Newbie and "is it for me" Question

[Smort]

I posted this a little while back no a mac forum and it would probably be better answered here.  So here it is...

 

I come here post HD failure. 2 weeks ago the drive in my imac died. All I have to say is thank the heavens for Disk Warrior. I had no real backup to speak of but I was able to salvage almost everything, although it's hard to tell what's missing.

 

At any rate I have, needless to say, been searching for a backup/storage solution so this doesn't happen again. I don't have a lot of movies or music (unlike my brother I buy them) but I'd like to start storing copies of what I have and stream it to a home theatre and itunes express for music. I've had that 'gray screen' with itunes digital copies, and after the crash I can't seem to get them going again as I had in the past.

 

After reading a bit more about the Drobo it doesn't sound like a great solution. Leaning towards the unRaid despite my complete lack of tech skill in that department (I haven't put any PC parts together in years, and even back then is was usually just a vid card upgrade). I'd likely buy the RB-1200, but is anyone else who isn't tech savvy running one of these lime-tech machines?

 

I'm currently running an Imac 2.4 GHz 20"

 

Thanks in advance

[prostuff1]

I posted this a little while back no a mac forum and it would probably be better answered here.  So here it is...

 

I come here post HD failure. 2 weeks ago the drive in my imac died. All I have to say is thank the heavens for Disk Warrior. I had no real backup to speak of but I was able to salvage almost everything, although it's hard to tell what's missing.

 

At any rate I have, needless to say, been searching for a backup/storage solution so this doesn't happen again. I don't have a lot of movies or music (unlike my brother I buy them) but I'd like to start storing copies of what I have and stream it to a home theatre and itunes express for music. I've had that 'gray screen' with itunes digital copies, and after the crash I can't seem to get them going again as I had in the past.

 

After reading a bit more about the Drobo it doesn't sound like a great solution. Leaning towards the unRaid despite my complete lack of tech skill in that department (I haven't put any PC parts together in years, and even back then is was usually just a vid card upgrade). I'd likely buy the RB-1200, but is anyone else who isn't tech savvy running one of these lime-tech machines?

 

I'm currently running an Imac 2.4 GHz 20"

 

Thanks in advance

 

Just like any piece of equipment you are going to have to do a little bit of reading and searching and trouble shooting on your own.  When I first started with unRAID I had no experience with Linux, though I had used the command line on my Mac before and was not foreign to it.

 

If you are looking to just run plain unRAID and don't have any Linux/command line skills you should be fine.  The basics of unRAID are easy to use and do not require much knowledge.  There are "add-on's" that require some skill but you can install those at a later date if you like or when you feel comfortable enough to do so.

 

There is a wealth of knowledge in the unRAID wiki and the Best of the Forums section should get you started.  There are many more sections of the wiki that are worth reading through but those two should get you started.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

[Tim P.]

I echo prostuff's comments.  With the webgui it is really not hard at all.  I don't really understand all of what is going on with unraid, but the good thing is that you don't have to be a computer genious to use it.

 

Frankly, I found that getting the computer to boot from USB was the hardest part.  It wasn't that difficult, but I had to try a few different BIOS settings until I found some that worked.  After that, the rest was pretty easy.

 

The wiki and users here are great for answering any questions.  I look at the support here, and that makes me want to buy this product.  Regardless of what product you choose, I would look to see what kind of support you can get before investing in it.

 

Tim

 

[Rajahal]

Simply put, yes, it is for you. 

[Smort]

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated. I've been reading through the Wiki, FAQ, and forum for a week now and it's very helpful. I'll likely purchase a ready made unit and go from there. Thanks again

[qrismac]

I - just like you - own macs only, am not too skilled when it comes to assembling computers and was gonna go the easy route and just buy a ready made lime-tech unit but nobody offers them in Europe.

 

Now that I have to build it myself I actually quite enjoy getting all the bits and pieces, learning about it, reading lots and I must say it is really exciting.

 

Maybe give it another thought and build one all by yourself   and enjoy the trip and the nice people here ...