NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Format Drive for Vertical Expansion of X-RAID
I have a ReadyNAS 214 configured as X-RAID 5, with 2x3TB and 2x1.5TB. I want to upgrade the two 3TB drives to 8TB each, using shucked drives from WD Elements external cases. I have run the full WD ...
Mauser69 wrote:
I have a ReadyNAS 214 configured as X-RAID 5, with 2x3TB and 2x1.5TB. I want to upgrade the two 3TB drives to 8TB each, using shucked drives from WD Elements external cases.
Reading all the documentation, it sounds like I need to put a drive in the ReadyNAS and do a reset to defaults to force the reformat
If you want 2x8 + 2x1.5, then there is no need to do a factory default. The default would destroy all your data btw.
You hot-swap one of the drives. If it is formatted, you'll need to select the disk and format it on the NAS web ui's volume page. It should then sync automatically. When the sync is finished, do the same thing with the second drive. You'll end up with an 11 TB (10 TiB) volume.
There are two easy ways to remove the partitions if you want to avoid the format step.
- WDC's Lifeguard utility has a erase test, which has a "quick erase" option. That will remove all the partitions in a few seconds.
- You can use Windows Disk Manager to delete all the partitions.
Both return the drive to an unformatted state, so the NAS will immediately begin syncing the new disk when you do the hot swap.
Your data is more vulnerable to loss during a resync, since the array isn't protected. So it is good to update your backup before you do this upgrade.
Mauser69 wrote:
I have a ReadyNAS 214 configured as X-RAID 5, with 2x3TB and 2x1.5TB. I want to upgrade the two 3TB drives to 8TB each, using shucked drives from WD Elements external cases.
Reading all the documentation, it sounds like I need to put a drive in the ReadyNAS and do a reset to defaults to force the reformat
If you want 2x8 + 2x1.5, then there is no need to do a factory default. The default would destroy all your data btw.
You hot-swap one of the drives. If it is formatted, you'll need to select the disk and format it on the NAS web ui's volume page. It should then sync automatically. When the sync is finished, do the same thing with the second drive. You'll end up with an 11 TB (10 TiB) volume.
There are two easy ways to remove the partitions if you want to avoid the format step.
- WDC's Lifeguard utility has a erase test, which has a "quick erase" option. That will remove all the partitions in a few seconds.
- You can use Windows Disk Manager to delete all the partitions.
Both return the drive to an unformatted state, so the NAS will immediately begin syncing the new disk when you do the hot swap.
Your data is more vulnerable to loss during a resync, since the array isn't protected. So it is good to update your backup before you do this upgrade.
Thank you very much for your reply. This is exactly how I suspected it SHOULD work, but I can find nothing at all in the ReadyNAS sofware or hardware manuals that says this. One more question please:
The format options in Admin include several different types - a few are obvious, but I have no idea what EXT3, EXT4, or BTRFF would be. What is the correct format type to add a drive for X-RAID?
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
