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How to set up RAID in El Capitan

Ive just upgraded to El Capitan but when going to Disk Utility to make a raid system it has seemed to have gone!

Does anyone know if it has been removed from Disk Utility or if it has been relocated?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Oct 6, 2015 9:20 AM

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33 replies

Nov 19, 2015 4:56 PM in response to tonyrhap

Additional: Don't make the same mistake I did. I used SoftRaid's demo period to create the RAID, thinking that I wouldn't need it after that. Unfortunately (but understandably) SoftRaid uses a proprietary driver that will expire along with the software after 30 days. I would have been willing to purchase the software as I found it to be excellent, but not for $300...

Nov 19, 2015 7:17 PM in response to tonyrhap

What I had to do was go back to the disk tools on my computer and format each of the drives individually (I wasnt able to do this in the web-based tools). Then, reboot (command-option-R) to reload the web tools. Once there, I selected the RAID option I wanted, then dragged the drives into the field. Don't try to drag the volumes; just the formatted drives. To make this a bit less confusing, I named each of the drives RAID 1, RAID 2, etc, when I formatted them.


just a reminder that you will lose all data on the drives when you do this (I'm sure you know this. I'm saying it for other readers).

Nov 25, 2015 5:09 PM in response to Rory185

Not all machines that can run El Capitan can run OS X Internet Recovery with RAID support as described by @Redcat7. (Apple describes which machines can be upgraded here, and my 2009 Mac Mini isn't on the list.) In this case, the command line option described by @tonyrhap (also described here) is the only way to go. Installing El Capitan on the RAID is also tricky; to do so you'll have to boot to OS X Recovery from a non-RAID drive (if not your primary drive, just hold down the Option key at startup to choose it). Worse still, you can't recover a Time Machine backup to the RAID volume (say, if you want to upgrade your primary drive to a RAID 0); you'll have to do a base install and then use Migration Assistant to do so. Finally, the installer won't install an OS X Recovery partition on your RAID volume, so you'll always have to maintain a backup drive to do recoveries. A PITA for sure, but worth the massive speed improvement IMO.

Feb 29, 2016 1:31 PM in response to tonyrhap

Wow! All day talking to Apple and they gave me nothing.. One quick but careful study of this step by step guide & I was able to configure my torched G-Raid 8T drive as a RAID0. Thank you!

How to Create a RAID in Mac OS 10.11

The graphical interface of Mac Disk Utility in Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan) does not include the ability to create a RAID. However, the Mac Terminal can still create a RAID with simple text commands.


IMPORTANT! Before proceeding, please safely eject and then physically disconnect all external storage devices (external hard drives, SD cards, etc) from your Mac computer, except the device on which you want to create the RAID.


IMPORTANT! Do not attempt the following while your Mac is in Recovery Mode. Proceed only when your computer has started normally.


If you want to create a software RAID in Mac OS 10.11, please follow these instructions:

  1. From the Desktop, select Go from the top menu bar, then Utilities > Terminal.
  2. Type the following:
    diskutil list
    A list of all storage devices connected to or inside your computer will appear.
    User uploaded file
  3. Find and note the external, physical drives that you want to include in the RAID.
    E.g., disk0 and disk4
  4. Decide which RAID mode you want - striped (RAID 0) or mirrored (RAID 1).
  5. Type the following for RAID 0:
    diskutil appleraid create stripe [Array Name] JHFS+ disk_ disk_
    For example: diskutil appleraid create stripe LaCieRAID0 JHFS+ disk0 disk4
    User uploaded file

How to set up RAID in El Capitan

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