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Proxmox HDD Storage Setup - Complete Procedure

Overview​

This document covers the complete process of wiping a Windows HDD and setting it up as Proxmox storage for containers, databases, media, and backups.

Our Specific Setup​

Hardware: 1TB HDD (ST1000LM035-1RK172) previously containing Windows partitions Goal: Clean ext4 storage mounted at /mnt/storage for LXC container data Strategy: Fast containers on SSD, bulk data on HDD

Step-by-Step Procedure​

Step 1: Disk Identification and Verification​

# Identify all disks and their current state
fdisk -l

# Our output showed:
# /dev/sda: 931.51 GiB (1TB HDD with Windows partitions)
# /dev/sdb: 238.47 GiB (SSD with Proxmox)

# Verify target disk contents
lsblk /dev/sda

Step 2: Safe Partition Table Removal​

# Preview what will be wiped (safety check)
wipefs /dev/sda

# Expected output:
# DEVICE OFFSET       TYPE UUID LABEL
# sda    0x200        gpt
# sda    0xe8e0db5e00 gpt
# sda    0x1fe        PMBR

# Actually wipe the partition table
wipefs -a /dev/sda

# Verify disk is clean
lsblk /dev/sda
blkid /dev/sda  # Should return nothing

Step 3: Create New Partition Structure​

# Create new GPT partition table and partition
gdisk /dev/sda

# Commands used in gdisk:
# o     - Create new GPT partition table
# n     - Create new partition
#         Partition number: [default - 1]
#         First sector: [default - 2048]
#         Last sector: [default - uses full disk]
#         Partition type: [default - 8300 Linux filesystem]
# p     - Preview partition table
# w     - Write changes and exit

Step 4: Format the New Partition​

# Format as ext4 (may encounter existing filesystem warning)
mkfs.ext4 /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST1000LM035-1RK172_WL1P1QNX-part1

# If prompted about existing filesystem:
# "contains a vfat file system labelled 'SYSTEM_DRV' proceed anyway?"
# Use force flag to overwrite:
mkfs.ext4 -F /dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST1000LM035-1RK172_WL1P1QNX-part1

Step 5: Create Mount Point and Configure fstab​

# Create mount directory
mkdir -p /mnt/storage

# Get stable device identifier
ls -la /dev/disk/by-id/ | grep sda1
# Output: ata-ST1000LM035-1RK172_WL1P1QNX-part1 -> ../../sda1

# Add to /etc/fstab
echo "/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST1000LM035-1RK172_WL1P1QNX-part1 /mnt/storage ext4 defaults,noatime,discard 0 2" >> /etc/fstab

Step 6: CRITICAL - Reload systemd and Test Mount​

# ESSENTIAL: Reload systemd daemon after fstab changes
systemctl daemon-reload

# Test the fstab entry
mount -a

# Verify mount worked
df -h /mnt/storage
lsblk /dev/sda1

Key Commands Reference​

# Disk analysis
fdisk -l
lsblk
blkid

# Safe wiping
wipefs /dev/device          # Preview
wipefs -a /dev/device       # Actually wipe

# Partitioning
gdisk /dev/device

# Formatting
mkfs.ext4 /dev/device1
mkfs.ext4 -F /dev/device1   # Force over existing filesystem

# Mount management
systemctl daemon-reload     # After fstab changes
mount -a                    # Test all fstab entries

Mount Options Explained​

Our fstab entry: /dev/disk/by-id/... /mnt/storage ext4 defaults,noatime,discard 0 2

  • defaults: Standard mount options
  • noatime: Don't update access times (improves performance)
  • discard: Enable TRIM support for SSDs (good practice even for HDDs)
  • 0: Don't dump this filesystem for backup
  • 2: Check filesystem on boot (but after root filesystem)

Why We Used /dev/disk/by-id/​

Advantages over /dev/sda1:

  • Stable across reboots (device names can change)
  • Human-readable (shows actual drive model)
  • Remains consistent even if drive is moved to different ports

Alternative approaches:

  • UUID (from blkid): More universal but less readable
  • LABEL: Requires setting filesystem labels

Storage Organization Plan​

/mnt/storage/
├── containers/     # LXC container persistent data
│   ├── nginx/
│   ├── heimdall/
│   └── vaultwarden/
├── shared/         # Data shared between containers
│   ├── media/
│   └── downloads/
└── backups/        # Backup storage
    ├── container-backups/
    └── config-backups/

Troubleshooting​

Mount Fails After Reboot​

  • Check /etc/fstab syntax
  • Verify device ID hasn't changed: ls -la /dev/disk/by-id/
  • Test manually: mount /mnt/storage

Filesystem Corruption​

  • Check filesystem: fsck.ext4 /dev/sda1
  • Force check: fsck.ext4 -f /dev/sda1

Permission Issues​

  • Fix ownership: chown -R root:root /mnt/storage
  • Set permissions: chmod 755 /mnt/storage

Next Steps​

  1. Add to Proxmox GUI: Datacenter > Storage > Add > Directory
  2. Configure for containers: Set up bind mounts in LXC configs
  3. Implement backup strategy: Regular snapshots and external backups
  4. Monitor disk health: Set up SMART monitoring

Critical Lessons Learned​

  1. Always preview with wipefs before using -a flag
  2. Use stable device identifiers in fstab, not /dev/sdX
  3. systemctl daemon-reload is essential after fstab changes
  4. Force formatting may be needed over existing filesystems
  5. Test mount with mount -a before rebooting

This setup provides 931GB of additional storage for our Proxmox homelab, properly organized and ready for container workloads.