My server went down over a year ago.  At the time, I was busy with other things, not really using my theater at all, and had other priorities.  It has been sitting for a long while.    I finally got around to getting it fixed.  Everything is running now after a new mobo and an Unraid software update.

 

Here's the problem.  I have no idea which drive is which.  I used to have a sheet of paper that I kept notes on about what drives are which, but that has been lost.  Any tips for how to deduce which drive is the parity drive?

 

4 identical WD 1 TB drives and one of them is the parity so I have a 1 in 4 chance.

My server went down over a year ago.   At the time, I was busy with other things, not really using my theater at all, and had other priorities.   It has been sitting for a long while.    I finally got around to getting it fixed.  Everything is running now after a new mobo and an Unraid software update.

 

Here's the problem.   I have no idea which drive is which.   I used to have a sheet of paper that I kept notes on about what drives are which, but that has been lost.   Any tips for how to deduce which drive is the parity drive?

 

4 identical WD 1 TB drives and one of them is the parity so I have a 1 in 4 chance.

Yes

 

Do not assign the parity drive.  (just guess or pick one at random)

 

Assign the others.  If they all mount, then they are the data drives.  If one does not mount odds are it is the parity drive. ( The one that does not mount will probably show as un-formatted )

 

Stop the array, un-assign the one that did not mount and assign instead the one you first guessed to be parity.  If they all mount when you next start the array... you've identified the data drives.

 

Then just assign the parity drive and let it build parity on the data drives.

 

Joe L.

Thanks Joe.  I knew you would know what to do.   

I know it doesn't help you now, but this is how I logically installed my drives.

 

I put the pairity on the bottom since it was the biggest and I knew I wouldn't be changing it out any time soon, which is sda

As I installed the other drives I stacked them on top, which of course became sdb-sdf

 

On screen

a

b

c

d

e

f

 

in the machine

f

e

d

c

b

a

 

I know its kinda backwards, but thats how things went in and unless I go nuts I'm not sure how I can screw that up. As well each drive I put its serial number on the back.

 

 

Since this photo I've removed the blue cable which was my acting cache drive since I've decided it was not needed, but the red one is still my pairity drive.

http://unraid-weebotech.googlecode.com/files/identify_drive.sh

 

Here's a tool I use.

It is non destructive and will try to flash the drive.

I think it may need to be updated as my areca drives do not show up, but it shows the other drives and may help for the time being.

Maybe I'm completely out of line here, but if you know which drive is parity, can't you just stack your drives in the order you want them to be in, then recalc your parity?  That's what I did after I realized I had my SATA ports all jumbled on the motherboard, and it seemed to work just fine.  I print a serial number label on the back of my drives so I know what unRAID is looking at.  Also, a low tech way to identify the parity drive would be to put a gold star on the back.  

I print a serial number label on the back of my drives so I know what unRAID is looking at.  Also, a low tech way to identify the parity drive would be to put a gold star on the back.  

 

Me too, I happen to have an industrial label maker that prints plastic labels (grease proof, durable). On mine I put the manufacturer, size of drive and last 4 digits of the serial number:

 

That looks pretty cool!

That looks pretty cool!

 

Thanks! Using the Scythe 4-in-3s makes it a pain to remove drives, so I wanted to be able to identify them easily. I may take another picture soon as I'm about to remove one or both of the IDE drives and replace with SATA, which should tidy things up a bit more.

I label them with the manufacturer, size, and serial number where it is easy to see when I open the front door.

 

Joe L.

When you boot from the flash, unRAID will list the expected or last known good device s/n for each disk in the array. Just go back and forth between the main page and the devices page and find the matching disks in the disk pull-down selection boxes?

 

Of course, this only applies if you did not use the "Restore" button or initconfig command and it wasn't the flash drive which failed. Sounds like your motherboard failed though and the flash drive is still fine.

 

Peter

Thats kinda a good idea to mark the brand and size too. Thanks for mentioning that one.