Rebooted my machine after swapping some pcie drives.  Upon reboot I was greeted with an invalid/corrupt license key warning.  Tried replacing the key on the same usb drive and it would not work.  Moved over to a new drive as I thought the old one was just done for.  Replaced the USB drive and thought I was good but I soon was greeted with the exact same error.  What in the world is going on!?  Both drives checked dine and had to errors to repair when sticking them in a Windows machine.  I am at a loss and do not know where to turn at this point.

The key is bound to the serial number of the stick.

You cannot move it around freely.

There is a procedure how to transfer it to a new stick, but then the old one gets blacklisted.

Transfer can be dones once a year, if you need more, you need to contact support and explain to them why it is needed.

Oh man, Unraid seems to pick the best moments to hiccup eh? Swapped some PCIe drives, moved to a new USB, and now it’s throwing a license key tantrum. No worries.. Let's try and get this sorted out! ALSO, Check out the official Unraid docs for the proper steps to change your flash device.
 

1. Verify the USB Drive is Functioning Properly:

-Since both USB drives checked out fine in Windows, we can assume they are not physically faulty.

-However, Unraid is particular about USB drives. If you're using a new one, ensure it's a high-quality USB 2.0 drive (Unraid works best with those).

 

2. Ensure the Correct *.key File is Being Used:

-Go to your Unraid /config directory on the USB drive.

-Locate your *.key file (e.g., Pro.key, Plus.key, Basic.key).

-Ensure that the key matches the GUID of the USB drive you are using.

 

3. Confirm the USB is Being Read Properly:

-Boot into Unraid GUI or SSH into the system.

-Run the command: ls /boot/config

-You should see Pro.key, Plus.key, or Basic.key.

-If the key is missing, manually copy it over from a backup.

 

4. Check the Unraid Registration Page:

-Open Unraid’s Web UI and go to Settings → Management Access.

-Check if the USB is properly detected under System Devices.

 

5. Request a Replacement Key (If Needed):

-If Unraid still reports an invalid key, go to: Unraid Key Replacement Portal. (Like @MAM59 said here, these transfers can only be done once a year, but if you message them and kind of explain whats going on.. they may work with you.)

-Log into Unraid.net and request a replacement key for the new USB.

 

6. Reinstall Unraid on the USB (If All Else Fails):

-Use the Unraid USB Creator Tool to create a fresh install.

-Copy your /config folder (except the corrupted *.key file) from your backup.

-Boot the server and manually assign drives if needed.

Official Unraid Docs for changing the flash device: https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/manual/changing-the-flash-device/

 

Hope this helps clear things up! If Unraid is still being stubborn and rejecting multiple valid USB drives, it could be a GUID issue or maybe even some sneaky BIOS setting causing trouble. Give these steps a shot, and let me know how it goes.

Best & Success,

-DirtyDarrell

Update:  Not sure why but it turns out that the moving around of my PCIe devices to different slots caused some sort of malfunction of either Unraid or my motherboard itself.  I removed one of my USB pcie cards and all

of a sudden everything just worked as normal.  Hard to imagine it is a power issue as I have a 1000w psu but who knows.

Edited March 14, 20251 yr by Johnny Utah