[SOLVED] Trouble Booting Unraid

timz · August 14, 2015

I am having trouble getting the unraid box to boot up. I have a 12 disk system and it wont boot. I removed all the drives and it was able to boot up. I also have tried combinations of different drives plugged in just to see if it boots. Here is partial output from dmesg with 4/12 drives plugged in, any ideas?

Iata12.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
ata12.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata12.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata12.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 50/00:01:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x20 (host bus error)
ata12.00: status: { DRDY }
ata12.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata12: EH complete
ata12.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata12.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata12.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:01:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata12.00: status: { DRDY }
ata12: hard resetting link
ata12: link is slow to respond, please be patient (ready=-19)
ata12: SRST failed (errno=-16)
ata12: hard resetting link
ata12: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata12.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata12: EH complete
ata12.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6
ata12.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata12.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata12.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res d0/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x22 (host bus error)
ata12.00: status: { Busy }
ata12: hard resetting link
ata12: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata12.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata12: EH complete
ata12.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata12.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata12.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata12.00: status: { DRDY }
ata12: hard resetting link
ata12: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata12.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata12: EH complete
ata12.00: limiting speed to UDMA/100:PIO4
ata12.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6
ata12.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata12.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata12.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res d0/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x22 (host bus error)
ata12.00: status: { Busy }
ata12: hard resetting link
ata12: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata12.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata12: EH complete
mdcmd (5): import 4 8,64 2930266532 Hitachi_HDS5C3030ALA630_MJ1313YNG4U3SC
md: import disk4: [8,64] (sde) Hitachi_HDS5C3030ALA630_MJ1313YNG4U3SC size: 2930266532
mdcmd (6): import 5 0,0
md: disk5 missing
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:01:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6
ata10.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res d0/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x22 (host bus error)
ata10.00: status: { Busy }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6
ata10.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res d0/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x22 (host bus error)
ata10.00: status: { Busy }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10: limiting SATA link speed to 1.5 Gbps
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: link is slow to respond, please be patient (ready=-19)
ata10: SRST failed (errno=-16)
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
ata10.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 50/00:00:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/a0 Emask 0x20 (host bus error)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6
ata10.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res d0/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x22 (host bus error)
ata10.00: status: { Busy }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 UNKNOWN(0x2003) Result: hostbyte=0x00 driverbyte=0x08
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 Sense Key : 0xb [current] [descriptor] 
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 ASC=0x47 ASCQ=0x0 
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 CDB: opcode=0x88 88 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 00
blk_update_request: I/O error, dev sdc, sector 0
ata10: EH complete
ata10: drained 65536 bytes to clear DRQ
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: limiting speed to UDMA/100:PIO4
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x0
ata10.00: port_status 0x20400000
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 50/00:00:07:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x20 (host bus error)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:07:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata10: EH complete
ata10.00: limiting speed to UDMA/33:PIO4
ata10.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata10.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata10.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:07:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata10.00: status: { DRDY }
ata10: hard resetting link
ata10: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata10.00: configured for UDMA/33
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 UNKNOWN(0x2003) Result: hostbyte=0x00 driverbyte=0x08
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 Sense Key : 0xb [current] [descriptor] 
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 ASC=0x0 ASCQ=0x0 
sd 10:0:0:0: [sdc] tag#0 CDB: opcode=0x88 88 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 00
blk_update_request: I/O error, dev sdc, sector 0
Buffer I/O error on dev sdc, logical block 0, async page read
ata10: EH complete
mdcmd (7): import 6 0,0
md: disk6 missing
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata11.00: qc timeout (cmd 0x27)
ata11.00: failed to read native max address (err_mask=0x4)
ata11.00: HPA support seems broken, skipping HPA handling
ata11.00: revalidation failed (errno=-5)
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 3.0 Gbps (SStatus 123 SControl 300)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11: limiting SATA link speed to 1.5 Gbps
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:20:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 16384 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
sd 11:0:0:0: [sdd] tag#0 UNKNOWN(0x2003) Result: hostbyte=0x00 driverbyte=0x08
sd 11:0:0:0: [sdd] tag#0 Sense Key : 0xb [current] [descriptor] 
sd 11:0:0:0: [sdd] tag#0 ASC=0x0 ASCQ=0x0 
sd 11:0:0:0: [sdd] tag#0 CDB: opcode=0x28 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00
blk_update_request: I/O error, dev sdd, sector 0
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/133
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: limiting speed to UDMA/100:PIO4
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link
ata11: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 310)
ata11.00: configured for UDMA/100
ata11: EH complete
ata11.00: limiting speed to UDMA/33:PIO4
ata11.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x6 frozen
ata11.00: failed command: READ DMA
ata11.00: cmd c8/00:08:00:00:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in
         res 40/00:00:01:4f:c2/00:00:00:00:00/00 Emask 0x4 (timeout)
ata11.00: status: { DRDY }
ata11: hard resetting link

