October 6, 201015 yr Hi, I have added an additional drive to unRAID but it is not intended to be in array. The drive has previously been a windows boot drive (ntfs). How can I format it inside unRAID? command line? additionally, How can I share this drive over SMB for read/write via a Windows PC.
October 6, 201015 yr So you want this drive to be a cache drive? The only drive in an unRAID server that is not part of the array is either a cache drive, or an unassigned drive (which is unusable from unRAID's point of view). To format it, simply stop the array, go to the devices page, and assign it as either a cache drive or a data drive. As a cache drive it will sit outside the array and won't be protected from drive failure. As a data drive it will be inside the array and will be protected by parity. Once you assign the drive, go back to the main page. You should see the drive show up as unformatted (even if it is NTFS formatted, unRAID sees anything that isn't ReiserFS as unformatted). As long as that drive and only that drive shows up as unformatted, you can press the format button. The format should only take a few minutes. If you've assigned the drive as a cache drive, then you are done. If you've assigned it as a data drive, then your array will be down while the drive is cleared (unless you precleared it). Once the drive is formatted, you can start the array.
October 6, 201015 yr Author So I can't share a drive outside the array except the cache drive? Can I share the cache drive? I don't want the cache drive functionality I just want to use an external (to the array) drive to download torrents to using RuTorrent (I have it working) so my array drives can spindown.
October 6, 201015 yr I believe this will lead you to what you want to do.... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7893.0
October 6, 201015 yr Author I believe this will lead you to what you want to do.... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7893.0 Not really, it doesn't answer any of my questions/needs.
October 6, 201015 yr I believe this will lead you to what you want to do.... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7893.0 Not really, it doesn't answer any of my questions/needs. Use SNAP to share drive.. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7339.0 http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5904.0
October 6, 201015 yr I believe this will lead you to what you want to do.... http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7893.0 Not really, it doesn't answer any of my questions/needs. You can partition and format any drive you like, and share them too without them being assigned to the unRAID array. Partitioning can be done using the pre-clear script. (part of what it does is create the partition on the disk for the data. OR You can partition the disk using "cfdisk" or "fdisk" (cfdisk is easier for many since it is graphical) unRAID starts its partitions on sector 63. If the disk is not part of the assigned array you can partition it as you like. Once partitioned you can format the partition using "mkreiserfs" on the partition That step, and the step of mounting the drive and sharing it on the LAN are simplified if you install unMENU. In fact, if you use unMENU to install the "ntfs-3g" driver, you can use an NTFS formatted drive, and read and write to it or you can use a reiserfs formatted drive, and it will even format the drive for you if it is already partitioned. Joe L.
October 6, 201015 yr Author Use SNAP to share drive.. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7339.0 http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5904.0 I tried using unMENU mount and share but couldn't get the correct privileges. How did I forget about S.N.A.P ?! It works perfectly. Now... can I format such a drive? does pre_clear include formatting to some filesystem? Thank you
October 6, 201015 yr Use SNAP to share drive.. http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=7339.0 http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5904.0 I tried using unMENU mount and share but couldn't get the correct privileges. How did I forget about S.N.A.P ?! It works perfectly. Now... can I format such a drive? does pre_clear include formatting to some filesystem? Thank you Pre-clear partitions a disk after clearing it. It does not format it.
October 6, 201015 yr Before the cache drive feature was added to unRaid I mounted what I called a staging disk in my go file. JoeL helped me with the commands. Easiest way to format a disk is temporarily assign it as the cache disk and unRaid will enable format button. Unmenu also provides a format feature I believe.
October 7, 201015 yr Before the cache drive feature was added to unRaid I mounted what I called a staging disk in my go file. JoeL helped me with the commands. Easiest way to format a disk is temporarily assign it as the cache disk and unRaid will enable format button. Unmenu also provides a format feature I believe. Safest way to partition AND format a disk is temporarily assign it as the cache disk and unRaid will enable format button. If you do not have that available, you must be very careful to NOT format the wrong disk. The preclear_disk.sh script will partition a disk. So will the unraid_partition_disk.sh script attached and described in this post: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5072.msg47122#msg47122 Whatever you do, be very careful when partitioning a disk. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DISK!!!! The preclear_disk.sh scrip will at least verify the disk being partitioned is not assigned to your array. The other methods will not and will let you shoot yourself in the foot. Once a disk is partitioned, formatting it is very simple. If the disk is /dev/sda then the first partition on it is /dev/sda1 (note the trailing "1") To format that partition type: mkreiserfs /dev/sda1 Of course, use the correct device name... otherwise you WILL re-format one of your data disks and mess up parity too. (and have an all-around BAD DAY) Example: If the disk is /dev/sdg then the partition will be created on /dev/sdg1.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.