Can't add a disk back to array after removing it

[DoctorBubba]

I had two data drives and one parity drive. I went to add another data drive and I was told that I couldn't do this because the parity drive was now not the largest (all of the drives are 16TB). So, I removed the parity drive and added the new one as parity. I tried to add the old drive back as a data drive but I got the error message, "You may not add new disk(s) and also remove existing disk(s)." I tried a preclear to see if that helped but it didn't. I still get the error, "You may not add new disk(s) and also remove existing disk(s)."

Edited January 15, 2023 by DoctorBubba

[DoctorBubba]

I just tried the New Config option and that didn't seem to fix anything. Now it seems like I can't access the share until parity-sync is built. I pressed start array but it still says the array is stopped.

[itimpi]

5 hours ago, DoctorBubba said:

I had two data drives and one parity drive. I went to add another data drive and I was told that I couldn't do this because the parity drive was now not the largest (all of the drives are 16TB). So, I removed the parity drive and added the new one as parity. I tried to add the old drive back as a data drive but I got the error message, "You may not add new disk(s) and also remove existing disk(s)." I tried a preclear to see if that helped but it didn't. I still get the error, "You may not add new disk(s) and also remove existing disk(s)."

This needed to be done as we separate steps.

[itimpi]

5 hours ago, DoctorBubba said:

I just tried the New Config option and that didn't seem to fix anything. Now it seems like I can't access the share until parity-sync is built. I pressed start array but it still says the array is stopped.

Not quite sure I understand what happened here?   If you cannot start the array how was a parity-sync initiated?    Perhaps you are likely to get better informed feedback if you attach your system’s diagnostics zip file to your next post in this thread so we can see the current state of things.

[DoctorBubba]

It's a little weird right now. It seems to be partially started and partially not. Parity sync is running, and I'm able to access my data on the server via SMB. However, if I go to the shares tab, it says that the array has to be started to view shares. If I go to the Docker tab, it says that the array has to be started to see containers, yet the containers are visible under the message. Also, the only buttons available on the bottom of the main tab are reboot and shutdown. There are no visible buttons, not even grayed out ones, relating to starting or stopped the array or parity sync.

 

It's acting strange right now, probably because I hit "new config", but I'm hoping it starts working normally after the parity sync finishes and I restart. That will take a couple of days though because I'm also transferring files to the share which has brought parity sync to a crawl.

 

10 hours ago, itimpi said:

This needed to be done as we separate steps.

 

I did do them in separate steps, or at least I thought so. I removed the parity drive and replaced it with the new one. I started the array up and it worked fine. I didn't let parity sync finish because it seemed like it would be pointless to build the parity right before adding a new driving and having to build it again. I stopped the array and still couldn't add the drive. I've tried restarting and now I've tried "new config". Do I have to let the parity sync finish before I can add another drive?

vortex6-diagnostics-20230115-1336.zip

[trurl]

15 minutes ago, DoctorBubba said:

It's a little weird right now.

Do you have multiple browsers or tabs open to your server, perhaps on other devices?

[JorgeB]

If you are using Firefox reboot first then use a different browser.

 

 

[DoctorBubba]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:14 PM, trurl said:

Do you have multiple browsers or tabs open to your server, perhaps on other devices?

I do. I have so many tabs open ATM though that the easiest way to log them out for sure will be to let Unraid finish and then reboot.

 

9 hours ago, JorgeB said:

If you are using Firefox reboot first then use a different browser.

Will do, as soon as my current tasks finish, which will take a few days.

 

It also says "stale configuration" at the bottom. I assumed this was related to using "new config" and I hoped this would rectify after I get everything set back up properly.

[JorgeB]

18 hours ago, DoctorBubba said:

It also says "stale configuration" at the bottom.

Yes, it's related to the same Firefox issue.

[DoctorBubba]

Okay, after parity sync finished and I restarted, I was able to add the drive again.

 

Does parity need to be built in order to add a new drive, or was this all because I was using Firefox?

 

Thank you!

[trurl]

Sort of lost track of where things were here. But since you said ADD, I will assume you mean ADD and not REPLACE. And I will also assume you DID NOT New Config to ADD the disk.

 

If you add a precleared disk to a new slot in the parity array, then parity is still valid since a clear disk is all zeros and has no effect on parity.

 

If you add a disk that is not clear to a new slot in the parity array, then Unraid will clear it so parity will remain valid.

 

Either way the disk will need to be formatted in the array before it will have an empty filesystem ready to be used.

 

If this doesn't explain things, then explain what you did do and post diagnostics.