February 21, 201313 yr http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/FAQ#How_do_I_remove_a_hard_disk_that_I_do_not_plan_on_replacing.3F I guess the real question is if a drive fails can I just get rid of it and have the data rebuilt onto existing drives (if there's enough space)?
February 21, 201313 yr Doesn't unraid create a "ghost" of the drive if it fails? So you can still access it? It just requires all drives to be spun up & reading for it to work. If so, just use that to copy the data off and then follow that tutorial.
February 21, 201313 yr http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/FAQ#How_do_I_remove_a_hard_disk_that_I_do_not_plan_on_replacing.3F I guess the real question is if a drive fails can I just get rid of it and have the data rebuilt onto existing drives (if there's enough space)? Nope. A removed drive can only be recreated on a new drive. What you are wanting is something that would be possible in the next generation of Unraid based on BTRFS filesystem. What you want is possible thru a workaround though: 1) Manually copy all data OFF the drive you want to remove (then you have an empty drive as part of the array) 2) Stop array and remove the drive 3) Recreate parity During step 3 you will -not- be protected against drive failure though.
February 21, 201313 yr Doesn't unraid create a "ghost" of the drive if it fails? So you can still access it? It just requires all drives to be spun up & reading for it to work. If so, just use that to copy the data off and then follow that tutorial. This. As long as you don't have any other disk failures, the single failed drive can be operated on just like it was installed. You can copy the data to another array disk manually, or copy it off to another location. Just remember, as long as the array is running degraded, any other disk failing will result in probably irretrievable data loss, so be efficient about what ever you decide to do. Regular non-correcting parity checks are a good way to find drive errors early so you can deal with them before you have a second failure.
February 21, 201313 yr Author Next generation of Unraid? I'm on RC-11 or whatever it is. Is that what you mean? Step 1) I can do this even with a dead (disabled) hard drive right? As long as the array is up like what Automatic is talking about? Step 2) ok Step 3) So basically, if you have a system with a ton of drives, you should just be prepared to replace the failed drive or risk data loss... So a warm spare as a cache drive would probably do me good. As opposed to the 160GB cache drive I'm using now I should just use something the same sized as my parity drive. jonathanm: I have these seagate 1.5tb drives that seem to die on me all the time. One just got rma'd and the replacement keeps getting write errors and needs to be replaced. I've swapped the sata cable, used a different rail for power, and plugged it into a pci sata card instead of the mobo but it still get's right errors after a week or so and get's disabled. How often should I do these parity checks to check for errors? Monthly? Weekly?
February 21, 201313 yr Next generation of Unraid? I'm on RC-11 or whatever it is. Is that what you mean? Step 1) I can do this even with a dead (disabled) hard drive right? As long as the array is up like what Automatic is talking about? Step 2) ok Step 3) So basically, if you have a system with a ton of drives, you should just be prepared to replace the failed drive or risk data loss... So a warm spare as a cache drive would probably do me good. As opposed to the 160GB cache drive I'm using now I should just use something the same sized as my parity drive. jonathanm: I have these seagate 1.5tb drives that seem to die on me all the time. One just got rma'd and the replacement keeps getting write errors and needs to be replaced. I've swapped the sata cable, used a different rail for power, and plugged it into a pci sata card instead of the mobo but it still get's right errors after a week or so and get's disabled. How often should I do these parity checks to check for errors? Monthly? Weekly? No, not RC11 but Version 6 if you want, or unraid 64.. Yes, you can also copy off a simulated drive, if the drive you want to replace however is still functioning I would not recommend this as you would prolong the amount of time running without parity protection and thus increasing your risk profile. It will also be slower then copying of a real drive. A spare is a very good idea, it will give you the possibility of preclearing it very well , then remove power and let it sit there untill needed, the amount of time running without parity protection can then be brought down to the time to recreate the drive, in all other cases buying the drive and preclearing it will make that time days longer (and thus increasing your risk profile). I would not use the cache though, just use another one.
February 21, 201313 yr jonathanm: I have these seagate 1.5tb drives that seem to die on me all the time. One just got rma'd and the replacement keeps getting write errors and needs to be replaced. I've swapped the sata cable, used a different rail for power, and plugged it into a pci sata card instead of the mobo but it still get's right errors after a week or so and get's disabled. How often should I do these parity checks to check for errors? Monthly? Weekly? Using the array with a questionable drive in place is asking for trouble. A monthly parity check on a healthy system is typically enough. Your comment about switching rails on a power supply makes me wonder what you meant. Did you mean a different drive power cable? If so, it's not a different rail. Multi-rail power supplies usually have one rail for all drive connectors, and a second rail for the motherboard, and possibly another for the video card. If you didn't do any wire cutting and resoldering, you didn't switch rails. What PSU are you using exactly? How many drives are in the tower?
February 22, 201313 yr Author jonathanm: That's right, Didn't PSU's used to have multiple rails but it was better to have everything on one rail so that you knew the same amount of power was available to everything? I have 5 drives, 3 1.5TB Seagates, a 2TB WD, and a small 2.5" 160GB drive I threw in there to play with cache (which I'm liking the cache drive) The Power Supply is a Cooler Master RP-650-PCAR: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=45 Looks like the reviews at newegg aren't so hot... It's been working great for me for awhile though.
February 22, 201313 yr jonathanm: That's right, Didn't PSU's used to have multiple rails but it was better to have everything on one rail so that you knew the same amount of power was available to everything? I have 5 drives, 3 1.5TB Seagates, a 2TB WD, and a small 2.5" 160GB drive I threw in there to play with cache (which I'm liking the cache drive) The Power Supply is a Cooler Master RP-650-PCAR: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=45 Looks like the reviews at newegg aren't so hot... It's been working great for me for awhile though. You are probably just at the limit of that supply. It has one 18 Amp (max) rail for all the disks. The other 12V rail is for the PCIe connector. If you figure 3 to 5 amps for the motherboard, an amp or so for the fans, and 5 drives at 3 amps each... You are somewhere in the 18 to 19 amp range when they are all spinning up. Joe L.
February 22, 201313 yr Author Then what's the point of the dual 12 v channels? Are you saying they share a total of 18A? Edit: Sorry about the shortness of this. It seems kind of rude now that I reread it but I was on the ipad. Which also means I didn't read your post all that well to see the other rail was for the PCIe connector. Ok ok, I see. I had another psu laying around, I should go find it and see if it's any better. I can't even recall where it came from. Should I go ahead and post my smart status or something to see if there's a link between low power and my write errors? I assume I've lost the unraid log from when it red balled.
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