wepee Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) Hi All, I am in the transition of buying unRAID license, but before I do it, I want some advice on the flash drive Currently I have unRAID server installed on a Sandisk Cruzer Edge 8GB USB2.0, loading OS was slow and loading the web page on the plugin tab was slow also. It was an old USB drive, I wanted to upgrade it to the newest one. And hopefully can see some speed improvement. I went ahead and installed unRAID server into a Sandisk Ultra Fit USB3.1 16GB, I am planning to use the flash drive on a USB2.0 port. Unfortunately, I have no success in creating a USB flash drive by using the USB creator software. It always stuck at the final bit: Syncing files system..... However, I was able to install it using the manual method, but did not try to boot yet. As, I wanted to load all the configuration settings from the zip back up file. Questions 1) It seems like there is an issue about the Sandisk Ultra Fit USB3.1 /3.0 flash drive, perhaps not as durable as its older generation USB2.0 drive? or Should I stick back to the original Sandisk Cruzer USB drive? 2) How to restore all the configuration settings from the back up zip file, if I create a bootable drive using the manual way? I found the way to restore the configuration settings from the back up zip file. Just copy the content of the zip file, and then run make_bootable.bat file. Thank you. The youtuber: Spaceinvader One was also using the same USB flash drive: SanDisk Ultra Fit 16GB. Strangely his one was good enough to finish installing. But mine doesn't. I went out and bought a new SanDisk Ultra Fit USB 3.1 flash drive. Shockingly, the program could not detect the presence of the drive that is already inserted into my PC USB port. While Windows 10 was able to detect it. Edited April 20, 2020 by wepee Quote Link to comment
HellDiverUK Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 You really won't notice much difference in speed between the USB3 Ultra Fit, and the older USB 2 Fit. The Fit runs cooler than the Ultra Fit too, which I think may result in a longer life for the stick. Quote Link to comment
testdasi Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 On 4/19/2020 at 4:50 PM, wepee said: I am in the transition of buying unRAID license, but before I do it, I want some advice on the flash drive Currently I have unRAID server installed on a Sandisk Cruzer Edge 8GB USB2.0, loading OS was slow and loading the web page on the plugin tab was slow also. It was an old USB drive, I wanted to upgrade it to the newest one. And hopefully can see some speed improvement. Questions 1) It seems like there is an issue about the Sandisk Ultra Fit USB3.1 /3.0 flash drive, perhaps not as durable as its older generation USB2.0 drive? or Should I stick back to the original Sandisk Cruzer USB drive? Your effort to upgrade the USB stick was probably misguided. Unraid OS is loaded into RAM at boot so if you use USB 3.0 stick, all you will save is about 10 seconds of boot time and that's about it. I think you should just continue with the 2.0 stick. Quote Link to comment
Snubbers Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I have quite a collection of USB memory sticks, so when choosing which one to use for unRAID I tried a few, from USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1. By far the most concerning one was the Sandisk Ultra Fit 3.1, just sat doing nothing in a USB slot it gets inordinately hot and I worried about it's longevity so tried all my options and found the Sandisk Ultra USB 3.0 16gb/32gb sticks to be performant with no heat issues. As mentioned the only theoretical advantage of faster USB drives is when unRAID boots, it loads everything in to RAM so you might see a marginal improvement in boot speed using a faster USB stick, but once booted the USB stick is unused as it's all down to your CPU and RAM as to how fast unRAID runs. Dockers / VMs etc will also depend on the speed of the cache drive (if using one) and how much it accesses the main array etc, but again, nothing dependent on the unRAID USB stick speed. Quote Link to comment
reboot47 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Fully agree with the above regarding those tiny Sandisk Ultras look so ideal since they take little space on the back and won't get clipped and broken when moving and tussling around in the dark and back. On that note its hot and likely to melt off think ill stick to a long stick instead id bet it would last much longer. Quote Link to comment
Squid Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 24 minutes ago, reboot47 said: On that note its hot and likely to melt off think ill stick to a long stick instead id bet it would last much longer. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/2-Ports-A-USB2-0-Female-Internal-Header-Adapter-9Pin-Motherboard-to-Double-Layer/133362513842?hash=item1f0d0677b2:g:WVoAAOSwnI9cf5Cn Solves all the problems with long sticks Quote Link to comment
Nelinski Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 I'm using the SanDisk Ultra Fit 16 GB (USB 3.1) and although I had issues using the automatic installer, manually setting up the USB worked fine. Boots fine, Web GUI is fine. I haven't noticed any issues when using the USB. I bought it solely for the small form factor. Quote Link to comment
JonathanM Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Nelinski said: I bought it solely for the small form factor. I always recommend larger physical drives for longevity, compact little ones tend to have a hard time shedding heat and burn out. If you are worried about the drive getting hit, use a motherboard 10 pin IDC to USB header and tape it inside the case. Quote Link to comment
bucky2076 Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 i also bought the ultrafit 3.1, and was dissapointed to see the automatic method would not work for this unit. I might try the manual install... is it documented ? Quote Link to comment
DarkMan83 Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 9 hours ago, bucky2076 said: i also bought the ultrafit 3.1, and was dissapointed to see the automatic method would not work for this unit. I might try the manual install... is it documented ? Format the stick with fat32 with default windows dialog and name it UNRAID Download zip from unraid site and unzip to stick. Than execute make bootable in usb folder on stick. 2 Quote Link to comment
itimpi Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 10 hours ago, bucky2076 said: i also bought the ultrafit 3.1, and was dissapointed to see the automatic method would not work for this unit. I might try the manual install... is it documented ? It is documented here in the official documentation. 2 Quote Link to comment
nickp85 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 Dude, stick to old reliable. I had 2 Samsung little USB drives and they both burned themselves out and failed within a year each time. Through some kind recommendation, I am now using a Kingston USB2 stick which cost about $5. Those newer sticks were not designed for 24/7 operation. https://smile.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-DataTraveler-DTSE9H-16GBZ/dp/B006W8U2WU/ Quote Link to comment
tjb_altf4 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 On 4/30/2020 at 11:34 PM, Snubbers said: IBy far the most concerning one was the Sandisk Ultra Fit 3.1, just sat doing nothing in a USB slot it gets inordinately hot and I worried about it's longevity so tried all my options and found the Sandisk Ultra USB 3.0 16gb/32gb sticks to be performant with no heat issues. +1 Have been running 2x SanDisk Cruzer Fit Ultra 16GB USB3.0 for +3 years in seperate Unraid machines without issue. Strange that the USB3.1 versions are creating issues. Quote Link to comment
bucky2076 Posted May 31, 2020 Share Posted May 31, 2020 fair enough. I've capitulated and bound my new license to a normal quality usb stick. Giving up on the small unltrafit 3.1, as I don't want to invite trouble. Quote Link to comment
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