Hardware is being delivered today!!!........Now What?!?


Lunatic

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So the tracking number shows that my hardware is in town out for delivery. I guess I'm going to have a fun weekend putting my first unRaid server together. Which brings up a few questions to some comments I've seen in the forums, but I'll get to those shortly.

 

I need a plan of attack, so...

 

  • Open packages
  • Take Pictures as I go
  • Remove Front and Side panels from Case  1x Coolermaster Centurion 590
  • Install HDD Trays  6x Startech.com 5.25 TRAY-LESS SATA HOT-SWAP BAY
  • Install Case Fans 2 included plus  3x Cooler Master Neon Blue LED 120MM Case Fan 3PIN 22DBA 1220RPM 42.734CFM 3PINS
  • Install Power Supply  1x Corsair TX750W 60A Power Supply
  • Install Motherboard  1x Gigabyte EP45-DS3L
  • Install CPU  1x Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200
  • Install RAM  1x Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB
  • Install Video Card  1x ATI Rage XL
  • Install HDD  2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB
  • Make all required connections
  • Enter Bios
  • Set Boot from USB  1x Kingston Data Traveler 1GB
  • Reboot and watch screen for any problem
  • Connect remotely and configure unRaid

 

Now back to the questions:

 

Case fan configuration - Any recommendations?

 

PSU Installation - Fan facing up or down? WeeboTech suggested up to pull hot air out of the case.

 

CPU Installation - Anything to keep in mind? Speed, multiplier...

 

RAM Installation - Anything to keep in mind? Memory test, voltage,...

 

HDD Installation - Should the drives be tested before adding them to unRaid? What tests to run?

 

Configure unRaid - Anything to keep in mind? Follow the manual? What other info can I use?

 

Any comments are appreciated. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

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I can feel the excitement!

 

Just take your time and double check each step.

 

I'd recommend reading through the "newbie" section in the "Best of the Forums" section (see link in my sig), and also reading through the FAQ (there isn't enough room in my sig for that link, but there is a link from the "Best of" wiki page near the top.)

 

Good luck!

 

 

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author=Lunatic link=topic=2666.msg21854#msg21854 date=1225457267PSU Installation - Fan facing up or down? WeeboTech suggested up to pull hot air out of the case.

 

The case needs to have certain vents taped off forcing air to be pulled through the passive vents over the drive.

 

Clear packing tape is what I used.

On the left side, if you do not use fans, cover the 120MM fan vents.

On the right side, cover the 80mm fan vent.

On the underside, cover the 120MM fan vent if you are using the power supply with the fan on the inside.

Frankly, I would not want the fan pulling air/dirt/dust from the bottom of the case externally through that vent anyway.

On the back tape off the small PCI vent areais.

On the front, For each of the 5.25 vents that are not being used, tape up the front.

 

After doing this my drives hover around the mid 30's to low 40's depending on season (even in the dead heat of summer).

Right now one drive is 24 (it just spun up), the parity is 35 and is always spinning because I have rtorrent running. The parity drive is the lowest slot on the case, so if anything I expect it to be the hottest drive. Yet it works out pretty well in this case.

Parity is a 7200rpm segate.

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Very minor quibble about the order of your list, something you probably already know, because it sounds like you have built computers before...  you normally would install the CPU, RAM, and probably the CPU heat sink, before installing the motherboard in the case.

 

Here's a helpful How-To (just a bit old):  http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=Building_an_unRAID_Server

 

Drives can be tested from the console in unRAID.

 

Have fun!

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I have the same case CM 590.  I did as Weebotech and taped up all the vents except those where I mounted fans.  All my fans pull air out of the case, with 2 - 4in3 backplane modules installed in the upper 6 5.25 bays.  I have 1 fan exhaust out the back, and 1 fan exhaust out the top (the case allows for 2 top mount fans).  I currently have 6 drives installed with temps in the upper 30's.

 

Do as RobJ suggests and install the CPU/Cooler/RAM prior to installing MB in the case.  Install PSU after MB.  Install the Video card last (so it's not in the way). 

 

Don't put the side panel back on right away.  It's kind of a pain to put back on.  Might want to get thumbscrews for this.  I ended up installing/removing that panel about a dozen times before I was satisfied with my hardware configuration and wiring.

