Preventive Disk Replacement Guide
Last modified date:
2026-01-28
Applicable Products
- All QNAP NAS models that support disk hot-swapping
Overview
Preventive disk replacement allows you to proactively replace a hard drive that has not yet failed but may be nearing the end of its service life. This process reduces the risk of unexpected disk failures and helps maintain data safety. The procedure involves disk migration and RAID group rebuilding.
Warning: Replacing disks carries a risk of data loss if not performed correctly. We recommend backing up all important data before you begin.
Procedure
- Prepare the new disk
- Ensure the new disk model and capacity are supported for your NAS and listed in the QNAP compatibility list.
- The new disk should be the same size or larger than the largest disk in the RAID group.
- Open Storage & Snapshots
- Log in to NAS web management page with an administrator account.
- Open Storage & Snapshots.
- Verify that the RAID group or storage pool status is Normal and no warnings are present.
- Initiate preventive disk replacement
- In Storage & Snapshots, go to Storage / Snapshots > Disks and locate the disk you want to replace.
- Click the target disk, then select Action > Locate.
- When the corresponding disk LED flashes red, physically remove the disk from the drive bay.
- Insert the new replacement disk into the same bay.
- After inserting the new disk, monitor the system status and confirm that the RAID rebuilding process starts automatically.
- Note:
- Do not remove any other disks while RAID rebuilding is in progress.
- System performance may be temporarily reduced during the RAID rebuild; this is expected behavior.
- Wait for rebuild to complete
- The system will automatically begin rebuilding data from the old disk to the new one.
- Monitor progress in the Storage & Snapshots task/status area.
- The rebuild process can take significant time. Avoid restarting or removing drives during this period.
Tips & Best Practices
- Backup first: Always back up important data before a preventive replacement.
- Keep power stable: Ensure power remains stable during the entire rebuild process.
- Verify health afterward: After rebuild completes, confirm the RAID/storage pool shows Healthy status.
When to use preventive replacement
- A disk is showing SMART warnings (such as reallocated sectors or high error rates).
- An older drive is approaching warranty end or expected failure age.
- Scheduled maintenance or infrastructure refresh is planned.
