ZimaOS 1.5.3 – Storage pool not detected after OS reinstall, no restore/import option visible

Operating System ZimaOS
1

Device: Beelink ME Mini
ZimaOS version: 1.5.3 (Plus previously active)
System disk: eMMC
Data disks: 5 × 2TB NVMe (previously combined as RAID via ZimaOS)

I’m having an issue recovering an existing storage pool after reinstalling ZimaOS.

Originally, I had:

  • ZimaOS 1.5.3 installed on the eMMC
  • Appdata on a 256GB NVMe
  • Later added 5 × 2TB NVMe, which I combined into a RAID storage pool using ZimaOS
  • Successfully moved all appdata/storage onto the RAID pool

After confirming the system was working:

  • I shut down
  • Removed the 256GB NVMe
  • Installed a 10GbE adapter in that NVMe slot

Following this, some apps appeared missing (likely Docker image metadata), so I decided to reinstall ZimaOS and restore from backup.

What happened during reinstall

  • Reinstalled ZimaOS 1.5.3 to the eMMC
  • The 5 × 2TB NVMe drives remained installed during reinstall
  • On first boot / onboarding:
    • No “Restore from backup” option was shown
  • After reaching the web UI:
    • Storage page shows only “Create Storage”
    • No option to import, recover, or adopt an existing pool
  • The 5 NVMe drives are detected individually but are treated as unused
  • I have not clicked Create Storage or formatted anything again

Current state

  • OS boots correctly from eMMC
  • Web UI accessible
  • Storage page only offers Create Storage
  • Existing RAID pool is not visible/importable
  • Backup exists but cannot be restored on this install
  • Plus currently shows as Community (expected until account revalidation)

What I need help with

  1. Can ZimaOS 1.5.3 import or recover an existing RAID pool created by a previous install?
  2. If so, what is the correct procedure to re-attach it without data loss?
  3. If not, is there a supported recovery method (or confirmation that the pool metadata is no longer usable)?
  4. Confirmation that Plus entitlement is account/device-based and unaffected by OS reinstall (this was active before).

I have intentionally not created new storage or formatted the disks, to avoid overwriting any existing metadata.

I actually can’t believe there is no option to restore from a backup. What is the actual point of a system backup if there is no option to restore. I’m completely in disbelief..

2

This situation has occurred before and, in ZimaOS 1.5.x, there is no user-accessible UI option to import or re-attach an existing RAID/storage pool after an OS reinstall. When this happens, the disks will appear individually as unused even though the original pool metadata may still be present.

Because recovery requires visibility of the underlying disk metadata and potentially guided backend steps, this cannot be safely handled via community troubleshooting.

The correct next step is to contact IceWhale directly, as was done successfully in a previous identical case.

Please email community@icewhale.org and include:

  • Device model
  • ZimaOS version
  • Confirmation the pool was originally created by ZimaOS
  • Confirmation the disks were not reformatted
  • Screenshots of the Storage page

IceWhale can confirm whether the pool can be re-associated or advise on supported recovery options.

For clarity, current system backups do not include RAID/storage pool metadata, which is why no restore option appeared after reinstall.

See below link to prievous post with same issue.

1 Like
3

As gelbuilding mentioned, please email us and we will guide you on how to restore your original RAID. This feature is already in our plans and we look forward to bringing it to everyone soon.