 

I'd like to see pics of it when it's done with all that blue neon.

 

Have fun and can't wait to hear/see the results!

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My system is set up and things went well as far as hardware...will post pics soon. HOWEVER, I think my 1.5 TB drives are @#%$. They click, make weird noises and I can't get unRaid setup. I tried to install them in my windows machine and it hung at boot up.

 

Originally, I added one drive as parity and the other as data. Got to 7% parity check and started giving errors. Now I tried both as data and after a lot of tries was able to format them. 

 

I would like to run some tests on them otherwise I won't feel confident of my build.

 

 

Drives can be tested from the console in unRAID.

 

 

How can I do this? Any other suggestions

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Ok, so I think one of my drives is dead. It showed up in unRaid originally, but after running parity check and after all the clicking and weird noises, it's MIA. The other one is still there and I can access it, write to it, etc.

I have tried to use one drive at a time and only one comes up.

 

I have the latest bios.

 

When I try smartctl -d ata -tshort /dev/sdb on the drive that is there, I get:

 

Tower login: root

Linux 2.6.24.4-unRAID.

root@Tower:~# smartctl -d ata -tshort /dev/sdb

smartctl version 5.36 [i486-slackware-linux-gnu] Copyright © 2002-6 Bruce Alle

n

Home page is http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net/

 

=== START OF OFFLINE IMMEDIATE AND SELF-TEST SECTION ===

Sending command: "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line

mode".

Drive command "Execute SMART Short self-test routine immediately in off-line mod

e" successful.

Testing has begun.

Please wait 1 minutes for test to complete.

Test will complete after Sun Nov  2 07:34:06 2008

 

Use smartctl -X to abort test.

root@Tower:~#

 

where are the results? Is this drive good or should I be RMAing both? What can I do to make sure that one that I think is dead, is dead? What can I do to make sure that one that I think is good, is good and will stay that way?

 

How can I attach pictures? I took some screenshots of when both drives where there and after one disappeared

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Smartctl does not do the testing itself, the computer in the hard drive does.  Smartctl is an agent that communicates with hard drives, issues commands to it, and asks for status reports, and returns them to you.  You need to use smartctl to obtain a SMART report, which will list all of the good and bad parameters of the drive, as well as a list of the last 5 errors, and a list of tests run and their results, and whether they are still running.  See that same link above for more info on SMART reports.  A SMART report is a great tool for RMA'ing a drive.

 

How can I attach pictures? I took some screenshots of when both drives where there and after one disappeared

 

When you create a post, there are little icons above, and options below.  You already used the Insert Hyperlink icon, the Insert Image icon is just to the left of it.  Always use the Preview button to check or test your work.  Or you can click the Additional Options... link below, and attach files to the post.

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Ok, so I think one of my drives is dead. It showed up in unRaid originally, but after running parity check and after all the clicking and weird noises, it's MIA. The other one is still there and I can access it, write to it, etc.

I have tried to use one drive at a time and only one comes up.

First think I would try, if you have not already, is to power down and then re-seat the cables connecting the drives to the motherboard controller and power supply.

 

Even if you have done this, try swapping the cables between the two drives.  It might be a defective cable.

 

It could still be a defective drive, but it might save you the task of doing an RMA with the vendor.

 

Joe L.

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Drive cabling problems are the #1 problem with installing hard drives IMO.  Sometimes the cable itself is bad, sometimes there is a cabling problem inside the backplane, or sometimes (for whatever reason), the cable is just not plugged in perfectly.

 

If the cabling isn't perfect, the drive can exhibit all sorts of problems.  Certainly it can cause the drive to just not be unrecognized (actually a good thing because it causes you to figure out what the problem is).  But it can also cause pops and clicks to come from the drive, resets and errors (in the unRAID log), and bad data (ongoing parity sync errors).  Bad cabling is not the only cause of these symptoms, but it is common.

 

I recently did an upgrade and a wholesale drive reshuffling in my case.  I was very careful to make sure everything was plugged in right and secure.  After I was done and got unRAID booted, everything looked great (all drives recognized).  I started the array and it started building parity.  It seemed to be going well, but I checked the log and saw some infrequent resets related to drive "sdh".  Going up further in the log I saw which drive "sdh" was.  I went to the basement to observe and heard some occasional popping and clicking coming from the server.  I shut it down and carefully examined the cable connections to the "sdh" drive.  I unplugged each end, blew out the connectors with some compressed air, and carefully reconnected.  I reran the cable (it seemed a little too close to one of the case fans).  I don't use backplanes so there was nothing to do there.  After reconnecting, everything ran perfect - no clicking or log errors.  (My next step would have been to replace the cable - this cable had been working fine for months and I thought it was probably fine).

