kizer

LOL, I would of pulled off the Centurion badge, but I wanted my case to remember its roots. Actually I didn't want to destroy the screen trying to pry it off.

In order to ensure a faster review by other members it would be very helpful for all to append your thread titles with [sOLVED] when your questions have been answered to your satisfaction. For example you have the following topic. Drive error, which would become [sOLVED] Drive error. Just by doing this it would allow you to skip over [sOLVED] topics and get right to the ones that are still needing help. It by no means you can not continue to reply, but would ensure unsolved posts get faster attention. If you have questions or need help feel free to contact a moderator. Thank you

I was then on a website and they kept talking about unRAID. I thought why would anybody name their software unRAID, when you want to raid your stuff for protection. Well I built a little test machine which was actually my regular desktop and I dropped in a few hard drives and attempted to get things up and running. Within 5minutes I was staring at a console and a webpage. That was to easy so I decided to preclear a few drives and the first one was a 6gig, followed by a 10gig then a 120gig. Got everything up and running with a few videos on the 6gig drive. I pulled the IDE cable and tried to watch the video on the share and sure enough it was still there. I was 1/2 sold until I turned off the machine and replugged in the drive and it rebuilt its self. Now I was really excited. I camped on the forum for a few weeks and found the wiki which gave me a piece by piece build out for my machine. I thought there is no way it can be that easy even with links to NewEgg so I could purchase. I decided to ask Rajahal a few stupid questions to see if what I was buying was actually right. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about and I went for it. OS: unRAID 6.4 Pro CPU: Xeon 1225-v3 Athlon x4 630 2.8GHz AMD was 2.7 GHz AMD Sempron 140 Motherboard: AsRock Extreme 6 was BIOSTAR A760G M2+ RAM: 16GB DDR3 8GB was 4 GB DDR2 800 RAM Case: Cooler Master 590 Drive Cage: (3) ICY Dock Black Vortex was 2 Stock drive cages + added one COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 Device Module Hard disk Cage from NewEgg Power Supply: Corsair AX760 was Corsair 400W Sata Card: SuperMicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 Cables: Locking Sata Cables, 3ware Serial Attached SCSI CBL-SFF8087OCF-05M, (2) Molex to 4 port Sata power extensions , Internal USB MotherBoard Adapter Cable Other: Cut the LED leds on the cage fans. Parity Drive: 4TB WD Green was 2TB WD Green EARS "Jumpered" Data Drive Few WD Greens Cache Drive: Sandisk 240GB Total Capacity: 12 Drives Primary Use: Data Storage and streaming of Video and music across my Gigabit Network Likes: Super Quiet and appears to run really cool Dislikes: Swapping Drives is kinda a pain. I'm thinking of modding the Drive Cages some to make drive swapping easier ToDO: Other than adding additional drives I think I'm good to go. I've since added two new drive bays with fans 1 was a stocker from Rajahal and the other was a CoolerMaster cage I bought off NewEgg and took off the front section that had the chrome strip to make it all fit behind the mesh screen and the SuperMicro Card, well I've purchased it, but its in a box and the cables are pre-installed. My internals aren't as pretty as most, but I'm wired up and zip tied up and ready to run 12 drives if/when I need to with a 2TB WD Green precleared and waiting to go online if/when needed. I've been asked how does it perform. So far I've been able to play/not Transcode (3) 720 Streams, (1) SD stream and do some file copying all at the same time without any noticeable performance hit. Normally with this configuration my CPU normally runs around 19-20C and my current drive line up they normally run from 25-30C. I'm not really sure about Temps during a pairity check since I'm normally asleep when it runs once a month. I've only had one drive failure and I believe it was due to a faulty cable, but I didn't take that chance. I threw in a fresh pre-cleared drive and restored. I've since pre-cleared the drive that I thought had a problem and its shown no indication of any failures. I'm guessing it could of been a loose power cable since I was in the case earlier that day. Yes as you can tell I do keep swaping out Sata Cables with different colors. I guess I like a little color in my box. LOL Big Thanks to Rajahal for pointing me in the right direction the entire time. From The CPU to the cables for the expansion card. If it wasn't for him I would of had to actually think for myself and honestly I'm sure that wouldn't of turned out very well.

@sacretagent I was just looking at this thread again. Its nice to know that my office/computer room is just as messy as anybody else's that is a computer tinker. Messy meaning I have the same parts boxes everywhere and I refuse to throw them away because I can store screws or something in them. LOL

@sacretagent Can you reduce your images? They are HUGE and very hard to see.

