Why won't my QNAP recognize a new drive?

A new drive that does not show up is usually a simple seating, initialisation or firmware issue rather than a fault: work through these in order.

Check the basics

1. Reseat the drive. Remove the tray, confirm the drive is screwed in and making contact, and reinsert firmly. A partially-seated drive is the most common cause.
2. Look in Storage & Snapshots. A brand-new drive often appears as uninitialised/unused rather than missing: you may just need to create or extend a pool on it.
3. Update firmware (QTS/QuTS hero). Recognition and compatibility improve with firmware; an out-of-date NAS may not handle a newer or larger drive.

Check compatibility

Confirm the drive model and capacity on QNAP's compatibility list for your NAS. Very large drives sometimes need a firmware level that supports that capacity.

Rule out a bad drive

Try the drive in another bay, or a known-good drive in the suspect bay, to isolate whether it is the drive or the slot. A drive that spins up but never registers in any bay, or is silent, may be dead on arrival. If it registers elsewhere, the original bay or its cabling may be the fault. Once recognised, use CMR NAS drives for your pool; the table lists options.