 

I am not sure what the effect of allowing the drive to pop and click without taking remedial action.  It could have caused the drive to fail pretty quickly.

 

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thanks bjp

 

when I first started the computer that particular drive did not boot up and after opening the case, I noticed the cable was loose. After reseating it and rebooting, everything was fine except for the clicking and popping from that drive.

 

I was able to add one as parity and the "bad" one as data. It ran through the parity check up until 7% when it started to make more noise and give errors. I stopped the check and the drive showed as unformatted. I reassigned them to 2 data drives and eventually they both came back as formatted and I was even able to copy data o both although accessing them was very slow. I then retried to assign them as parity and data and the previously posted screens are from then.

 

I have now tried to add one drive at a time in different trays. The bad drive does not show up anymore. The other seems ok

 

Here is a link to my "Rig" with some pictures in 3 consecutive posts

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I have now tried to add one drive at a time in different trays. The bad drive does not show up anymore. The other seems ok

The clicking is the drive bring the head back to home position and re-seeking. this is a sign of a problem.

I have a drive doing that. It slows down performance and eventually will fail.

If it stopped showing up in the operating system, then this is a big issue and it could have failed.

Not unlikely with the rate of failure as reported recently. I my self am holding off on the 1.5tb drives for a while.

Grab a smartctl output on this drive if you can or download seatools and test it with that.

If it's going off line, it's not unlikely it has failed.

 

Personally I'm going to try and find a hard drive torture test program to beat the drives up a bit.

I have some new 1TB's and I have the click of impending death too.

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The SMART reports show that you tested the parity drive ('0GT'), and found no problems, but did not test the failing drive ('W1H').

 

Before you do though, I recommend installing the v5.38 version of smartctl, because it understands more of the SMART attributes, and has other improvements.  You tested with v5.36, which is the default that comes with unRAID (through v4.3.3), and its SMART report includes a number of Unknown_Attributes for the newest drives.  For v5.38, see the Best of the Forums, unRAID Addons and Tools section.  The latest v4.4-beta2 includes v5.38, but an important library was overlooked, but can be installed separately.

 

Or install UnMENU, see UnRAID Add Ons page.  It has an extension for testing and reporting on drives, and a package manager for auto download and install of user-created packages.  See this post, for a v5.38 package and the package for the required library.  You can install it from within UnMENU, and run the tests and SMART reports from within UnMENU.

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An Update:

 

I'm pulling my hair out to try to figure out WTF in going on.

 

2x 1.5 TB Seagates - Parity-Sync tests were done for 5 minutes and cancelled

 

Test 1:

Parity drive installed on tray 1 - sata connector # 0 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS010GT

Data drive installed on tray 2 - sata connector # 1 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS00W1H

 

result:

9VS00W1H - HDD activity lights on trays go solid and clicks and pops start and stop and activity lights resume flashing. Eventually there are errors as per the screens posted earlier today

 

Test 2:

Parity drive installed on tray 1 - sata connector # 0 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS010GT

Data drive installed on tray 3 - sata connector # 2 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS00W1H

 

result:

No clicking. Parity-sync went fine for about 5 minutes

 

Test 3:

Parity drive installed on tray 1 - sata connector # 0 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS010GT

Data drive installed with new sata cable and power sitting outside of case - sata connector # 1 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS00W1H

 

result:

No errors for about 5 minutes but some clicking, activity lights never froze

 

Test 4:

Parity drive installed on tray 2 - sata connector # 1 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS010GT

Data drive installed on tray 1 - sata connector # 0 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS00W1H

 

result:

No errors for about 5 minutes but some clicking, activity lights never froze

 

Test 5:

Parity drive installed on tray 1 - sata connector # 0 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS010GT

Data drive installed on tray 6 - sata connector # 5 on mobo : ata-ST31500341AS_9VS00W1H

 

result:

Ongoing, no clicking so far, as per screen

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Parity-Sync complete...now what do I do? Can I trust that drive after all the clickimg? What is faulty? Is it the cable on tray 2? Is it tray 2? Is it SATA #1 on Mobo? I am totally lost?