Thanks. Using XBMC I've had really good results with rewinding and fast forwarding, but sounds good to me. I'm glad to hear that the extra ram will not be a hindrance or a blessing with regards to caching. LOL

Joel L. I just recently purchased another 2GB stick for my machine for a total of 4GB. Would that allow for more Cachin'g of files or is there a set limit when it begins to over right newer reads over older reads? I'm guessing that the cache of files doesn't take up much memory, but was a bit intriqued enough to ask. I personally picked up the extra memory because it was rather cheap and figured if I wanted to do more I would have the extra Ram.

Stop it you guys before I get the bug to build another machine. LOL I like my Cooler Master 590, but they seem to be harder and harder to find. I really only wish that you could install the 4-3's without having to pull everything out to take out one drive, but I'm guessing that's just the way it is. http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=3927 Features •Accommodates up to eight 120mm fans for efficient cooling-Removable HDD rack provides for easy assembly •A fully meshed front panel provides superior airflow andmaximum cooling performance •Tool-free user-friendliness for quick maintenance and upgrade •The roomy interior allows for dual or triple graphics card setups •Convert three 5.25" drive bays into a HDD module for four 3.5" drives with a 120mm LED cooling fan •Cable Management holes for better cable routing and neatness •Bottom mounted power supply for improved cooling and ease of installation •Front I/O panel provides easy access to a variety of peripherals Buy from NewEgg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

Uh, I guess when it has the Capital Y and the lower case es it means it wants you to type it. Now I really feel stupid. LOL Thanks Joe L

Just got a 2TB EARS drive and dropped it into my machine with Pin 7&8 Jumpered. I started up the script and I get a Clearing will NOT be performed I ran the following preclear_disk.sh /dev/sdf This is what ls -l /dev/disk/by-id Generated lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD15EADS-00S2B0_WD-WCAVY1371380 -> ../../sdc lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD15EADS-00S2B0_WD-WCAVY1371380-part1 -> ../../sdc1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD15EADS-00S2B0_WD-WCAVY1447030 -> ../../sdb lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD15EADS-00S2B0_WD-WCAVY1447030-part1 -> ../../sdb1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD20EARS-00MVWB0_WD-WMAZ20201794 -> ../../sda lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD20EARS-00MVWB0_WD-WMAZ20201794-part1 -> ../../sda1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD20EARS-00MVWB0_WD-WMAZA0138511 -> ../../sdd lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD20EARS-00MVWB0_WD-WMAZA0138511-part1 -> ../../sdd1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD20EARS-00MVWB0_WD-WMAZA0241582 -> ../../sdf lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0_WD-WCASU0114518 -> ../../sde lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 ata-WDC_WD5000AAVS-00ZTB0_WD-WCASU0114518-part1 -> ../../sde1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD15EADS-00_WD-WCAVY1371380 -> ../../sdc lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD15EADS-00_WD-WCAVY1371380-part1 -> ../../sdc1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD15EADS-00_WD-WCAVY1447030 -> ../../sdb lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD15EADS-00_WD-WCAVY1447030-part1 -> ../../sdb1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD20EARS-00_WD-WMAZ20201794 -> ../../sda lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD20EARS-00_WD-WMAZ20201794-part1 -> ../../sda1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD20EARS-00_WD-WMAZA0138511 -> ../../sdd lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD20EARS-00_WD-WMAZA0138511-part1 -> ../../sdd1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD20EARS-00_WD-WMAZA0241582 -> ../../sdf lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAVS-_WD-WCASU0114518 -> ../../sde lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 scsi-SATA_WDC_WD5000AAVS-_WD-WCASU0114518-part1 -> ../../sde1 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 9 Sep 23 23:02 usb-SanDisk_U3_Cruzer_Micro_000016A078713815-0:0 -> ../../sdg lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 Sep 23 23:02 usb-SanDisk_U3_Cruzer_Micro_000016A078713815-0:0-part1 -> ../../sdg1 So I'm pretty sure I have the correct drive, but so far its not agreeing with me.

Yeah I love it. I just add content to my unRAID setup. Turn on my AsRock and it scans it to the Library and then I grab my old school Xbox remote and get sores on my butt from sitting to long. LOL Plays 720 and 1080 content just fine. Probably a subject that should be discussed in another thread or I'd glady talk with you via PM so we don't clutter this one up a lot. Plus the guys over on xbmc.org are awesome for very specific questions.

@Blofeld I currently have the 590 case and really like it, however I dig the side loading of drives you have there with your case. Thats nice and really handy. On my 590 I have to pull out the OEM cage just to swap out a drive and thank god I labeled every cable and my drives so I know where each thing goes back in. I think other than doing some cable zip tieing and cleaning up you have a nifty looking machine. I just kinda pushed some of my cables around to make it a bit more tiddy. I even took some electrical tape and wraped it around my usb cable to usb drive connection to make sure it doesn't come loose. Placed my usb stick on the very bottom under and behind everything so it doesn't get touched and unplugged. Been there before. LOL

For me its the cheaper and more storage of the 3.5 is why I haven't spent much time or effort on 2.5 drives. Of course like you said you could probably build some serious coolness into a stack of 2.5 inch drives.

