G-RAID Shuttle 4 Does not Work with Mac Studio?

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Level 1

5 points

G-RAID Shuttle 4 Does not Work with Mac Studio?

I am wondering whether anyone has actually been successful in getting a G-RAID Shuttle 4 to work on their Mac Studio.

I purchased a new Mac Studio and G-RAID Shuttle and after four hours of installing drivers, and utilities, changing security settings, and doing all the things that Western Digital says to do, I could not get the software utility to load, nor could I get the G-RAID to mount or even be recognized by Disc Utility in the Mac Studio. The G-RAID spins up when I plug in the thunderbolt cable, but won't mount. No user interface shows up when you launch the G-RAID disc utility software.

Please don't send me a link to a support article. I guarantee that I have read it. I would like to hear from someone who they, themselves, have personally been successful in getting this combo to work. And if so, how they did it.

Man, is this frustrating.

Thank you.

Mac Studio

Posted on Jan 11, 2023 01:30 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 11, 2023 06:05 AM in response to Tberntson

<< doing all the things that Western Digital says to do, >>

Don't do any of that stuff.

Drives like the MyBook came with software, and the manufacturer suggested you install that software.

What that software does is to "spare you the annoyance of having to re-initialize the drive" from its factory set Windows New Technology File System (NTFS) or similar unusual (on a Mac) format. Instead, the software they provided would simulate a MacOS drive inside an NTFS file for your Mac.

The downside of using the manufacturer's software is that if the manufacturer's software is not loaded, the Macintosh Volume may not readable, or may not be writable. This means that in startup manager, Installer, and in Recovery such as after a data loss, the Macintosh Volume may not be visible.

The standard advice given here to all users, including novice users, is to discard the manufacturers software and NEVER use it. "Best Practice" is to erase the physical device when new, using only MacOS Disk Utility, and create the fundamental data structures needed for consistent, reliable use by MacOS.

Be sure to "show all devices" which will allow you to ERASE the entire Physical Device by its immutable manufacturer-given device-name, not just user created Volume-name such as ‘Macintosh HD’.

--------

When you try to completely erase a device with a "foreign" format like NTFS, MacOS usually refuses.

But you can ask it again, immediately, and it will often proceed. It's as if they left out a MSDOS-like dialog, "Are you sure?"

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Tberntson Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 11, 2023 02:29 AM in response to Tberntson

Here is a bit more information:

The G-RAID spins up when I plug in the thunderbolt cable, but won't mount.
I have rebooted into System Recovery mode and reduced the security level on the disc to allow kernal extensions.
I have downloaded and installed the M1 driver and Disc Utility Software several times—rebooting after each install.
I have erased the primary drive and done a clean re-install of Monterey (even though the Mac Studio is brand new), then tried installing the G-RAID M1 driver and utility software again.
Despite all this, no user interface shows up when I launch the G-RAID disc utility software.
When I look in the System Information, the PromiseSTEX extension (the M1 driver for the G-RAID) shows up, but it is not loaded, nor is it notorized. I have tried removing it, reinstalling it, rebooting several times, but the extension won't load.
I have confirmed that the driver is for the M1 chipset, not the intel chipset.

I have all the support articles and support forums out there, and there just seems to be an issue with the M1 chip and the driver for the G-RAID. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

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Answer 3

Tberntson Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 11, 2023 06:25 AM in response to Tberntson

Well, after updating my operating system to Ventura, and going through the whole process again of installing the driver, and software, I have given up. I am just returning this G-RAID to get my money back and not purchase another WD product.

This G-RAID Shuttle was supposed to be one of there 'enterprise level' products and was formatted for Mac. If an advanced Mac user cannot get it to be seen by Disc Utility after five hours of work, then this G-RAID needs further development before it is said to be compatible with M1 Macs. Or at least, they need a warning that they are incompatible with Mac Studio computers, for whatever reason.

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Answer 4

den.thed

Level 10

88,798 points

Jan 11, 2023 06:54 AM in response to Tberntson

I would reach out to WD for Support.

https://www.westerndigital.com/support

Then I would return the WD and get an OWC 4 or 8 bay drive.

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage#drive-configuration:four-bay-4-drive

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Answer 5

Jan 11, 2023 07:18 AM in response to Tberntson

<< Disc Utility doesn't even see the G-RAID drive >>

Then in my option, the drive is not functioning properly. Disk Utility should be able to see any appropriate drive. (it may not be able to do much with it, but 'can't see it' is the definition of DEAD.)

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Answer 6

Tberntson Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 11, 2023 07:24 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for the response Grant. Yeah, I thought that was weird. It is supposed to work right out of the box with a Mac. The fact that I could not even see it with Disk Utility was troubling. I have been a daily Mac user since the mid 1990s when I bought my Mac Performa, and have had just about every model of Mac since. I have never had such an issue getting a piece of hardware to be recognized by the system. I figured it was because of the M1 chipset, but perhaps it is just a dead drive.

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Answer 7

Tberntson Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 11, 2023 06:27 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thank you for the response, Grant. The problem is the Disc Utility doesn't even see the G-RAID drive, so I cannot mount it or reformat it.

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Answer 8

Tberntson Author

Level 1

5 points

Jan 11, 2023 07:20 AM in response to den.thed

Thanks den.thed. I am waiting for the Western Digital support center to open now, and will give them a call. I appreciate the recommendation for the OWC drive. I will go check that out.

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