neilt0

Nice to see another MicroServer owner! In case you hadn't seen all the discussion on forums.overclockers.com.au , there are some sets of RAM that work in the MicroServer until you either reboot or power off and re-power (I can't remember which). I suggest you do a few (5-10) cycles of soft rebooting and hard power cycling and each time check that the BIOS sees all 16GB. As you're only booting in to the BIOS, it shouldn't take long. There are reports that Patriot RAM works, and I think one or two other types, but most 8GB DIMMs do not work -- the HP Microserver doesn't officially support 16GB. Cheers, Neil.

Interesting! My route is to put larger drives, rather than more drives in mine. I have my second server as the recipient of lotsa drives. Someone (I think on HARD-OCP) mentioned there is a hard limit on the number of drives, which might be 12? After that, the BIOS stops seeing more drives, but I don't know if Linux/unRAID will see more, ignoring the BIOS.

What I recommend is to put a cache drive and an array drive in the top ODD bay (with an X-Swing or similar). Both should be 5400rpm, ideally. That way, if your cache drive is thrashing, that array drive is probably going to be spun down and if the array is being parity checked, the cache drive could be spun down or not in much use. I actually have two 5400rpm array drives in there, with the mesh grill in front of them and they do not get hotter than the other 4 drives in the hotswap slots. My drives will get close to 40 degrees, but I (and Google in their long-term mass testing) don't consider that to be a problem.

Lid off can be hotter than lid on because you are messing up the airflow.

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg153232#msg153232 To see where to put the 2.5" drives, see the first post in this thread.

More than 1 bay, less than 2. For 2 drives. I'm sure it means more than 12 drives per 12 bays, but I dunno how many. This gives an idea, and I think I've seen photos of these in a standard case, so try a bit of googling of the x-swing and the other device like it (mentioned in this thread) Be aware both devices may have been discontinued. Also, be aware they obviously don't have any cooling. Personally, I wouldn't use them in a 12-bay case, I'd use something else.

It does take up more space than 1 bay, but less than two. It fits in the Microserver with a few mm to spare -- are you looking to put it in a different case? If so, you may find dimensions of the mount on the manufacturer's site.

If you are as annoyed by the brightness of the blue "Health" LED as I am, you will appreciate this little "mod" by someone on OCAU: In essence, you can unclip the plastic thing shown here and tuck the LED behind the metal so it's less like a flashlight:

You will only be able to use 6 drives with the Microserver's own 6 SATA ports. I added a SATA HBA PCI-E card and have 2x 2.5" drives below the ODD bay. One is for cache, and it's a 5400rpm WD drive. For the larger NZBs, I use a category to point to do a directory and unpack to an array drive.

It will fit. There are even photos in this thread. There were photos and/or discussion of the Nexus DoubleTwin in this thread about a year ago. Everything you need to know is in this thread. You just have to read it.

Many of us use a Nexus Doubletwin (or similar) to fit 6x 3.5" drives in the Microserver. See posts in this thread for examples.

The real test is a parity check, which is why I recommend only one array drive in there. I would worry at temps over 45 for long periods, but in theory you can run up to the max the mfr specifies and Facebook and Google run their drives hot.

Should do.

It's probably the cable, as I told you in the other thread. Try another one and if it doesn't work, I'd contact HP and see if the port is dead (highly unlikely). I have a grill in mine (from my Sharkoon case). I suggest putting a cache drive and an array drive in there (not two array drives). The reason for that is when you do a parity check, the cache drive is not checked, so only one of the drives will heat up. If you hammer the cache drive with a usenet and/or client like I do, the other drive there, if it's in the array, will probably be spun down. My drives in that top part (5400rpm) don't get too hot. I wouldn't put 7200rpm drives in there. My older 7200rpm drives (in the 4-bay area) get to 45 degrees during a parity check, but none of my drives ever go above that.

8GB DIMMs work (despite what HP say). Both ECC and non-ECC (cheap) have been tested. So the max RAM you can use is 16GB. 4TB drives also work, so you can easily take this box to 6x4TB, 16GB which is pretty useful. More on the RAM at: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555868&page=33

You have to use the hacked or Russian or "Thebay" BIOS. Otherwise two of the ports will be IDE and not AHCI. Read this thread from the beginning or Google.

It was an Adaptec 1430SA, but I took it out and now have 6 drives. I use the custom BIOS, so none are in IDE mode. This forum is about unRAID, so of course I'm not running them in a RAID. You need to use a card that is compatible with unRAID. Check the chipset of your card against: http://bit.ly/xxekXE

It was an Adaptec 1430SA, but I took it out and now have 6 drives. I use the custom BIOS, so none are in IDE mode. This forum is about unRAID, so of course I'm not running them in a RAID.

Screw the "ODD screws" (that come with the Microserver) in to the Doubletwin rubber thingies -- they are designed for mounting a DVD drive, but will attach to the Nexus Doubletwin: Manual page:

It does include them IIRC.

Many of us use the Nexus Double Twin to add 2x 3.5" drives:

Good news! The N40L (and probably the N36L as it has the same chipset?) does support 4TB drives! http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showpost.php?p=14069192&postcount=4987

Here you go: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=11585.msg162065#msg162065

There is a report that it does not. I posted this in the 4TB thread: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=17480.msg160284#msg160284 I have a spare 1430SA, so will use that in my Microserver if it supports 4TB drives.

Yes.