# What happens when you deactivate a drive?

**URL:** <https://forums.spacerex.co/t/what-happens-when-you-deactivate-a-drive/297>\
**Category:** Synology\
**Tags:** help, volume\
**Created:** [March 29, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://forums.spacerex.co/t/what-happens-when-you-deactivate-a-drive/297 "2023-03-29T22:28:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![JenMedia](https://forums.spacerex.co/user_avatar/forums.spacerex.co/jenmedia/32/140_2.png) [@JenMedia](https://forums.spacerex.co/u/JenMedia)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://forums.spacerex.co/t/what-happens-when-you-deactivate-a-drive/297/1 "2023-03-29T22:28:00Z")

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what happens when you deactivate a drive?

Do you have to erase it? Can you re-use it on the NAS as a new drive ( ie add to a vol)

I also have 1 x Nvme cache that I deactived, how can I make it available again?

Yikes. I Wish I had started with smaller drives in the first place and then added my 18Tb after. By doing it the wrong way round I have ending up with a tonne of moving copying and unsure situation with my synology. I just thought DSM would handle large and then smaller drives and just add them to a pool

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**Author:** ![Will](https://forums.spacerex.co/user_avatar/forums.spacerex.co/will/32/14_2.png) [@Will](https://forums.spacerex.co/u/Will)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://forums.spacerex.co/t/what-happens-when-you-deactivate-a-drive/297/2 "2023-03-30T12:17:16Z")

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So normally you do not deactivate the drive, but rather you remove the entire volume associated with the drive (and all the other drives in that volume)

But you should just be able to turn the unit off, take the drives out that you deactivated, and boot it back up.

Though you will want to wait to do this until after you have added that extra 18 TB drive