SoftRAID Volume Not Rebuilding After Disk Replacement

If you replaced a disk in your SoftRAID volume and rebuilding did not begin automatically, follow the steps below to determine the cause.

1. Disk Connection or Recognition Issue

Confirm that the replacement disk is physically connected and appears under Disks in SoftRAID. A rebuild will not start if the new disk is not recognized — this can be caused by a loose cable, a bad enclosure port, or the disk not being fully seated.

2. New Disk Not Added to the Volume

After replacing a failed drive, the new disk must be added to the volume manually:

• Initialize the new disk if needed (Disk menu → Initialize)
• Select the volume tile
• Volume menu → Add Disk → select the new disk

Once the new disk is part of the volume, rebuilding should begin automatically, provided the volume is mounted and healthy.

3. Volume Is Unmounted or Mounted Read-Only

Rebuilding requires a healthy, mounted volume with read/write access. SoftRAID will not rebuild a volume that is unmounted or mounted read-only — this safeguard is in place to protect data integrity.

A) Restart your Mac.

• If the volume mounts normally after restart, rebuilding should begin automatically.
• If rebuilding seems slow, see Step 4 below.

B) If you see the error “macOS could not repair the volume ‘[name]’ and has mounted it read-only” on restart:

• The volume directory is damaged
• SoftRAID will not rebuild a volume in this condition
• You have two options:
• Back up and restore your data, then recreate the volume
• Use DiskWarrior (HFS+ volumes only) to repair the directory. Once DiskWarrior successfully replaces the directory, the volume will become writable and rebuilding will begin immediately

4. Volume Optimization Settings Affect Rebuild Speed

SoftRAID’s Volume Optimization setting controls how rebuild operations balance speed against usability:

• Workstation — rebuilds at roughly 50% of drive speed; you can continue working normally
• Server — prioritizes rebuilding at 100% of available disk I/O
• Digital Video / Photography / Digital Audio — pauses rebuilding during user activity; resumes at full speed after approximately one minute of idle time

If the thermometer indicator shows a rebuild has started but progress appears very slow or paused, check which optimization mode is active.

To change optimization: select the volume tile → Volume menu → Optimize for → select the desired setting. This can be changed at any time, including during an active rebuild, and takes effect immediately.

5. SoftRAID Driver Not Loaded (macOS 13.2 or Earlier Only)

If you are running macOS 13.2 or earlier, the SoftRAID driver may not be loading correctly. Test as follows:

A) If you have another SoftRAID volume connected, does it mount?

• Yes → the driver is loaded correctly; continue troubleshooting elsewhere

B) If not, test with any external drive:

• Initialize it in SoftRAID and create a new volume
• If volume creation succeeds → the driver is loaded correctly

C) If other volumes do not mount, or you receive the error:

“The file system could not be initialized”

— the SoftRAID driver is not loaded. Reinstall it from the Utilities menu, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and Allow OWC as an identified developer.

For detailed instructions, see: “SoftRAID Installation for macOS 13.2.1 or Earlier (Intel / Apple T2)”

Still Not Rebuilding?

If you have worked through all the steps above and rebuilding has not started, contact SoftRAID support.