User level: Level 1 (11 points)I'm upgrading to a new Studio this week. I have an external RAID0 setup (four SSDs) using Disk Utility. When moving to the new Studio, is it OK just to plug in my drive and use it as-is, or would it be better if I reformatted the drive on the new computer and copy my files over?
Posted on Sep 19, 2026 8:27 AM
User level: Level 10 (148,617 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:15 AM in response to assault_is_eternal
On the surface, the answer is "plug in and use".
I say that because RAID-ness is encoded on the drives in the array, not in MacOS itself.
A deeper question is whether this array was created under the older HFS+ Extended file system, or is new enough to already be using Apple File System (APFS). If older, you might want to plan to re-initialize for best performance, but that is likely not needed on day 1.
User level: Level 10 (99,154 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:24 AM in response to assault_is_eternal
How are you using this RAID 0...?
How is this RAID 0 currently formatted...?
Are the SSD's in a 4 bay enclosure or different enclosures...?
Reformatting should not be necessary, unless you want to change the type of RAID or start using the drives independently.
Personally I would not use or rely on RAID 0, because if one drive fails then all is lost.
User level: Level 9 (53,902 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:27 AM in response to assault_is_eternal
Hi,
Yes, you can use an external RAID 0 drive created on an old Mac Studio with a new Mac Studio.
User level: Level 1 (16 points)Oct 4, 2026 3:41 PM in response to assault_is_eternal
This is my recent experience, in case it is helpful. I recently replaced my 2019 Mac Pro with a Mac Studio. My old Mac Pro had a RAID 1+0 running in a PCIe slot, being managed with SoftRaid. In preparation for the transition from old to new Mac, I removed the PCIe card and placed it in an external enclosure. When the new Mac Studio arrived, I used Migration Assistant to set it up, which copied my SoftRaid software from the old machine to the new one. After migration was complete, I unplugged the external enclosure from my Mac Pro, plugged it into the Mac Studio and booted it up. SoftRaid launched and found the RAID volume in the new enclosure without a hitch. The transition was seamless.
User level: Level 1 (11 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:50 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
Yep. APFS
User level: Level 1 (11 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:53 AM in response to den.thed
Same enclosure. I'm not worried about data loss. I back up to a hard drive then burn to Blu-Ray for archival purposes.
User level: Level 1 (11 points)Sep 19, 2026 9:54 AM in response to assault_is_eternal
Thanks for the responses. I'll just plug in when I get the new computer
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256360559