trurl · August 14, 2015

What is the exact model of your power supply?

timz · August 14, 2015

ENERMAX EG651P-VE FM(24P) 550W ATX12V V1.2 Power Supply

Here is a link to the product at new egg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103437

timz · August 14, 2015

Is there some reason you believe it is a power supply problem?

BobPhoenix · August 14, 2015

Is there some reason you believe it is a power supply problem?

If your power supply is a multi rail power supply (more than one source of +12V power) then 12 drives would be at or beyond the limit (depending on the drives). Sorry didn't check out your link myself but is it listed with something like 18Amp +12V1, 18Amp +12V2? If so then you have a multi rail power supply and you are at or beyond the limit of the number of drives your power supply will support. However if you have a single 12volt rail then 550watts will probably be more than enough for 12 drives.

timz · August 14, 2015

The power supply was replaced over a year ago? It has worked fine with it for a while so it would have to have something change with it recently.

BobPhoenix · August 14, 2015

The power supply was replaced over a year ago? It has worked fine with it for a while so it would have to have something change with it recently.

Power supplies age. What worked on it a year ago may not work now if it is a multi rail power supply especially since you would have been very near the edge.

Let me tell you a story I had with a multi rail power supply. At the time I didn't realize it made a difference (long before I started using unRAID). I loaded it up with drives and powered it up. It worked and I was happy. About 6 months later I powered it down to change some hardware - just plugged in a new PCI card. Powered it back up but all it would do was start the fans moving and then power down. So I unplugged all drives and removed all PCI cards and powered up. It worked so put everything back it didn't work again. Finally I put in everything except my data drives and it would boot. So I knew I NOW had too many drives. I didn't have the money to buy a new power supply especially since I thought I needed a bigger supply than I purchased. I began experimenting and found that if I turned the power supply off and then on at the switch on the back alternating with pressing the power button on the case enough times it would start. I think I managed to cache the spindles of the drives while they were still spinning enough to reduce the current draw. I then left it running until I could buy a new power supply or reduce the drive count - or at least I tried. I remember doing the power dance a few more times before I replaced the supply. It wasn't until a few years later when I first started reading the forums here I found out why I had so much problems with a 6 month old supply - multi rail.

And I'm not saying this is your problem. As I said I didn't check out the specks on your supply it might be fine. I just was responding to your question about why the suspected power supply problems.

timz · August 14, 2015

I can certainly replace the power supply to see if that works as a first step.

BobPhoenix · August 14, 2015

I can certainly replace the power supply to see if that works as a first step.

OK I went to your Newegg link and I see this: "+3.3V@36A; +5V@36A; -5V@1A; +12V@36A; -12V@1A; [email protected]". If correct it looks like you have a single rail +12V36A. If you use the 2amp rule per drive it looks like your supply would support ~16 allowing some to be used for MB, Fans and PCIe cards. So it may indeed not be a problem - unless someone disagrees with me.

trurl · August 14, 2015

According to the link, it is a SINGLE 12V RAIL. So perhaps not deserving of our attention yet.

Can you get anything from the command line? If so, type

diagnostics

ignore any errors, and find the diagnostics zip file on your flash drive and post it.

timz · August 14, 2015

OK, here is the output.

tower-diagnostics-20150814-1158.zip

timz · August 15, 2015

So I was able to boot up unraid with all the drives installed. I cannot get to the web interface and none of the drives are mounted. I was able to ssh in to unraid though. I have attached the diagnostics output. If someone could look at it and let me know what they think that would be great.

tower-diagnostics-20150815-1117.zip

trurl · August 15, 2015

Check your connections. Did you try to access the web interface by IP address?

timz · August 15, 2015

I ssh in using the ip address (192.168.1.99).... I did a cursory check of the connections (did you mean SATA?).. This looks like a bigger problem (power supply or motherboard maybe) I tried to connect to the web server using (192.168.1.99), which is what I normally do anyway.

