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[butts]

I ahve two identical 1TB drives in my machine, however, I've unbelievably hit the device storage limit. I would like to know if it is possible to de-RAID one of the drives to be used as supplemental storage, and if so, how, without losing the data on the other drive. 

Should I remove one, format the other one, disable RAID, then put the first drive back? 

Thanks. 

[rayvyn]

The best option is to backup your data and reformat the Drives

[butts]

The best option is to backup your data and reformat the Drives

Yes however, I do not want to have to buy another 1TB SATA drive and so I am asking the best way to do this.

[fordem]

First question - what would you do if you lost your data?

Pull one of the drives, either one, format the remaining one and then replace the second drive, your data should remain intact.

Second question - do you trust me (a total stranger) to tell you how to do this without losing your data?  Let me ask that question again - what would you do if you lost your data?

It's your responsibility to safe guard your data, and there is only one way to do that - back it up - RAID1 is not a backup.

[mig]

... so I am asking the best way to do this.

The BEST way to do this is to backup your data, and reformat.

Another way (not, the best way) would be to press the reset button on the back of the DNS-321.

In theory, your suggestion of pulling both drives and reformatting one to standard, then reinserting
the broken Mirror, should work.

But you need to ask yourself... "How painful would it be if you lost your data?"  If you are willing to risk data loss, just try either of these two methods.  Otherwise, backup the data and reformat the drives.

BTW, I have not tried either of these methods, but I have read the other people were successful
used these methods to separate a RAID on a DNS-323.

[butts]

All my valuable data is already backed up or in cloud hosting, however, I do not want to spend another 2 days rsync-ing data from USB drives through my laptop to the 321, which is why I asked. 

Second question - do you trust me (a total stranger) to tell you how to do this without losing your data?

If I didn't trust that I could get help on this official forum for the product, then I wouldn't have asked here.  But feel free to act out your passive aggressive fantasies of telling someone to rm -rf / or dd to zero out the drive or whatever.

And even then, what if your backup fails?  RAID 1, while not a complete organized back up system, offers the redundancy of a (single) back up and, pragmatically, would be good enough for many home users.

Thanks for the replies and information, I just wanted to check that the process I proposed in the first post would work.

[fordem]

All my valuable data is already backed up or in cloud hosting, however, I do not want to spend another 2 days rsync-ing data from USB drives through my laptop to the 321, which is why I asked.

So which is it?  You don't want to spend the time or you don't want to buy a drive?  Not that it makes any difference to me - I just get curious when people give different reasons for their actions - makes me wonder what the truth is.

If I didn't trust that I could get help on this official forum for the product, then I wouldn't have asked here.  But feel free to act out your passive aggressive fantasies of telling someone to rm -rf / or dd to zero out the drive or whatever.

The mistake you are making is in assuming that the response you receive in this official forum comes from someone who knows what they are talking about.  Yes, the forum is hosted by D-Link, however the participants are users like yourself, and as with all fora, the onus is on you to separate the wheat from the chaff.

And even then, what if your backup fails?  RAID 1, while not a complete organized back up system, offers the redundancy of a (single) back up and, pragmatically, would be good enough for many home users.

WRONG - BIG TIME WRONG - with RAID1 you have NO - REPEAT - NO protection from anything other than a single drive failure, and if you feel that drive failure is the biggest threat that a home user faces, dream on.  RAID1 will not protect your data from corruption by a virus or deletion of files, whether deliberate or accidental.

Thanks for the replies and information, I just wanted to check that the process I proposed in the first post would work.

It should - but then - if it doesn't, what is your fall back?

[mig]

Perhaps if you had been able to clarify your definition of Best
  1) minimal time
  2) minimal cost
  3) minimal chance of data loss
  4) other?
the responses on this forum would have been more helpful.  I assumed best meant
minimal chance of data loss.

[butts]

You don't want to spend the time or you don't want to buy a drive?  Not that it makes any difference to me - I just get curious when people give different reasons for their actions - makes me wonder what the truth is.

Both.

And even then, I asked a question in the first post which my reply referred to.  Only my reply used the word "best", steering the conversation off a cliff, but I would hope someone could have answered my question as it stood.  If I lose my data, I lose my data and rsync it back on and spend 2 days of computer time.  I COULD just do that with the drive, but it seems that separating and formatting would be quicker, if riskier, so I ask about that, enough meta conversation about how I asked the question.

Should I remove one, format the other one, disable RAID, then put the first drive back?  Is there a different method of deRAIDing a drive WITHOUT BUYING AN EXTERNAL DRIVE OR RE-SYNCING MY EXTERNAL DATA SOURCES TO IT

[mig]

Should I remove one, format the other one, disable RAID, then put the first drive back?  Is there a different method of deRAIDing a drive WITHOUT BUYING AN EXTERNAL DRIVE OR RE-SYNCING MY EXTERNAL DATA SOURCES TO IT

Yes, you can do that.
Yes, you can press (and hold for 10 secs) the reset button on the back of the DNS-321