 2TB drive in a healthy array.

Oh wow! I used the 1st method and a 60% full 6tb drive took almost 19 hours to clear. 

 

I am still trying to figure a way to remove remaining 6TB drives, 4 of them, shrink the array, but I hope I can find a way while still having access to docker. Unbalance only works on 1 disk at a time, so 19 hours times 4, too much down time.. Should I just remove two drives at time of the 4's and let parity rebuild? There are 2 12tb parity drives. Any ideas?