Upgrading to 6 from 4.7

[tunetyme]

I am using the new GUI and I like it. It is very helpful with the plugins suggested in Gridrunners video. Version 6 is up and running. My Problems are as follows: 

1. I have had to replace my Parity, cache and 1 data drive, (I have a backup for the data) All precleared (parity 2 cycles) no errors. All the drives are Seagate Iron Wolf 1 TB (cache)  and 4TB (parity and data). I have tried every combination I can find to get the data drive formated xfs. Parity was left unformatted.

I've read and executed everything I can find on line.  When I boot it says configuration is fine with a yellow triangle by the new data drive (Device contents emulated).  This has not been formated.  If I try to start the array I get an error that tells me it isn't formatted. I go through the process of stopping the parity sync and it locks up and I have to do a hard boot.

 

2. Cache is set to auto. I am unsure if this is formated even though I tried to format the disk. Many times it is no longer assigned to the cache slot but shows up as unassigned. It no longer shows up as an unformatted disk. 

[JorgeB]

4 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

Parity was left unformatted.

 

Parity doesn't have a file system. 

 

Post your diagnostics: Tools - > Diagnostics 

[JorgeB]

For the unassigned cache issue see this:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=48508.msg466195#msg466195

[tunetyme]

2 hours ago, johnnie.black said:

For the unassigned cache issue see this:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=48508.msg466195#msg466195

I read this. I am going through the GUI on the server when this happens. Could this be a bug?

[RobJ]

18 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

Here are the diagnostic files

 

Please please, just post the diagnostics.zip file!  If there's something you don't want included, use the anonymization options, or remove it from the zip.

[JorgeB]

18 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

I read this. I am going through the GUI on the server when this happens. Could this be a bug?

 

Do the 2nd option in the FAQ, boot in safe mode.

[tunetyme]

I finally have it formatting the data drive. What was happening is the system immediately went into parity sync when I started the array and wanted to format the drive at the same time. What I did was stop the VM from the GUI menu. NO dockers and just a few plugins. Rebooted the machine in safe mode, assigned the parity disk, (cache showed up assigned, I used Firefox instead of Chrome).  Started the array. This time no attempt to run parity sync by the system and I was able to start formating the drive.

 

If all goes well I can start a parity sync after this done.

 

Can I mount a NTFS drive and copy it to the new data disk?  

[trurl]

31 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

I finally have it formatting the data drive. What was happening is the system immediately went into parity sync when I started the array and wanted to format the drive at the same time. What I did was stop the VM from the GUI menu. NO dockers and just a few plugins. Rebooted the machine in safe mode, assigned the parity disk, (cache showed up assigned, I used Firefox instead of Chrome).  Started the array. This time no attempt to run parity sync by the system and I was able to start formating the drive.

 

If all goes well I can start a parity sync after this done.

 

Can I mount a NTFS drive and copy it to the new data disk?  

Not really clear what your trouble was. It should be possible to format and sync at the same time. Nothing in your OP about New Config, which is what you should have done when changing so many drives at once.

 

Use Unassigned Devices plugin to mount NTFS drive.

[tunetyme]

18 minutes ago, trurl said:

Not really clear what your trouble was. It should be possible to format and sync at the same time. Nothing in your OP about New Config, which is what you should have done when changing so many drives at once.

 

The problem was the system would lock up and I had to do a hard reset.

[JorgeB]

Formating a disk during a parity sync can take several minutes and the webGUI will be unresponsive until the format is complete.

[tunetyme]

The formatting bombed. It now says the drive is unmountable.

Edited March 19, 2017 by tunetyme

[JorgeB]

Post a new diagnostics zip.

[tunetyme]

6 minutes ago, johnnie.black said:

Formating a disk during a parity sync can take several minutes and the webGUI will be unresponsive until the format is complete.

 

I understand, there was no indication that there was any activity for formating or parity sync. after a period of time  (15 - 30 min or more) the menu would show that the formating did not complete and asked again to check if I wanted to format the drive. After a couple of times of doing this, I tried to cancel the parity sync (the quantity of read write were not displaying on the drives) and then I would try to format the drive then the system completely locked up. Here is the current screen with the system booted in safe mode, VM turned off. This is the second attempt to format this disk this session.

