I did things a little out of order and set up a RAID1 array with a DAS after installing Sparkbox, and now I can't seem to get Sparkbox to recognize that it is connected. Wondering if I've configured it wrong or something of the sort. I am incredibly new to this stuff, so apologies for sounding like an idiot. Any help is appreciated, thanks!!
31 replies
tomspark wrote:
Glad it's sorted! That tooltip is just a cached reading — it doesn't refresh itself when the storage path changes. Quick fix: on the box run sudo sparkbox restart dashboard, then hard-refresh the dashboard page in your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R). That makes it re-read the drives and it should pick up the array's space. One heads-up so you're not chasing it: if it still shows the small number after that, the tooltip is just reporting the SparkBox program drive rather than your media array — that's a cosmetic quirk, not a problem. Your actual media lives on the 5 TB array (that's the data folder you saw there), so nothing's lost either way. You're good to go.
tomspark wrote:
No worries, this is an order-of-operations thing, not you breaking anything. SparkBox keys off storage that's mounted on the host at the OS level — a DAS array you built after install won't show up until Linux itself sees it mounted. On the box run lsblk and df -h, and tell me whether your RAID1 array shows up there with a mountpoint. If it's present but not mounted we mount it (and add it to /etc/fstab so it survives reboots), then point SparkBox's data path at it. If lsblk shows the disks but no assembled md array, the RAID itself isn't up yet and that's the first thing to fix. Paste the output of both and I'll give you the exact next step for your setup.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
caspian@server:~$ lsblk NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS sda 8:0 0 5.5T 0 disk └─md0 9:0 0 5.5T 0 raid1 /mnt/raid1 sdb 8:16 0 5.5T 0 disk └─md0 9:0 0 5.5T 0 raid1 /mnt/raid1 nvme0n1 259:0 0 119.2G 0 disk ├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 1G 0 part /boot/efi └─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 118.2G 0 part / caspian@server:~$ df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on tmpfs 1.5G 3.5M 1.5G 1% /run /dev/nvme0n1p2 116G 66G 45G 60% / tmpfs 3.6G 0 3.6G 0% /dev/shm efivarfs 150K 83K 63K 58% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars none 1.0M 0 1.0M 0% /run/credentials/systemd-journald.service none 1.0M 0 1.0M 0% /run/credentials/systemd-resolved.service tmpfs 3.6G 0 3.6G 0% /tmp /dev/nvme0n1p1 1.1G 6.4M 1.1G 1% /boot/efi none 1.0M 0 1.0M 0% /run/credentials/systemd-networkd.service /dev/md0 5.5T 2.1M 5.2T 1% /mnt/raid1 none 1.0M 0 1.0M 0% /run/credentials/getty@tty1.service tmpfs 727M 8.0K 727M 1% /run/user/1000
tomspark wrote:
Good news — your array is perfectly fine. That output shows your RAID1 (md0) assembled and already mounted at /mnt/raid1 with 5.2 TB free. SparkBox just isn't pointed at it yet — it's still using the small system drive. You tell SparkBox where to keep everything with one setting, MEDIAROOT. Since you're fresh with nothing to move, point it at the array and re-apply with this one line on the box: sudo sed -i 's|^MEDIAROOT=.|MEDIAROOT=/mnt/raid1|' /opt/sparkbox/.env && sudo sparkbox up You'll know it worked when the apply finishes with no errors and folders start appearing under the array — check with: ls /mnt/raid1. If the apply prints anything red, paste it and I'll sort it.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
When checking with ls /mnt/raid1, all it's giving me is "data lost+found"
tomspark wrote:
That's exactly what success looks like — it worked. "data" is SparkBox's folder, now living on your 5 TB array instead of the little system drive, which is exactly what you wanted. "lost+found" is just a standard Linux housekeeping folder every drive has — totally normal, ignore it, not an error. You're done here: as you add media and use the apps, everything fills in under /mnt/raid1/data automatically. Nothing else to change. Shout if anything acts up, but you're set.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
Wow, thanks!! One more question - the little tooltip for disk space isn't updating with the new drive capacity. Is there anything I can do to get this to update?
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
One more thing. When trying to log into FileBrowser for the first time, the default admin/admin credentials aren't working. I looked through Sparkbox settings and cannot find a password. I can start a new thread for this if you'd like as well.
tomspark wrote:
You're not missing anything — SparkBox doesn't use admin/admin for FileBrowser. For security it sets a random admin password at install, and it's not under Settings; it's saved in a file on the box. To see it, run: sudo cat /opt/sparkbox/state/filebrowser-admin-password.txt Then log into FileBrowser with username admin and the password it prints (it's also on the FileBrowser tile's info/credentials button in the dashboard if you'd rather click than type). If that password ALSO doesn't work, you've hit an older glitch from before v1.6.87 — just reply here and I'll give you the one-step reset. But 9 times out of 10 it's simply that the real password lives in that file, not admin/admin. (No need to start a new thread — happy to keep it here.)