Maybe hes from Finnland. LOL Sorry to go off topic, but I couldn't help myself.

Honestly the only real reasoning behind the way I did is the box showed blue arrow in and a red arrow out up top. So I figured hey that makes complete since to me. LOL

Yeah I'm running the Cooler Master 590 that has a dedicated fan to blow air across the Hard Drives. It forces air into the case. I do monitor the drives and cpu now and then just to trend it some. So far so good. I do plan on picking up another cage sometime so I could move that top drive that is sitting in the 3.5 adapter and of course that will add another fan and add additional air into the case. Will I eventually need another fan up top not sure as of yet, but as I add more I'm sure I'll continue to trend and see if flipping the PSU is needed, but for now I'm doing ok. I think the only thing I ever hear from this machine is the CPU fan. I thought about installing a passive cooler so its silent, then I thought nah its not that loud, but if I did want a quiter fan I would, but its in my office and my rack makes more noise than this thing ever will. Heres the photos hosting via Image Shack. I'm trying not to well take over this thread so I made them small and clickable. --|-- --|--

I completely agree with "Both" of you. In my case the air is of decent temperature and I wanted the air entering the case to stay so it could be used across the components opposed to a negative pressure and rely solely on the rear exhaust to cool everything. I'm sure if my case was full of drives it would be different, but for now I'm completely happy and Right/Wrong/In different Rajahal was spot on piecing my machine together in the Budget build. It works great and you can't even here it when its there or when a drive spins up with those WD Green drives.

Yeah the reason I went with the way it was supposed to be installed I noticed that when I only had the lower fan on and running air would enter the case and be sucked right out the back. There wasn't a chance for air to flow in and rise up so the upper fan could pull it out. I'm sure when I throw in my drives or install a few more front fans the upper fan that is pulling air out would either need another top fan to exhaust. Right now my CPU is running 20-21C and my drives average 23-30C. Yeah those budget builds are an awesome guide to building a machine. I knew that I would be limited by the Board and the additional break out cards, but honestly I don't plan on having14+ drives. I think right now I'm good at the 6 drive limit and I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on the break out cards. Since I'm not in a rush or anything.

Before anybody mentions. Yes I did cut the tails off the zip ties after I shot those photos.

Its one of the Recommended Budget builds. I'm really happy with it as of now. Cooler Master 590 Case AMD 2.7ghz BioStar Mobo 2gig ram Corsair 400watt PSU 2TB WD Parity green 1.5TB WD green 1.5TB WD green 500GB WD green 500GB WD green I went with some locking Sata cables from Monoprice.com I decided to use all black for data, blue for cache and red for parity. Not shown in this photo is I removed the Cache drive and went with just all data. I tried to tuck everything and keep it as simple and clean as possible. I used the 3.5 drive mount at the top and brought it down low. I noticed that the temp went from 40degrees to around 30 just by moving it. I'm guessing its feeling the cooler air down low since Im not running additional fans other than what came with the unit. I plan on swaping out the 500's with a single 1.5TB or 2TB

Joe L, That new machine looks pretty cool. I like it and a bargin to boot. I think the only thing I would do is put one of those wire grills over those fans unless you don't have kids like I do that see something spinning and have to shove their finger or whatever they can grab to see if they can in fact stop the spinning blades.

What Joe L said. I precleared a 2TB drive while using the server for normal file acess. Seemed to work just fine. As soon as it was done, which I belive was around 36hours I added it to the array.

Thanks guys. I try to read the threads looking for the obvious, but sometimes I don't catch it. Yeah I'll rip more through the results thread that I have been watching looking for things that stand out. I figured it had to log it somewhere and obviously the syslog does sound like the logical location.

I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but I'm going to ask anyways. I ran the preclear earlier on a test drive and my real drives are on the way. I ran the preclear from console and I often see people posting their results. I'm guessing they are posting them from a Putty window or telnet. How do you or can post a log from console?

Sorry guys. Looks like I'm an idiot. It was plugged in and it looks like I had a bad splitter. I was snug enough to read at first and then started giving me errors. Ran through fine after a reboot. Looks like these two IDE's I'm messing with our Dinosaurs anyways I'm guessing one might even be a 5400RPM LOL. Sata ripped through the preclear around 40-49MB, but these things are taking forever around 19MB. Like you said Joe L these drives are probably not even worth the effort, but at least I get to tinker with your script some which works pretty well and get lost in the settings for a bit until my other hardware arrives.