timz · August 15, 2015

Is this some kind of SATA communication error? If so, I am getting errors on multiple drives. So, unless multiple drives had connections errors magically overnight it must be something else right?

ata7.00: exception Emask 0x0 SAct 0x0 SErr 0x0 action 0x0

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7.00: port_status 0x20400000

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7.00: failed command: READ DMA

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7.00: cmd c8/00:08:a0:01:00/00:00:00:00:00/e0 tag 0 dma 4096 in

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: res 50/00:00:a7:01:00/00:00:e8:00:00/e0 Emask 0x20 (host bus error)

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7.00: status: { DRDY }

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7.00: configured for UDMA/133

Aug 15 11:05:35 Tower kernel: ata7: EH complete

timz · August 15, 2015

OK, good news, after reviewing the log file in detail I was able to determine the error is limited to 3 drives (namelely ata5, ata7, ata8) . Also, the webgui finally came up after a long time.. (attached)..it turns out that all the drives that are reporting as "missing" are on the same PCI SATA controller.

So...I am thinking this is a problem with the SATA card (or connection?) correct?

trurl · August 15, 2015

Might just try reseating it. Maybe pull it out and clean the contacts with a pencil eraser.

timz · August 15, 2015

Thanks, I will try that.

timz · August 19, 2015

Sorry for the long delay..i did reseat the card and it worked one time...but subsequent boot ups are not effective.. The array is showing several missing disks all tied to the same PCI card. (see attached).... Can someone recommend a replacement card that will work...I have attached a pic of the "bad card" Assuming the card is bad. Here is a link to the current card on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009U6140?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

UPDATE: I thought I would try and switch the SATA Cards to different PCI slots just to see what happened and even after the switch the same PCI card is having issues. Its looking like that card needs replacement. I have included the link for the one installed but I am open to a different brand if anyone has a suggestion.

UPDATE 2: This one looks like a good low cost alternative (can someone please verify it will work in the same slot as my current card):

Semlos PCI Sata Internal Ports Raid Controller Card

http://www.amazon.com/Semlos-Internal-Controller-4-ports-Sil3114/dp/B00L2X6DE6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1439987729&sr=1-1&keywords=sata+pci+4+port

Thanks..

RobJ · August 19, 2015

I thought I'd comment here, but others are may be more knowledgeable. SI 3114 based cards have been around since the beginning of unRAID, so they are tried and true. They have 4 SATA ports and they're very cheap, but that about sums up their good points. They are PCI cards, not PCI Express, and they support SATA I only, meaning you don't want any modern fast drives on the card, or they will be very limited. That may not mean much to you as you have been living with that to some degree with the Promise card it's replacing. The Promise card at least has SATA II support, but they are 32 bit 66MHz PCI cards.

But I took a look at your list of drives, and this card seems completely out-of-line with your drive purchases. You have purchased high quality high performance drives, such as the 2 6TB Reds. You have been replacing your 2TB drives with 3TB Hitachis and 4TB and 6TB Reds! ANY PCI card you add is going to be like buying a Porsche and then buying old $20 bald tires for it. It will still get you places, but ... Your overall and individual drive performance will be MUCH better with a PCI Express card that at least supports SATA II, or better.

I don't know your motherboard, does it have any empty PCIe card slots? Something to think about, before sinking more money into this setup, consider upgrading the motherboard.

BobPhoenix · August 19, 2015

I was thinking the same thing RobJ. Just too shy to post it.

timz · August 20, 2015

Thanks, I am going to upgrade the motherboard (see my post in Unraid Compulsive Design). I guess I was looking for a cheap card to get the file server up until I figure out what i need to do for my upgrade. The current motherboard only has 2 PCI slots and they are both used by these SATA boards...

RobJ · August 20, 2015

I didn't know that. A cheap card like that sounds like a good stop gap measure, to keep the system operating until your new system is ready.

timz · August 20, 2015

Thanks RobJ....I know I can replace a PCI card but need more time to work on the upgrade....this way I can get the unraid server up and running while I nail down my parts list for the upgrade.

timz · August 24, 2015

OK, I replace the card and the array is good except for one drive has a red x (screenshot attached)...I tried a search of the forums but couldnt find any help...what does that mean?

[SOLVED] Trouble Booting Unraid

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