F4-423

[Enquiries]

Greetings: I have a F4-423 Terramaster that currently has one 8TB HD installed. I have the NAS TOS setup and have installed Plex. All of my Plex Media is on this one drive. I have three more 8TB HDs that I would like add to my existing NAS and eventually have all four configured in a RAID. My question is I don't know how to add the three HDs and create the backup without erasing the existing 8 TB HD that contains all of my Plex Media. I would be willing to pay for a Zoom session, I just want to have a backup solution for my media using the additional HDs without unintentionally erasing my Media in the process. I have watched many of your videos, but I am not confident I know what I am doing and if it is correct. Any assistance on the steps for doing this would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Charles

[ed]

Thank you for reaching out, and it’s great to hear that you’ve set up your F4-423 with Plex. I understand the concern about adding new drives to your system while keeping your existing Plex media intact. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you add the additional drives and set up a RAID configuration without erasing your current data:

1. Backup Your Data (Optional but Recommended)
Before making any changes, it’s always a good idea to have a backup of your existing Plex media. If you have an external drive or cloud backup solution, copy your current media off the NAS just in case.

2. Prepare New Drives
Ensure your additional 8TB drives are formatted and ready to be added to the NAS. If the drives aren’t pre-formatted, use the Storage Manager in TOS to initialize them.

3. RAID Configuration
You can set up RAID without wiping the current drive, but the process depends on the RAID type you want. Here’s how you can proceed:

Step 1: Open the Storage Manager on your Terramaster F4-423.

Step 2: Create a New Volume. Choose the option for RAID (RAID 1, 5, or another configuration depending on your needs).

Step 3: Add Drives to the RAID Array. In most cases, when adding drives to a RAID, you can set up a RAID volume without formatting the existing drive. However, be very careful during this step to avoid selecting the existing drive as part of the RAID setup.

RAID 1 (Mirror) will mirror data between two drives, which gives you redundancy.
RAID 5 will give you a good balance of redundancy and storage space if you plan on adding more drives down the road.
Step 4: Configure Volume. Select the drives for the RAID configuration and ensure you don’t select the drive with your current Plex media. This will protect your existing data.

Step 5: Complete Setup. Once the new RAID is created and you have the desired backup setup, you can start using the new space without worrying about overwriting your media.