 

If there is a better way to do this I am all for it.

 

Parity	ST4000VN008-2DR166_WDH1Z0CX -             4 TB (sdf)	23 C	176	2 24	0
Disk 1	ST2000VN000-1HJ164_W5230XLA -                2 TB (sdh)	27 C	128	34	0	reiserfs	2 TB	1.94 TB	57.4 GB
Disk 2	ST4000VN008-2DR166_WDH1WZSC -            4 TB (sdi)	27 C	34	9	0			Formatting
Disk 3	SAMSUNG_HD204UI_S2H7JX0B900925 -       2 TB (sdd)	26 C	131	34	0	reiserfs	2 TB	1.89 TB	106 GB
Disk 4	ST2000DL004_HD204UI_S2H7J9FC309608 -  2 TB (sde)	26 C	132	34	0	reiserfs	2 TB	1.90 TB	101 GB
Disk 5	ST2000DL004_HD204UI_S2H7J9FC300800 -  2 TB (sdc)	26 C	308	155	0	reiserfs	2 TB	1.56 TB	442 GB
Disk 6	ST2000VN000-1HJ164_W52315E5 -                2 TB (sdj)	27 C	128	34	0	reiserfs	2 TB	1.76 TB	241 GB
Total	Array of seven devices	26 C	1037	524	0		10.0 TB	9.06 TB	947 GB

tower-diagnostics-20170319-1624.zip

[JorgeB]

There's something weird going on with your config, and it ends up crashing unRAID.

 

Try this, with the array stopped go to tools and click on new config, select retain all and click on apply.

 

Start the array, cancel the parity sync, try again to format disk2, if successful re-start the the parity sync.

[tunetyme]

I took disk 2 out of the array. Ran New config and I am running parity now. It should be completed by morning

[JorgeB]

I understand now what you were doing, you were trying to replace a data disk while parity was still invalid, and although that can't work (and I guess you're the first to try it) unRAID shouldn't let you do it, so I created a bug report.

 

Let the sync finish and only then add the new disk, I'm sure you won't have any problems formatting it then.

[JorgeB]

One more thing in case you don't know, if you had left the disk in when doing the new config this wouldn't be necessary, but disk2 will need to be cleared when you add it to the array after the parity sync, you'll be able to use the array during the clearing, but the new disk can only be formatted once that is complete.

 

 

[tunetyme]

There may be an additional issue. The drive I replaced was a 2 TB reiserfs. I believe that the system tried to format it XFS, I know the first attempts I set it at XFS and then I later moved it to auto.   

 

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by tunetyme

[JorgeB]

That wouldn't be a problem, the problem was replacing a data disk before parity was synced.

[tunetyme]

 

Re: Format XFS on replacement drive / Convert from RFS to XFS (discussion only)

 

This was the topic I was reading about XFS replacement drive going into a slot that was expecting RFS

[JorgeB]

Yes, but it wasn't that that made unRAID crash, it was because of the way you did it, you did in a way that nobody tried before (or at least posted about it) since that could never work, although like I said unRAID shouldn't let you do it.

[trurl]

36 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

 

Re: Format XFS on replacement drive / Convert from RFS to XFS (discussion only)

 

This was the topic I was reading about XFS replacement drive going into a slot that was expecting RFS

I would be interested in knowing where specifically in that topic it talked about "XFS replacement drive going into a slot that was expecting RFS", since that is definitely going off in the wrong direction and might be misleading some people.

 

When using one drive to replace another drive in the parity array, the filesystem of the replacement drive (or even whether it has one) is irrelevant. The rebuild will build the filesystem of the original disk without even bothering to check the filesystem of the replacement.

[tunetyme]

15 hours ago, tunetyme said:

There may be an additional issue. The drive I replaced was a 2 TB reiserfs. I believe that the system tried to format it XFS, I know the first attempts I set it at XFS and then I later moved it to auto.   