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
It worked, thanks again!! Will definitely be purchasing a license when Sparkbox leaves Beta.
tomspark wrote:
Awesome — glad it's all sorted! That's the lot lined up now: storage on the 5 TB array, FileBrowser in, everything talking. Really appreciate the kind words, and genuinely no pressure on the license — it's free through beta, so just enjoy the build. You know where to find me if anything else comes up.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
I had something else come up - trying to use the Media Stack and am getting errors left and right. Here is the first one. You are using docker; download client qBittorrent places downloads in /data/downloads but this directory does not appear to exist inside the container. Review your remote path mappings and container volume settings.
tomspark wrote:
Totally expected after moving your storage — nothing's broken. When you pointed SparkBox at the new array, the media apps were still pinned to the old spot, so they're looking for a downloads folder that isn't there yet on the array. One command re-syncs them to the new location and creates the missing folders: sudo sparkbox restart media Give it a minute to come back up, then re-check qBittorrent/Sonarr — that "directory does not appear to exist" warning should be gone and downloads will land on your array. If it's still complaining after that, run sudo ls -la /mnt/raid1/data and paste it — that tells me whether the folders got created so we can take it from there.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
drwxrwxr-x 4 caspian caspian 4096 May 19 08:31 . drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 May 19 08:31 .. drwxrwxr-x 6 caspian caspian 4096 May 19 08:41 media drwxrwxr-x 5 caspian caspian 4096 May 19 08:31 torrents
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
I just remembered that I changed the media root in Sparkbox settings last night while troubleshooting with a friend. Could this be causing the issue?
tomspark wrote:
Yes — you nailed it, that's almost certainly the whole cause. The Media Root got changed twice (once in Settings last night with your friend, once with me earlier), so SparkBox and the media apps ended up pointed at different spots, and the "downloads" folder the apps look for never got created on the array — your listing shows only media and torrents, no downloads. Nothing's broken, it's just aimed in two directions. Let's settle it on one. In SparkBox, Settings, Server Config: what exactly is the Media Root / data path set to right now? Tell me that one value and I'll give you the single command to line it all up and create the missing folders. Don't change anything else in the meantime.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
/mnt/raid1 is the path in the Sparkbox server config settings.
tomspark wrote:
Perfect — that's the right value, settled. The leftover "media" and "torrents" folders on the array are harmless (just from earlier setup attempts — nothing breaks, you can ignore them or delete them later). One command finishes it: sudo sparkbox restart media That tells the media apps to re-read the path, runs SparkBox's automatic folder-fixer, and creates the right Movies/TV/Music/downloads tree under /mnt/raid1/data. Give it a minute, then re-check qBittorrent and Sonarr — that "directory does not appear to exist" warning should be gone. Paste anything red if it isn't.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
You are using docker; download client qBittorrent places downloads in /data/downloads but this directory does not appear to exist inside the container. Review your remote path mappings and container volume settings. Getting the same error in Radarr. Additionally getting an error in qBittorrent now. Total Size: 45.46 GiB Pieces: 5819 x 8.0 MiB (have 0) Created By: Added On: 5/19/2026, 2:24:58 PM Completed On: Created On: Private: No Info Hash v1: 1f6ae6ad855c7d57d41064916e784e7008d3a8fb Info Hash v2: N/A Save Path: /data/downloads Comment:
tomspark wrote:
That's on me — "restart" only stops and starts the containers; the folder-fixer actually lives in "up". Same shape, just the right verb (and creating the missing folder up front so the apps have something to bind): sudo mkdir -p /mnt/raid1/data/downloads/incomplete && sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/raid1/data && sudo sparkbox up media That creates the missing downloads folder with the right owner, then re-brings the media stack up so qBit and Radarr re-read the path fresh. Give it a minute, then re-check — that "directory does not appear to exist" warning should clear and qBit's downloads will land under /mnt/raid1/data/downloads. If anything still goes red, paste it.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
I am still getting the same error in Radarr - could it be that the root folder is set incorrectly there? Also having an issue where when I request something from Seerr, it doesn't show up in the qBittorrent download screen.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
You are using docker; download client qBittorrent places downloads in /data/downloads but this directory does not appear to exist inside the container. Review your remote path mappings and container volume settings. Missing root folder: /data/TV These are the two errors I am receiving in Sonarr
tomspark wrote:
Got it — your data folder still has the OLD layout (media, torrents) instead of the new one Sonarr and Radarr expect (Movies, TV, Music, downloads). The heal only adds, it doesn't rename, so it skipped them. One command creates the missing folders with the right owner, then re-applies: sudo mkdir -p /mnt/raid1/data/{Movies,TV,Music,downloads/incomplete} && sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/raid1/data && sudo sparkbox up media Then in Sonarr → Settings → Media Management → Root Folders, add /data/TV. In Radarr same path, add /data/Movies. The qBit "directory doesn't exist" warning clears after the apply. Seerr asks Sonarr/Radarr to download — they won't talk to qBit until their root folders are set, which is why your Seerr requests didn't show up. Set the roots and Seerr will start flowing to qBit again.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
I am still getting the same errors, and Seerr requests are still failing. The root folders I have are located at /data/data/Movies & /data/data/TV. When I attempt to change them to /data/Movies & /data/TV it gives the error: "Unable to add root folder Path '/data/movies' does not exist" I also tried changing the qBittorrent download path to /data/data/Downloads with no luck.
