The Wiki you're asking for already exists ... Getting started with unRAID.  The problem is that it does not jump right out at you if you are a new user.  Here is how you get there.

 

unRAID Wiki -> FAQ -> 3.1 How do I get started? -> Getting Started with unRAID

 

It does seem like there are a lot of new users asking basically the same questions.  How do I do this ... where is that ... what does this mean?  I will say this though, the users on this forum are so helpful.  I've never seen anything like it before.  They don't make you feel stupid for asking a basic question.  I have yet to see a RTFM on this forum.  This sort of makes up for the lack of a clearly identified getting started guide.  The information is all there it's just scattered about.  I would be willing to contribute some of my spare time to building a getting started guide.  I'm just a noob but it seems like all that is required is good organization skills not indepth knowledge of unRAID or Linux.  All the smart people have done the work already through the forums the info just needs to be logically organized and put together in a single document.  Who is the gatekeeper of the info on the Wiki's?

 

No that is precisely NOT what I am asking for.  That is just more "click around and hope for the best" hotlinks.

 

Clear your mind, forget that you know anything at all about UnRaid, imagine that you have booted your server and are all excited cause you are a few minutes away from having a working system that you can drop files onto.

 

Now look at what you just posted.

 

Initial research, selecting hardware  I have a system running!!!

Building???    I have a system running!!!

First boot???  Well... hmm... there we are.  (about 17 hotlinks down the page).  Except... we are right back to building the flash drive.    I have a system running!!!

Troubleshooting - any time there are problems, start here??? Oh here we go... Holy crap, linux stuff at the command prompt...

Now that it works???  Well... if you call a linux prompt "working" I guess so.

 

"Getting started", first thing in the wiki.  Two pages, NO jumps to other pages, ending with a system that I can switch to Windows and copy files to. 

 

 

Clear your mind, forget that you know anything at all about UnRaid, imagine that you have booted your server and are all excited cause you are a few minutes away from having a working system that you can drop files onto.

Don't you see the irony in that statement?  If you have a working system and you're staring at the unRAID login then I would argue that you do know something about unRAID.  Getting started with unRAID is a little different that it would be with a MP3 player.  In your MP3 player example you've already bought the h/w and all you need to know is how to use it.  For most users the getting started begins with initial research and selecting h/w.  When I came to unRAID my first thought was - this sounds like it's exactly what I need, will my h/w work or do I need something else?  The reason I put that link there was to show that the info is there, just not in the ideal spot/arrangement.  I believe the getting started guide must include info about h/w selection and preparing the USB drive for first boot.  If you're past that point, great then just skip down to the section that applies to where you are in the process.

I tried to clear my mind and look at things from a new user's perspective. I agree that the "Getting started with unRAID" is buried a little deep, but very well laid out. In your case, the "Now that it works" section is where you landed. Both manuals could really benefit from some pictures, but the instructions on how to access the web interface is right at the top. I imagine I would place the web interface in one window on my monitor and the manual in another. Perhaps the manual could benefit from a "if you are in a hurry" section, but all the information is well laid out so you can jump around and find out what different parts of the web interface do. Personally I would like to see some help integrated into the web interface, but that won't happen.

 

Is this the path you took? How could what is existing be improved? Perhaps a section labeled "if you are in a hurry" with a bullet list with just the basics and links to the manual?

wsume99,

 

When you buy a cellular or a mp3, the "Getting Started" doesn't tell you how to select a cellular or mp3, you are already there.  I used the phrase "Getting Started" precisely because every piece of consumer electronics has that and precisely because what is in those little booklets is what I was looking for (and never did find).

 

UnRaid is close to being there.  If you happen to buy a flash drive from LimeWare you don't even have to do that piece.  Plug it in and go.  If you happen to buy the server electronics from Limeware you don't even have to do that piece, plug it in and go.

 

Even if you do those things, and you plug it in and go, you still need that 2 page "Getting Started" manual.

 

I am also willing to work on a "getting "started" guide if you want to pool our efforts.  It will take a little bit of copy and paste from all over the place to get the pieces in a single two page document.

