How do I erase or delete a SoftRAID volume?

Warning: Erasing or deleting a volume permanently destroys all data on it. Make sure you have a current backup before proceeding.

Any action that may result in data loss requires Safeguard to be disabled first. To disable Safeguard:

• Select the volume tile
• Go to Volume menu → Safeguard → Disable
• Enter your administrator password when prompted

We recommend re-enabling Safeguard immediately after completing any of these operations.

To Erase a SoftRAID HFS+ Volume

SoftRAID supports erasing HFS+ volumes directly within the application.

• Select the volume tile for the volume you want to erase
• Disable Safeguard (see above)
• Go to Volume menu → Erase
• Confirm the erase

This will wipe all data and reformat the volume as HFS+.

Note: SoftRAID only supports erasing volumes as HFS+. If you want to erase a volume as APFS, ExFAT, MS-DOS (FAT32), or NTFS, use Disk Utility or Windows instead (see below). If you want NTFS and have Paragon NTFS installed, the NTFS option will also appear directly in the SoftRAID Erase menu.

To Delete a SoftRAID Volume

Deleting a volume removes it entirely from the disks, freeing them to be used for a new volume.

• Select the volume tile for the volume you want to delete
• Disable Safeguard (see above)
• Go to Volume menu → Delete Volume
• Confirm the deletion

To Erase a SoftRAID APFS Volume (Using Disk Utility)

SoftRAID 8 does not support erasing APFS volumes directly. If you have an APFS-formatted SoftRAID volume, the preferred approach is to delete the volume (see above) and create a new one, rather than erasing it. If you need to erase rather than delete, use Disk Utility instead.

• Open Disk Utility (Applications → Utilities → Disk Utility)
• Locate your SoftRAID volume in the sidebar
• Select the volume and click Erase
• Give the volume a name
• Set the format to APFS or APFS (Encrypted)
• Click Erase

To Erase a SoftRAID HFS+ Volume as a Different Format (Using Disk Utility)

You can also use Disk Utility to erase a SoftRAID HFS+ volume as ExFAT or MS-DOS (FAT32).

• Open Disk Utility
• Select the volume and click Erase
• Give the volume a name and select your desired format (ExFAT or MS-DOS)
• Important: Do not change the Schem e. It must remain set to GUID Partition Map. Changing the scheme on a SoftRAID-initialized disk will require you to reinitialize the disk in SoftRAID afterward.
• Click Erase

Note: Do not select APFS in Disk Utility if you intend to keep using the volume as an HFS+ volume — this will require you to reinitialize the disk with SoftRAID.

To Erase a SoftRAID Volume as NTFS

There are two ways to erase a volume as NTFS:

• On Mac: If you have Paragon NTFS installed, an NTFS option will appear in the SoftRAID Erase menu. Select it there.
• On Windows: With SoftRAID installed on Windows, you can erase the volume as NTFS from within SoftRAID.

Related FAQs

• What is Volume Safeguard and why should I use it?
• How do I change my RAID volume to a different RAID level?
• Should I format my SoftRAID volume as APFS or HFS+?