Here's a summary of the woes I ran into.

Unraid Setup - Problems & Solutions

Problem	Description	Solution	Recommendations if the Unraid folks are reading...
Network Access from Work Laptop	Due to work VPN, couldn't reach http://192.168.68.## this led me to try the GUI boot mode, since it seemed more convenient	Disable WARP or use "Allow local network access" 15min exception in WARP settings	This is what prompted me to use GUI mode boot.
GUI Mode Password → Web UI Login	Booted into GUI mode (easier for me). Set root password there: (Settings>users>root). After reboot, password was refused at {console, local ui, web UI} in all modes - saw errors like invalid credentials, unable to run login service, etc.	Had to find some solutions on the website: Plugged the USB drive into my chromebook, Deleted /config/shadow and /config/smbpasswd Accessed the web UI first this time	Recommendation: Unraid OS makers should force the local GUI mode to access the same login address, in firefox--to force setting a password the "right way" up front.
License Key Activation Methods	Purchased license key prior to install/account setup. Standard license activation via Settings → Registration failed with "bad request" or "unable to verify" errors. Manual installation and normal web methods all failed.	The OS help and guidance misdirected me. A page on the unraid website told me to use direct URL method. Very non-obvious, always the last option after scrolling down. 😒	Fix the activation workflow from BOTH within the local GUI and web GUI. (local should use the same GUI!)
Array/pool setup defaults	Being new to unraid, I had no idea what to do with array/pool. Some nice defaults would be nice. arrays could not be set to 2 drives, but I chose 3 and only filled 2 slots	I have no idea if I set this up wrong.	Assume 2 drives for a user, and offer good defaults in the UI.
Can't create shares	Every time I create a share, it disappears. A message flashes but I can't read it--maybe 100ms is all it shows for.	???	Fix errors/diagnostics. Show logs related to shares or show a link to check logs.

8 hours ago, Kimball R said:

Every time I create a share, it disappears.

Please post the diagnostics.