This note applies to T2 equipped Mac's only. (updated)
macOS Catalina requires Startup System Security to be set to none (disabled) to install and run the current version of the SoftRAID driver.
To download a PDF with detailed instructions, click here:
To detect if you have a T2 check:
Go to: "About this Mac".
Under "Overview", select "System Report"
Select "Controller"
Under "Model Name", it will show Apple "T2 Security Chip", if one is installed.
Else, it will state, "This computer doesn't contain any Controller devices".
To disable Startup System Security:
Restart your machine and hold the "command" and "R" keys, until you see the progress indicator.
When the computer is started up (This is called "internet recovery mode", in the Utilities menu, select Startup Security Utility.)
You will be presented with a Startup Security Utility dialog box with several options.
Select the third option, "none".
Restart your computer.
Now you can install and use SoftRAID normally.
We are working on a fix with Apple for this problem.
Hi,
I have a T1 chip, iMac 27" (late 2013) but still can't install the driver. Is this normal? Do I have to wait for a fix coming my way, or is there a workaround?
I do not know of any issues with T1 chip computers, if you have 10.15.1 installed.
We may need to handle this directly, so send a email to support at softraid and then I will need to get some info on your machine.
Note: if you see a dialog box stating "Firmware password protection is "off" or "on", then you have a T1 chip. There is no need to change any setting.
This is simply not true. I see that dialogue on my 16” MacBook Pro, which all have T2 chips.
Note: if you see a dialog box stating "Firmware password protection is "off" or "on", then you have a T1 chip. There is no need to change any setting.
This is simply not true. I see that dialogue on my 16” MacBook Pro, which all have T2 chips.
You are correct, there is a simpler way to test for the T2, which I am posting (changing the original instructions.) thanks
I have brand new MBP using 10.15.1 with a T2 chip. Followed the directions and switched to the "no security" setting in recovery mode and restarted. If I go back to the Recovery mode, it shows "no security". Unfortunately, I still get the same message when I try to open SoftRAID 5.8 and it won't let me update. Any ideas?
Thanks
Make sure you are using 5.8.1. That should take care of you.
Make sure you are using 5.8.1. That should take care of you.
Thanks, that did it.
Can I run a 2018 Man Mini (with T2 chip) using Mojave, rather than Catalina, using the normal Apple system security?
Yes you can, as this was a limitation imposed by Catalina.
Is it a known issue that 5.8.4 won't install because it thinks Startup System Security is still on (haven't been able to check yet), where earlier versions didn't flag this at all? I'm on a 2018 Mac mini.
The known issues is Secure Boot must be disabled. What 5.8.4 did was force users to do this, as otherwise they are working with a limited system that has poor write performance and cannot rebuild.
We are workign with Apple to remove this requirement
@softraid-support Got it - I had somehow missed this issue, so hadn't turned off Startup System Security, but after turning it off, I'm not seeing any discernible change in performance.
I have an OWC Express 4M2 with 4x500GB Samsung 960 Evo in RAID0, and I still get about 1350MBs write/2100MBs read in Aja (w/4GB 3840x2160 ProRes HQ test files). Performance with the 4M2 has never been quite as fast as expected, but I didn't really think much of it. I got it for capacity when there was little else available in late 2018 to economically reach 2TB via Thunderbolt SSDs - the TB2 Thunderbay mini had been discontinued (and the TB3 model was still in the future), there were no small 2-drive SATA Thunderbolt 3 enclosures around, and 2TB SSDs were still very pricey.
Is there something I'm missing?
The M2 has a peak of about 700MB/s per blade, but otherwise will go as fast as it can, up to Thunderbolt limitations. That looks a little slow for writes, but you can try deleting the volume, initializing the blades again and creating a new volume. You may get faster performance after that. SSD's behave differently than HDD's