New Unraid User Introduction

[HotWaterJoe]

Short Story:  I wish I had discovered Unraid 2 years ago!

Long Story:  

Background:  I've had an HP Mediasmart Server EX-485 for many years.  Last year I decided that it was time to upgrade.  I bought a used HP Gen 7 Microserver and proceeded to build a Windows Home Server 2012 using StableBit DrivePool and StableBit Scanner.  

I kept using the HP Mediasmart as a backup NAS but it was really time to dump it.

2 weeks ago:  I "discovered" Unraid.  Downloaded the trial and used the HP Mediasmart as my test bed.  I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was to get the server up and running.  All I want or need is a NAS box.  After 2-3 days of playing around I purchased the Unraid license and started looking for a new server box.

1 week ago:  I found a used HP Microserver Gen 8 from a very nice guy in Texas.  

2 days ago:  I simply moved the USB stick from the Mediasmart to the internal USB port on the Gen 8 and moved the drives from one box to the other.  That is all I did.  The new server came up immediately - I was pleasantly amazed.

Present day:  I have tons to learn.  I did learn the importance of having a parity drive.  And I've just started to look at the software community.  My next venture will be to add an SSD cache to the Gen 8 box.

I just wanted to share my little story and how pleased I am to find Unraid.   I'm 73 years old and only mildly technical - if I can build an Unraid NAS anyone can!

Thanks for reading

 

Bill

[peterg23]

Welcome aboard Bill.

I recommend Ed's excellent Unraid videos here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZDfnUn74N0WeAPvMqTOrtA/videos

Edited November 4, 2021 by peterg23

[awediohead]

Welcome to the forums Bill

I second peterg23's recommendation that you check out SpaceInvaderOne's (aka Ed) You Tube channel - and not just the most recent ones! In fact you can easily find very helpful video tutorials going back four or five years, unRAID's GUI might look a bit different (and don't be put off by that) - the fundamentals not having changed all that much.

 

In fact, most of my most frustrating total wastes of time have come out of my trying to follow more apparently "modern" ways of doing things, only to have to revert everything to the way Ed suggested they be done in the first place!

The You Tube comments sections to his videos are littered with people saying, "If it weren't for your videos I wouldn't have an unRAID server / would have given up" - and I'm absolutely one of them.