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Forum Discussion
Ematheu
Aug 27, 2020Aspirant
Add new drive to a NAS ND-312
I have a NAS RN-31200 with one drive, I plan to add another drive but I don't know if I can lose my data when I add the new drive, any help is appreciate
- Aug 27, 2020
Welcome to the Community!
You don't have to worry about your data when adding a new drive, it should not affect the data :)
Once you add a drive, if your NAS is configured with X-RAID it will automatically have a RAID1 array after the resync. This gives your NAS a mirrored drive giving you protection in case of a drive failure. If you are on Flex-RAID the drive you will add will be available to be created as another volume or be synced as RAID1 as well.
**Still before adding or replacing any drive it is always recommended to do a backup of your data, even if your data is safe a backup is always a must.
https://kb.netgear.com/22894/ReadyNAS-OS-6-Adding-a-disk-to-desktop-models
HTH
Ematheu
Sep 09, 2020Aspirant
Please I need to know how to get the full capacity of my drive, originally where 2tb, I swap one and put 6tb, but after sync I get only the 2 tb, now I swap the other 2tb with another 6tb but I saw only show 2tb, and one of the dri ve sa VOLUME DEGRADED, I format the new drive in the NAS and he is zync, but I see only 2tb, how can I get the 6 tb to show up?
thanks
- StephenBSep 09, 2020Guru - Experienced User
Ematheu wrote:
now I swap the other 2tb with another 6tb but I saw only show 2tb, and one of the dri ve sa VOLUME DEGRADED
The first thing to do is label the drives, so you know which drive was in which bay.
Then try testing the drives in a PC with the vendor tools - lifeguard for western digital, seatools for seagate. Run the long non-destructive test.
If both drives pass that test, then reinsert the first 6 TB drive by itself in the NAS (powered down) with the other bay empty. Power up the NAS, and check that your data is still there.
Then either
- unformat
- zero
- or reformat
the second 6 TB drive. Then hot-insert it into the NAS (with it running). If you re-formatted, then you'll need to format it again on the NAS volume page. Then (if you use XRAID) it will automatically be added to the volume.
There will be two resyncs when it is added. The first converts your 2 TB volume from jbod to RAID-1. When that completes, there should be a second resync - which will expand your volume to 6 TB.
As an aside - several drives in the 2-6 TB range are now using SMR technology. They aren't a good fit for RAID - they can take a very long time to sync. Some Seagate Barracudas are now SMR, and also the WD60EFAX. If you happened to purchase these models, you might want to exchange them for CMR/PMR drives (for instance the WD60EFRX or Seagate Ironwolf).
- EmatheuSep 09, 2020Aspirant
Thank you for your help, the drive that say VOLUME DEGRADED still having my data, that is the first 6tb I add, now when I inser the second 6tb I hit format, NAS FORMATED IT, AND THEY ARE SYNC FOR FEW HOURS, bout drives are Ironwolf 6TB, but I was afraid the first 6TB not expand to the 6TB, but let me see when sync finish what it show, thanks again, I see it still at 57.7% (already 2.30 hours running)
- StephenBSep 10, 2020Guru - Experienced User
Ematheu wrote:
the drive that say VOLUME DEGRADED
Let's clarify this. The volume has multiple drives (now that you have added the second). The volume is what is degraded - not the drive.
The volume normally becomes degraded when one of the disks has failed or has been removed. In your case, it sounds like it was reported as degraded simply because the new drive wasn't synchronized yet.
Ematheu wrote:
... but I was afraid the first 6TB not expand to the 6TB, but let me see when sync finish what it show, thanks again, I see it still at 57.7% (already 2.30 hours running)
Syncing does take quite a while - every block of storage on every disk either needs to be read or written.
It sounds to me like everything is working normally - get back to us if the volume hasn't expanded (and the sync completed) by this time tomorrow.
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