October 29, 20187 yr so this just a idea and question. can unraid support any sized usb stick? i have heard that its only 32gb max. why is this? why cant unraid support any sized usb stick? if it is a max of 32gb then why not just lift the restriction or develop a work around?
October 29, 20187 yr Community Expert There is not an UnRAID restriction to 32GB. The reason that limit is normally stated is the requirement to have the disk formatted as FAT32 and Windows does not know how to format drives larger than that as FAT32 (you can do it using 3rd party utilities). I believe the Limetech USB Creator tool can handle larger drives although I admit I have never tested that. The reality is that larger USB drives are of no benefit with Unraid. For many years I used a 2TB drive with no problems. Recently I had to replace it and got a 8TB drive and I do not expect to ever get near to using all the space. There is also the fact that USB2 drives are preferred over USB3. The reason here is that USB2 has proved to be far more reliable than USB3 and since Unraid runs from RAM the increased throughput of USB3 provides no benefit.
October 29, 20187 yr Author how is usb 2 more reliable? is it because usb 3 makes no difference. so why bother with a usb 3 drive. i am after a much smaller usb stick than what i have now and i am considering this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GIOCTSS/?coliid=I2CGQ277NN74EN&colid=26UCA3G9VVA48&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp because its allot smaller than what i have now. or do i go with a tried and trusted sandisk that's as small as possible? i do plan on making use of the usb 2 header on my motherboard using this adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000IV6S9S/?coliid=I2QHMGAO9YMDJ8&colid=26UCA3G9VVA48&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it so i dont have a usb stick sticking out the back of the pc. am i mad with this idea? or have you seen worse? Quote I believe the Limetech USB Creator tool can handle larger drives although I admit I have never tested that. well if not then it would be good if they undated the tool to support this feature.
October 29, 20187 yr Community Expert 7 minutes ago, thehacker said: how is usb 2 more reliable? is it because usb 3 makes no difference. so why bother with a usb 3 drive. i am after a much smaller usb stick than what i have now and i am considering this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GIOCTSS/?coliid=I2CGQ277NN74EN&colid=26UCA3G9VVA48&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp because its allot smaller than what i have now. or do i go with a tried and trusted sandisk that's as small as possible? i do plan on making use of the usb 2 header on my motherboard using this adapter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000IV6S9S/?coliid=I2QHMGAO9YMDJ8&colid=26UCA3G9VVA48&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it so i dont have a usb stick sticking out the back of the pc. am i mad with this idea? or have you seen worse? well if not then it would be good if they undated the tool to support this feature. I believe the reason USB2 tends to be more reliable is that the BIOS on many motherboards cannot always boot reliably from USB3 drives. Another factor (although less important) is that many USB3 drives tend to run hot which is not good for chip reliability for a device that is always plugged in. There is also lots of anecdotal cases in the forum where USB3 drives have caused problems which have disappeared when they have been replaced by USB2 drives. The USB3 drives seem to have a tendency to sometimes temporarily drop off-line during the boot process which can cause things to go wrong. Having said all the above I know plenty of people DO use USB3 drives without problems so in practice it is a personal preference. In terms of the drive you you are thinking of do you have confirmation that they always have a unique GUID (which is a requirement for UnRAID)? I have not seen that one mentioned before so I have no idea. I personally use the following https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005FYNSZA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which have performed well for me and is a fraction of the price.
October 29, 20187 yr Author Quote I believe the reason USB2 tends to be more reliable is that the BIOS on many motherboards cannot always boot reliably from USB3 drives. ah ok i am using the x299 mini itx motherboard. i have got a Kingston usb 2 plugged in the back of the usb 3.1 socket and boots fine. it does sound odd but im hoping i can find 1 that doesn't have a cap because if its plugged in all the time the what am i going to do with the cap? but if its a usb 3 plugged into usb 2 then that ok? or should it all be usb 2? i know im sounding really fussy but i want to make use of the ports and keep everything neat and tidy. its 1 of then things where i want to do it once and get it right.
October 29, 20187 yr Community Expert 15 minutes ago, thehacker said: ah ok i am using the x299 mini itx motherboard. i have got a Kingston usb 2 plugged in the back of the usb 3.1 socket and boots fine. it does sound odd but im hoping i can find 1 that doesn't have a cap because if its plugged in all the time the what am i going to do with the cap? but if its a usb 3 plugged into usb 2 then that ok? or should it all be usb 2? i know im sounding really fussy but i want to make use of the ports and keep everything neat and tidy. its 1 of then things where i want to do it once and get it right. I think that would be fine. What is normally recommended if you have problems is to try and avoid a USB3 stick plugged into a USB3 socket. Having said that the way things are going I can see that in the not too distant future USB2 will start becoming rare so that everyone will be forced down the USB3 route.
October 29, 20187 yr Author Quote I think that would be fine. what me getting a usb 3.1 sandisk ultra fit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077VXV323/ref=twister_B0798JLHJN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 and plugging it into a usb 2 header using a adapter so its inside the motherboard?
October 29, 20187 yr Your mileage may vary but I have a Micro Center branded 16GB SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Flash Drive connected to an internal USB 2.0 port and I've had no problems whatsoever https://www.microcenter.com/product/487102/16gb-superspeed-usb-30-flash-drive
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