So my flash drive won't boot. That is, when I hit F12 at boot time to select boot device, it is usually not seen by the BIOS/UEFI. Tried every USB port on the system. Sometimes (maybe 20% of the time) it is seen, but if I select Unraid GUI boot, the boot process starts, but eventually hangs up. If it is helpful, I can try to make a screenshot or video of the process.

I tried connecting it to 2 other PCs and the behavior is exactly the same (seen by BIOS about 20% of the time, but boot process fails every time). Also, other USB sticks do boot correctly, ruling out a problem with the computer or USB ports.

The flash drive is a Samsung BAR plus 256GB, not a cheap generic off ebay. Now, sure, even a high-quality flash drive can fail, but before I send it in for warranty replacement, I'd like to try wiping it and reinstalling Unraid. Here is where my problem arises.

My last flash drive backup was in May, 2024. I can read the drive when it's plugged in to Windows, and the files in the config directory are significantly different than the config directory in 5/24.

I was able to successfully image the flash drive with Macrium Reflect. So should I:

1. Format the flash drive, restore the Macrium image. This would restore the most recent config files.

2. Format the flash drive and use the Unraid USB creator app. This would destroy all configuration and I'd have to recreate the array from scratch. Idk how much of a PITA that would be.

3. Format the flash drive and restore the 5/2024 backup. I'm actually not even sure how to do that. I don't think it's as simple as unzipping the backup to the drive, is it? Would it be bootable? Disadvantage: not the most recent config files.

4. Other solution?

All opinions and advice appreciated.

1 hour ago, kydar said:

I can read the drive when it's plugged in to Windows

Copy current config folder.

Create new install and see if it will boot. May need to do "manual install method".

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/getting-started/set-up-unraid/create-your-bootable-media/

Copy your config to the new install.

This worked marvelously. I did need to do the manual format with Rufus, and the manual install method, but the instructions were clear and easy and I got it done with minimal effort. The only snag I hit was the make_bootable batch file did not complete correctly even running as administrator, and thus the resulting flash drive would not boot at first because it was trying to boot in legacy mode. I just went into the BIOS and checked UEFI-only boot, and then it booted.

Thank you!!!