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[Sticky] Important notes regarding Big Sur and SoftRAID

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(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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On the M1, no, unfortunately. Not until we can get a working driver released.

 
Posted : 01/12/2020 5:07 pm
(@kaijujoe66)
Posts: 33
Eminent Member
 

@softraid-support and will that be in the next os update from Apple?

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 7:17 am
(@ironpig)
Posts: 17
Active Member
 

Installed the B43 beta hoping for M1 compatibility, but as mentioned above it doesn't work.  Which is odd because B42 does open on M1 Macs but doesn't recognize OWC drives.  Why did it go backwards in terms of functionality?

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 11:54 am
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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That was intentional. There is one more bug we have to fix for M1, which we need to fix before release. Blocking the app from running was simpler than creating a new dialog box, etc.

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 12:51 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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@kaijujoe66

No, this requires us to release a functional driver. It should be shortly, we have it working, with one (known) issue we have to resolve first.

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 1:00 pm
(@darren-curtis)
Posts: 7
Active Member
 

Amazing, cannot wait - will the driver be in a new version of the beta? B44 or will you it download separately? Thank you for all the hard work!

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 1:53 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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We are working on it now, and b44 is the target. Hopefully no additional delays!

 
Posted : 02/12/2020 4:13 pm
(@mangombia)
Posts: 3
New Member
 

Okay, so what is going to happen to all of us SoftRAID 5.xx licensees who have migrated to Big Sur and are running the time limited SoftRAID beta when it reaches the time limit?

 
Posted : 03/12/2020 9:37 am
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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It is upgrade time when we release 6.0.

Your volume will still mount, but no notifications etc.

There will be a free upgrade period, but its not known what it will be.

 
Posted : 03/12/2020 9:44 pm
(@bilbosoftraiduser)
Posts: 15
Member
 

For a user on Catalina with an Intel Mac, is the safest option to wait, or (based on what I've read about the version 6 driver being solid) is there no reason to wait before upgrading to Big Sur?  If upgrading to Big Sur, is it necessary or recommended to then run the version 6.0 beta?

 
Posted : 05/12/2020 10:00 am
(@steve223)
Posts: 151
Member
 

so if I have a 2020 iMac 5k and no M1 chip can I safely update to Big Sur? A bit more information about compatibility would be great. 

 

Have to say I'm starting to regret purchasing 3 x OWC Raids for my machines seems like nowadays the only external Hardware property supported by Apple are the Promise devices.

 

Is the locking device issue fixed in Big Sur?

 
Posted : 05/12/2020 6:44 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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Topic starter
 

Yes you can safely update. Software RAID has many advantages over hardware RAID, including direct access to disks, so you can fix things easlier. Also, spare parts are not a problem, where hardware RAID manufacturers do not support spare parts after a model is about 3 years obsolete.

 

Read the release notes on the beta, make sure you Approve OWC as a developer immediately when prompted and you should be fine.

 
Posted : 06/12/2020 1:25 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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Topic starter
 

I personally would wait. There are still weird issues with Big Sur not to mention application compatibility, where you may as well wait at least until the next update and watch sites like Macintouch for issues. THen upgrade.

 

If you do so now, the beta driver of SoftRAID works fine. You can update now to the 6.0 beta to check it out, it will work essentially the same for Big Sur. the main problems are driver installation, which I am finally finding the root causes in Big Sur.

Allow OWC as a devoper when prompted, don't click OK, click System Preferences

I have discovered when the SoftRAID driver is not loading even when this is done, it is because there is a Big Sur bug where any invalid driver will prevent all drivers from loading. We have tested this with several users now, by deleting all extensions, and then SoftRAID can load. Some extensions are of course needed for current apps, so this has to be done with a little care, but is solving this issue. It also explains why this is a "rare" issue.

 
Posted : 06/12/2020 1:30 pm
(@softraid-support)
Posts: 8008
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Topic starter
 

the disk locking issue is not fixed. We are working with Apple engineering to get more attention on this issue.

 
Posted : 06/12/2020 1:32 pm
(@dfortney)
Posts: 108
Estimable Member
 

Really Apple should just buy you guys out and include this facility with the OS for everyone in place of their existing half-assed RAID support and then actually fix all their filesystem and APFS and disk mgmt issues for once and all.  It shouldn't have to be so difficult and patchwork to enable full and quality reliable RAID support in a modern OS.  It should 'just works' out of the box.

 
Posted : 06/12/2020 1:39 pm
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