 

I can't pinpoint the particular post in that thread that lead me to conclude that this wouldn't work. After scanning the thread (didn't read 23 pages in detail) looking for another solution I reasoned that the problem was related to the format being used. I had a problem with Windows 10 after an update it showed my drive was no longer formated NTFS but a new drive format that I was not familiar with and I lost all my data and programs.  That's when I dumped Win 10 and went back to 7. But for one App, I would dump Windows all together. 

Since I thought I tried everything else that was suggested I thought, I would unassign the drive, run tools /new config. rebooted, Disk 2 slot still appeared in the array but no disk was assigned to it. I then removed it from the include & exclude list ran tools /new config and rebooted. The disk was unassigned and the slot was not listed in the array. I ran parity all night. This morning I Assigned the disk to the same slot and included it in the array and it is now clearing the drive again and it needs another hour or so to complete.

This may be a convoluted way to get to a solution but it seems to be working now. (I still can't tell if the drive will end up as XFS yet since it was set to auto). 

 

Turl, this is why I suggested in another post, that it might be nice if there could be some videos to address these types of basic problems for people like me who haven't had to look at my server or the software for 6 years. It just ran like a top and I didn't need to do anything besides blow out the case regularly to clean out the dust. I am committed to amend my ways and learn this software in detail and then learn Linux once I get through the next stage of upgrading my mobo, cpu and ram. I am sure I will manage to find a way to help some one pull their hair out during that process. I've already pulled all mine out.

 

johnnie.black

Have you considered adding walker to your handle? As in johnnie walker black? If you ever get to Raleigh I will gladly buy you a double.

 

 

[JorgeB]

2 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

(I still can't tell if the drive will end up as XFS yet since it was set to auto)

 

When the disk is set to auto the file system use to format it is the default set on Settings -> Disk Settings -> Default File System.

5 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

If you ever get to Raleigh I will gladly buy you a double

 

Thanks, that will be difficult since I'm on the other side of the Atlantic, but about 2 weeks ago was relatively close in Washington DC visiting my brother and nephews, so you never know, maybe next time

[trurl]

11 minutes ago, tunetyme said:

 

I can't pinpoint the particular post in that thread that lead me to conclude that this wouldn't work. After scanning the thread (didn't read 23 pages in detail) looking for another solution I reasoned that the problem was related to the format being used. I had a problem with Windows 10 after an update it showed my drive was no longer formated NTFS but a new drive format that I was not familiar with and I lost all my data and programs.  That's when I dumped Win 10 and went back to 7. But for one App, I would dump Windows all together. 

Since I thought I tried everything else that was suggested I thought, I would unassign the drive, run tools /new config. rebooted, Disk 2 slot still appeared in the array but no disk was assigned to it. I then removed it from the include & exclude list ran tools /new config and rebooted. The disk was unassigned and the slot was not listed in the array. I ran parity all night. This morning I Assigned the disk to the same slot and included it in the array and it is now clearing the drive again and it needs another hour or so to complete.

This may be a convoluted way to get to a solution but it seems to be working now. (I still can't tell if the drive will end up as XFS yet since it was set to auto). 

 

Turl, this is why I suggested in another post, that it might be nice if there could be some videos to address these types of basic problems for people like me who haven't had to look at my server or the software for 6 years. It just ran like a top and I didn't need to do anything besides blow out the case regularly to clean out the dust. I am committed to amend my ways and learn this software in detail and then learn Linux once I get through the next stage of upgrading my mobo, cpu and ram. I am sure I will manage to find a way to help some one pull their hair out during that process. I've already pulled all mine out.

 

johnnie.black

Have you considered adding walker to your handle? As in johnnie walker black? If you ever get to Raleigh I will gladly buy you a double.

 

 

Normally unassigning disks, setting new configs, resyncing are not at all necessary for this conversion and if you are going that route I really worry about the results. But you're not the only one who seems to have gotten completely offtrack on this recently.

and later in same thread

As I said even later in that thread, if you know how parity works and how formatting works and how user shares work you can pretty much adlib it. The main idea is that changing the filesystem on a disk will format it, so its contents must be moved or it will be lost.