I know this question has been asked, but it seems like there hasn’t been good, definitive answers. I’m considering buying an older G-RAID drive with the intention of upgrading to considerably larger drives.
I’d likely buy an 8TB RAID (2 x 4TB, 0G04085 - Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0) and replace the two 4TB drives with two 18TB drives.
I contacted WD Customer Support and they responded with “the internal drives of the G-RAID device can be upgraded to whatever capacity you desire and it will work well with the RAID configuration”, but, it would be great to hear if someone’s actually done is successfully.
WD says it’s possible, but success depends on the G-RAID’s firmware and compatibility with larger drives. Some older models may have size limits or issues recognizing higher-capacity disks. If you proceed, ensure the new drives match the original ones in specs (RPM, interface). If possible, test with a single larger drive first before committing. Checking online forums for user experiences with the exact model might also help.
I am also looking for Definitive answers. I have a “G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3 - 8TB”. That’s 8TB on RAID 0 or 4TB on RAID 1.
I want also want to upgrade to an 8TB or 10TB RAID 1.
So I will need 2 x 8TB or 2 x 10TB drives. Need to know which drives.??
I tried to deal with WD Support but didn’t really get a straight answer.
These units originally were available in the larger formats so I’m thinking that the controller must be able to work fine, but don’t want to buy expensive enterprise drives without knowing for sure.
Has anyone had any success?
Upgrading the drives in a G-RAID 0G04085 enclosure to 18TB may work, but it depends on whether the RAID controller and firmware support larger capacities. WD support says any size should work, but some older enclosures have limits, especially beyond 16TB per drive. The new drives need to be SATA and CMR for best performance. The best approach is to install one drive at a time and let the RAID rebuild if using RAID 1, or reformat if using RAID 0. Many people have upgraded to 8TB or 12TB per drive without issues, but there isn’t much information on 18TB upgrades. If the enclosure doesn’t recognize the new drives, using SoftRAID on macOS or switching to a newer RAID enclosure like a G-RAID Shuttle or OWC ThunderBay might be necessary. It’s a good idea to test the new drives over USB 3.0 before setting up RAID through Thunderbolt. Let me know if you want me to look up any confirmed cases of 18TB upgrades in G-RAID enclosures.