tomspark wrote:
Two things. First, the immediate one — Sonarr's error says "/data/movies" lowercase, but the actual folder is /data/Movies with a capital M (Linux is case-sensitive). Type it exactly as: /data/Movies and /data/TV — capital first letter, no trailing slash. Bigger picture: your existing roots at /data/data/Movies tell me MEDIAROOT got set to /mnt/raid1/data at some point instead of /mnt/raid1, which made the apps nest a data/ folder inside data/. Harmless leftover, can be cleaned up later once the new roots stick. Sanity check before retrying — paste: ls -la /mnt/raid1/data That shows the actual case of every folder and confirms my last command's Movies/TV/Music folders landed. Once those look right, the new root paths will accept and Seerr will flow to qBit again.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
Here is the paste from the "sanity check": caspian@server:~$ ls -la /mnt/raid1/data total 32 drwxrwxr-x 8 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 18:30 . drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 May 19 08:31 .. drwxr-xr-x 2 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 18:33 Movies drwxr-xr-x 2 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 18:30 Music drwxr-xr-x 2 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 18:35 TV drwxr-xr-x 3 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 08:01 downloads drwxrwxr-x 6 caspian caspian 4096 May 20 07:55 media drwxrwxr-x 5 caspian caspian 4096 May 19 08:31 torrents Here is the error I am getting from Radarr: "Unable to add root folder Path '/data/Movies' does not exist"
tomspark wrote:
My bad — the bind on the media containers is /mnt/raid1:/data (no /data subdir append). So container's /data/Movies maps to host /mnt/raid1/Movies — but yours sit at /mnt/raid1/data/Movies, one level too deep. That's why Radarr can't find them. My earlier mkdir put them under /data/ instead of at the root, sorry about that. One command moves the four folders up to the right level: sudo mv /mnt/raid1/data/{Movies,TV,Music,downloads} /mnt/raid1/ Then in Radarr add /data/Movies and in Sonarr /data/TV — both will accept now. The leftover /mnt/raid1/data/ folder with media and torrents inside is from earlier attempts, harmless, delete later if you want.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
I believed that worked - Radarr and Sonarr no longer have the errors they had before. However I did end up setting up usenet and am getting this string of errors on SABnzbd: WARNING 15 hours ago /data/downloads is not writable at all. This blocks downloads. To prevent all helpful warnings, disable Special setting 'helpfulwarnings'. ERROR 15 hours ago Cannot create directory /data/downloads ERROR 15 hours ago Failed making (/data/downloads) Traceback (most recent call last): File "/app/sabnzbd/sabnzbd/filesystem.py", line 763, in createalldirs os.mkdir(pathpartcombined) PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/data/downloads' WARNING 15 hours ago /data/downloads/incomplete is not writable at all. This blocks downloads. To prevent all helpful warnings, disable Special setting 'helpfulwarnings'. ERROR 15 hours ago Cannot create directory /data/downloads/incomplete ERROR 15 hours ago Failed making (/data/downloads/incomplete) Traceback (most recent call last): File "/app/sabnzbd/sabnzbd/filesystem.py", line 763, in createalldirs os.mkdir(pathpartcombined) PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/data/downloads' ERROR 15 hours ago Cannot create directory /data/downloads ERROR 15 hours ago Failed making (/data/downloads) Traceback (most recent call last): File "/app/sabnzbd/sabnzbd/filesystem.py", line 763, in createalldirs os.mkdir(pathpartcombined) PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/data/downloads' ERROR 15 hours ago Cannot create directory /data/downloads ERROR 15 hours ago Failed making (/data/downloads) Traceback (most recent call last): File "/app/sabnzbd/sabnzbd/filesystem.py", line 763, in createalldirs os.mkdir(pathpartcombined) PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/data/downloads' ERROR 15 hours ago Cannot create directory /data/downloads/incomplete ERROR 15 hours ago Failed making (/data/downloads/incomplete) Traceback (most recent call last): File "/app/sabnzbd/sabnzbd/filesystem.py", line 763, in createalldirs os.mkdir(pathpartcombined) PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/data/downloads
tomspark wrote:
Permission denied on /data/downloads — folder's there, but SABnzbd is running as a user that doesn't match the folder's owner. One command lines it up: sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/raid1/downloads && sudo chmod -R 775 /mnt/raid1/downloads && sudo sparkbox restart usenet That sets the folder to SparkBox's default user (UID 1000) and opens group write too. After SAB comes back up, the "not writable" errors should clear and downloads will start landing. Side note: now that Sonarr/Radarr root folders are sorted, Seerr requests will start flowing again on their own — give it a minute after this fix.
hairychinchilla69 wrote:
Hmm... that last command is giving me the error: [ERROR] Unknown module: usenet
tomspark wrote:
My bad — SAB lives inside the "media" module, not its own thing. The chown + chmod already ran fine (only the restart errored), so the perms part is sorted. Just run: sudo sparkbox restart media That kicks SAB to re-read with the new perms. The "not writable" errors should clear after it comes back up.