 

The fact that your parity build went to completion is a good sign.  Look at the syslog to make sure there were no resets or other errors during the parity rebuild.  Run a parity check to make sure that the rebuild actually worked, and again look at the syslog to make sure there were no anomolies during the parity check.

 

If the parity build worked and the parity check verifeid with 0 sync errors, all with no clicking or syslog problems, I think that the drives are okay.  I would, however, recommend that you run a smartctl report on both drives (you could run the short and/or long tests also if you'd like).  (Do this AFTER running the parity check.)  If there are remapped sectors I would be worried.  If you see errors in the smartctl report (I think it keeps 5) indicating unknown commands, that is usually as sign of a data cabling problem (the commands from the motherboard are getting garbled).  Surprisingly, seeing these would be a good sign.

 

As far as why you were having problems on other ports, and how to figure out why, you need to follow a process of elimination.

 

I would try eliminating the trays and hooking the drives directly to the suspect motherboard ports.  Try to boot and run a parity check.  If you have problems (clicking and/or problems in the syslog), I'd switch the cables to another pair, and try again.  You could try a third pair if you continue to have problems and are feeling paranoid.  If this continues to give problems it would point to the motherboard.

 

If you get that to work, I'd put the suspect trays back in the loop with the known good cables.  Don't be too surprised if it works.  Sometimes just unplugging and replugging fixes problems.  If it doesn't, you'll have to start examining the trays for lose connections.  (BTW, I am not a big fan of the trays / backplanes.  They double or more than double the number of connection points in the data chain.  I am in the minority here because they are convenient.).

 

Although you might be tempted to immediately figure out the problems with the other ports, I would probably leave the drives hooked up as they are and run it for at least a few days first.  Load up some data (keep backups of anything important you put on the array.).  Serve data to your HTPC and workstations.  Read the documentation and wiki.  Run parity checks every night.  This will act as a burn in test, and let you gain greater confidence that your drives and configuration are rock solid.

 

Don't get discouraged, most people have some technical issues when bringing up a new unRAID box.  Just take your time, and you'll figure it all out.

 

Good luck!

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thanks bjp999

 

I ended up RMAing the drive. I kept getting errors and clicking sounds when doing a Parity check. Tried changing cables, ports on mobo and different trays, same result, noisy drive and errors.

 

Now I setup my remaining 1.5 TB drive as a data disk and copied files from my PC to it. I started copying about 420 Gb of data at 5PM yesterday and it only finished this morning at around 7AM which is an average of around 30 Gb /hour. I'm guessing that's about right?

 

Now when I get the replacement drive, I will add it as Parity and start a Parity Check?

 

Thanks for everyone's comments

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Now I setup my remaining 1.5 TB drive as a data disk and copied files from my PC to it. I started copying about 420 Gb of data at 5PM yesterday and it only finished this morning at around 7AM which is an average of around 30 Gb /hour. I'm guessing that's about right?

 

That depends. Does that 420GB consist of a bunch of small files (documents, pictures, music) or a bunch of large files (DVD .iso's, HD recordings, etc)? From what I understand, you don't have parity enabled. If so, transfer speeds should not be slowed down by parity calculations. If you're transferring small files or you're on a 100mbps network, 8.5MB/s is normal. If you're transferring large files, probably not. I'm getting around 25MB/s sustained write speeds with parity enabled. I think the bottleneck is due to the TCP/IP stack on Windows XP.

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That depends. Does that 420GB consist of a bunch of small files (documents, pictures, music) or a bunch of large files (DVD .iso's, HD recordings, etc)? From what I understand, you don't have parity enabled. If so, transfer speeds should not be slowed down by parity calculations. If you're transferring small files or you're on a 100mbps network, 8.5MB/s is normal. If you're transferring large files, probably not. I'm getting around 25MB/s sustained write speeds with parity enabled. I think the bottleneck is due to the TCP/IP stack on Windows XP.

 

ilovejedd,

 

I am on a 100mbps network (actually using a modem/router from my ISP provider) and I was copying files ranging from a few Kb to 2 Gb in size. Any suggestions?

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