Just a question for understanding:

Is it possible to boot from an UD-ssd?

I ask because my mainboard has only two nvme-slots and i use the UD-device only for backups.

The UD-nvme is large enouth so i could (if possible) boot from this device...

11 minutes ago, Zonediver said:

Just a question for understanding:

Is it possible to boot from an UD-ssd?

I ask because my mainboard has only two nvme-slots and i use the UD-device only for backups.

The UD-nvme is large enouth so i could (if possible) boot from this device...

Not as far as i know as the boot device needs to be permanently attached. You could instead assign the UD device to a pool and then it can be used for booting.

21 minutes ago, itimpi said:

Not as far as i know as the boot device needs to be permanently attached. You could instead assign the UD device to a pool and then it can be used for booting.

I see - but the function will stay normal (for my backups).

So its then no longer an UD-device, its a pool-device but should be reachable normal for my backups from Windows (i think?)

EDIT: Ah - i found a video which explains it

It must be a "bootable pool" - also possible with only one drive. 👍

Edited March 29Mar 29 by Zonediver

The main point is that it cannot be removed while Unraid is running. UD devices are typically ones you expect to be removable whenever wanted.

28 minutes ago, itimpi said:

The main point is that it cannot be removed while Unraid is running. UD devices are typically ones you expect to be removable whenever wanted.

In my case not relevant because its a nvme and i dont remove drives when unraid is running - but thanks for the hint 👍

Edited March 29Mar 29 by Zonediver

2 hours ago, itimpi said:

boot device needs to be permanently attached

Otherwise, how could it prevent you from using that one license to boot multiple systems

On 3/26/2026 at 6:26 PM, Niklas said:

USB boot is also something that often gets brought up as a problem. Especially in discussion where people claim that running Unraid from a USB drive is an issue without really understanding how it actually works (the running from RAM thing). Now there is an option to use internal boot instead, which removes what is honestly a somewhat imagined barrier to run Unraid and it lines up with other systems. It also comes with a more robust filesystem, using ZFS instead of FAT, and the option to run a mirrored setup for added reliability.

This is why I jumped on the internal boot. I just built a new system with a Core Ultra 2 265k on an ASUS Z890 board (everything brand new) and rebooting from the USB was spotty at best. Often I’d have to manually intervene if I just wanted to restart the system. No problems at all now that I’m booting off of my NVMe drive.

On 3/19/2026 at 4:42 PM, olavinto said:

Oh yes! My Arc B580 is no longer idling aimlessly, wondering why it's here!

On 3/19/2026 at 4:42 PM, olavinto said:

Oh yes! My Arc B580 is no longer idling aimlessly, wondering why it's here!

The B580 is working for you now? Any chance you've tested this with Emby?

Edited March 30Mar 30 by tsbaseball

I bought a Timetec premium 256GB SSD only because it would arrive sooner than the 128GB model. What do you use the rest of the SSD for and does a partition become a separate pool? Still not sure about trying this right now?

I only bought this new SSD because i am in the middle of a big hardware shuffle.

So while I was working on this I would add an SSD for future internal boot so not switching to internal boot right away.

On 3/29/2026 at 2:04 AM, JorgeB said:

If you are using fTPM and change the CPU you will most likely then need to transfer the license, like if the flash drive was changed.

I actually haven't even done the CPU swap yet. Will ask questions later and watch SpaceInvaders video too.

Hi, quick question: is it possible to migrate the bootloader from my USB drive to the internal SSD (presently used for cache and thus redundant) without having to perform a full reinstallation?

8 hours ago, Paul_Ber said:

What do you use the rest of the SSD for and does a partition become a separate pool?

Currently it will create two pools, boot partition is 16GB by default, the remainder will be the data partition and can be used for whatever you want.

53 minutes ago, Soundhacker said:

without having to perform a full reinstallation?

The existing pool needs to be reformatted; see this Unraid 7.3 Beta: Convert Your Server to Internal Boot

6 hours ago, JorgeB said:

The existing pool needs to be reformatted; see this Unraid 7.3 Beta: Convert Your Server to Internal Boot

Thanks !

My pool is only the internal NVME, as a cache, and i don't use it. It is possible to use Unraid without cache ?

I have 5 disk in the Array (2 for parity and 3 for data), 1 Nvme internal , and usb stick for the boot.. If i need a cache, it will stay like this i suppose.. I will watch closely the video, thanks !

Capture d e cran 2026 03 31 a 15 24 10 — Postimages

Edited March 31Mar 31 by Soundhacker

1 hour ago, Soundhacker said:

My pool is only the internal NVME, as a cache, and i don't use it. It is possible to use Unraid without cache ?

It's not required; it's up to you if you want/need one.

8 hours ago, Soundhacker said:

My pool is only the internal NVME, as a cache, and i don't use it. It is possible to use Unraid without cache ?

If you want to boost your uploads, you want to keep the cache pool. And if you (want to) use docker or vms, you don't want to avoid a cache (appdata) pool at all as those would be slow and power inefficient on an array disk.

Installing unraid on the nvme for internal booting will only reserve 16GB. The rest of the NVMe is still usable as cache pool.

3 minutes ago, mgutt said:

if you (want to) use docker or vms, you don't want to avoid a cache (appdata) pool at all as those would be slow and power inefficient on an array disk.

And putting docker/VMs off the array will allow array disks to spin down.

I updated earlier but once I reboot Docker service wont start. Settings => Docker shows running but going to the Docker tab shows "Docker Service failed to start"

Gonna pull some logs after another reboot.

7 hours ago, justBri said:

Gonna pull some logs after another reboot.

If it's still a problem, please create a new thread in the general support forum and post the diags.

@JorgeB any idea whether containerd storage backend for Docker will be in 7.3.0 for e.g. beta 3 or later? The zMr for it was merged so I thought it would come to 7.3.0.

13 minutes ago, andrebrait said:

any idea whether containerd storage backend for Docker will be in 7.3.0 for e.g. beta 3 or later?

I believe that's been delayed to make sure it's correctly implemented, as the initial implementation was incomplete and would likely not really take full advantage of that feature.

While I will wait until 7.3 is out of beta and hits full release, I know I will need a new licence key specific for the boot SSD, but can I migrate my current USB booted NAS settings to the internal SSD boot drive? Or should I play it safe and create a settings backup file, do a fresh install using the internal boot option, and import my settings when finished? Would a backup/fresh install/restore method still keep my existing data on my parity and storage drives safe?

56 minutes ago, MaskedGeek said:

While I will wait until 7.3 is out of beta and hits full release, I know I will need a new licence key specific for the boot SSD, but can I migrate my current USB booted NAS settings to the internal SSD boot drive? Or should I play it safe and create a settings backup file, do a fresh install using the internal boot option, and import my settings when finished? Would a backup/fresh install/restore method still keep my existing data on my parity and storage drives safe?

The license will still be specific to your current USB drive. The USB drive must be connected for the license checking, but it won't be read/written besides that.

If you want to remove the USB drive, you need to port the license to a TPM (either a hardware TPM or a firmware TPM, both will work; but a firmware TPM is linked to the system CPU)

As for settings and whatnot, the wizard that does the process for you copies everything for you. You'll have 100% the same system, just booting from a different device.

9 hours ago, MaskedGeek said:

play it safe and create a settings backup file

You should always have a current backup of your flash drive in any case.

Don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I'll try.

It's about the TPM license feature.

Does fTPM on AMD processors work as well or do we have to get a TPM module then?

And if I have to get a dedicated TPM 2.0 module, could this be taken over from MB to MB and the license will be kept/transfered?