Mdadm – How can i destroy or delete an array : Memory, Storage, Backup and Filesystems

So, you created an array and you messed up something? Now you would like to delete it?

Please note: all data will be lost with this operation!

1. Stop the array

Code: Select all

# mdadm -S /dev/md0

2. Remove the disks from the array (in my example md0 is a raid5 array with 3 disks)

Code: Select all

# mdadm /dev/md0 -r /dev/sda

# mdadm /dev/md0 -r /dev/sdb

# mdadm /dev/md0 -r /dev/sdc

3. Destroy the array configuration from each disk (this will destroy all the data from your disks)

Code: Select all

# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M count=1024

# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1M count=1024

# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=1M count=1024

4. Remove the mdadm.conf file (if any)

Code: Select all

# rm /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf

Now you can try to create a new array as you wish or as you were suposed to…