March 24, 20251 yr Hello Unraid community, I'd like to share my experience related to the recent corruption of my USB drive where my Unraid system was installed. I lost a significant amount of time recovering and reconfiguring the system from scratch. Unraid recommends using reputable manufacturers, but the truth is that all USB drives fail eventually. This made me reflect on the need for built-in additional security mechanisms in Unraid to prevent similar situations. I propose that we consider implementing a function to automatically generate and store checksums of key system files directly on the boot USB drive. In case of detecting file corruption, the system could use these checksums to restore them. Additionally, the fact of restoring a file using a checksum should inform the user about potential failure risks, recommending replacing the drive. There is also the possibility of moving files to another location on the flash drive, but it seems to me that this is managed by the flash drive firmware, to which we do not have access. I understand that Unraid emphasizes simplicity and flexibility, but I believe that introducing such security features would significantly increase system reliability. What do you think? Are there other, better ways to protect against USB failures in Unraid?"
March 24, 20251 yr Community Expert 56 minutes ago, VIDEOMED said: I propose that we consider implementing a function to automatically generate and store checksums of key system files directly on the boot USB drive. Unraid's own files are already verified by checksums. Not the user config though. 57 minutes ago, VIDEOMED said: In case of detecting file corruption, the system could use these checksums to restore them. A checksum can only detect a problem, not fix it.
March 24, 20251 yr Let's be very frank here. It's just extremely poor business. Surely they can come up with a better model that would avoid this. I'm a buyer, waiting for a compatible usb stick (Sandisk won't work). For the life of me, I can't figure out WHY they're doing it this way. No one else in the industry does. If this USB drive (PNY) doesn't work, I'll give up on Unraid before I ever start it. What a shame.
March 24, 20251 yr Community Expert 16 hours ago, VIDEOMED said: better ways to protect against USB failures in Unraid? Always have a current backup of the boot flash drive. Unraid Connect plugin keeps a backup on Unraid Cloud. You can manually download a zipped backup of boot flash at MAIN - Boot Device - flash - FLASH BACKUP
March 25, 20251 yr Community Expert 11 hours ago, medic5678 said: Sandisk won't work Not sure why as I have never had a problem with Sandisk (assuming they are not counterfeit). Also a lot of success with Kingston drives. Sometimes you need to use the manual install method if the USB Creator tool does not like the drive as it can be a bit finicky at times.
March 25, 20251 yr Community Expert If some flash drives are not working with the USB tool, you can also try the manual install method: https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/getting-started/manual-install-method/
March 25, 20251 yr 29 minutes ago, itimpi said: Not sure why as I have never had a problem with Sandisk (assuming they are not counterfeit). Also a lot of success with Kingston drives. Sometimes you need to use the manual install method if the USB Creator tool does not like the drive as it can be a bit finicky at times. Maybe. But why go through this? Making your system dependent on a particular physical USB drive just doesn't make sense. Unraid has a great reputation among users and I'm hoping this is just a bump in the road. Can you pleasee elaborate on WHY this is necessary vs. why no one else is doing this? I'm happy to pay the license fee for ease of use, but this is a bit of a kick in the nuts to get started.
March 25, 20251 yr Community Expert 1 hour ago, medic5678 said: Unraid has a great reputation among users and I'm hoping this is just a bump in the road. It has worked that way from the start, which is almost 20 years ago. So that "great reputation" should on the opposite prove it's not a problem for most. The creator tool definitely needs fixing though. Don't know why v2 is still blocking sandisk. AFAIK it was originally done because there was a wave of counterfeit Sandisk drives, but that hasn't been a major problem in years... Edited March 25, 20251 yr by Kilrah
March 26, 20251 yr For what it's worth, the PNY USB 2.0 drives Amazon is selling (3 for 10.00) work fine. Installer likes them.
March 26, 20251 yr @medic5678 You just need to accept that fact and stop thinking about USB flash drive failure. Simply set up an automated USB flash backup. In fact, it's better to have an OS on the USB so that an HDD or SSD can be used only for your data (in the array or cache, ...) and you don't need to sacrifice an HDD/SSD for a <1GB OS. //update: also you can buy better USB flash drive which should be more reliable, look for "SLC" / "industrial". Some USB flash drives support S.M.A.R.T. (kind of), see this thread: but the price for pure SLC is 50+ Eur for 32GB Edited March 26, 20251 yr by bagican
March 26, 20251 yr The USB Creator is terrible, no matter what I do (in order to replace my old flash drives) I keep getting the below message. I wish there was a better way! Any suggestions? My walls are getting dented from banging my head on them lol..
March 26, 20251 yr Community Expert Tried another drive? There's always this: https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/getting-started/manual-install-method/
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