 

I just think it takes someone still fresh, still uncertain, who can still remember what it is that he didn't know and had problems finding.

I tried to clear my mind and look at things from a new user's perspective. I agree that the "Getting started with unRAID" is buried a little deep, but very well laid out. In your case, the "Now that it works" section is where you landed. Both manuals could really benefit from some pictures, but the instructions on how to access the web interface is right at the top. I imagine I would place the web interface in one window on my monitor and the manual in another. Perhaps the manual could benefit from a "if you are in a hurry" section, but all the information is well laid out so you can jump around and find out what different parts of the web interface do. Personally I would like to see some help integrated into the web interface, but that won't happen.

 

Is this the path you took? How could what is existing be improved? Perhaps a section labeled "if you are in a hurry" with a bullet list with just the basics and links to the manual?

 

I love the getting started with unraid, I was there as I was deciding whether to and how to build.  What is just not in there is that big picture with the steps provided of adding drives, assigning them to slots, clearing them, formatting them, sharing them etc. all in a single place (no jumps) so that I can read down it and when I get to the bottom I can go to windows and drag and drop files onto my new UnRaid.  There is a wonderful (really!) manual that describes all of those pieces, but the big picture is missing, it just launches right in to how all of those pieces work.

 

I don't think that discussing the "everything's there if you just look" is useful.  I concede that, and never said it wasn't. 

 

Please understand me, I really like this thing.  I just spent way too much time getting to the actual use.

 

I just think it takes someone still fresh, still uncertain, who can still remember what it is that he didn't know and had problems finding.

Excellent point. 

 

As experienced users, it is not as easy to think of the very basic questions and needs of a new user of the product.

 

We will welcome the feedback and help to make it better.

 

Joe L.

No that is precisely NOT what I am asking for.  That is just more "click around and hope for the best" hotlinks.

 

As you say - everyone sets up their array once and then quickly forgets the voyage of discovery needed to get to understanding.  If the existing resources are inadequate, perhaps a few minutes spent by you adding the links on content that really helped you get on board would be an incredibly valuable.  Reach out to NAS, a user here.  He is the ONLY community member that has access to update the front page of the wiki.  Or contact Tom and let him know your concerns.  If people like you (many of them) said to Tom that you were passing on unRAID based on these inadequacies, maybe he would do something about it.  

 

But you will quickly learn that once you get unRAID up and running, you'll have problems and questions and be looking for answers.  The "getting started" guide will be the last thing on your mind.  Also realize that everyone's goals are different going to the wiki.  If you are kicking the tires you are not ready for a step by step guide to installing.  Can 't be optimized for everyone.  If this was someone's job it could be made better, no doubt.  But it's not.  If you look at the wiki you will see that there have been 70,000 hits!  And messages like yours are rare ...

 

I will add one more passing comment - unRAID is not for everyone.  Optimizing it and especially knowing what to do and not do in cases of disk failure are not always obvious and not documented very well.  The skills to set up an array and keep it running smoothly are much higher than your typical home PC.  And it runs in a non-GUI / command line Linux environment unfamiliar and intimidating to many.  Consider the getting started as the first hurdle and a glimpse into what's to come.  Everything is not clearly spelled out in a comprehensive guide.  And the author is not providing up-to-date documentation nor up to date FAQs and resources.  This is a lot more like shareware than COTS IMO.   But it is very good.  And many people are using it successfully.  And the community is a very helpful resource.  You just need to decide it if is right for you.

 

 

As you say - everyone sets up their array once and then quickly forgets the voyage of discovery needed to get to understanding. ..

It may be a matter of how each individual likes to learn something new.

 

Group (1) researches everything, and by the time they are ready to start the system, and they already know where to go for information. Typically have no problem spending the extra time learning beforehand then doing all the steps of an operating unRAID server.

 

Group (2) learns the unRAID concept, learns what to build...then is blind to the next steps, but have no issue "making the leap", they can always ask here, search, or find it in the wiki.

 

Group (3) wants to only learn what they need to get to the next step. So they organize their research slightly different:

(a) Finds steps to buy and how to build  - BUILD

(b) Finds Steps to get the server running and initial management of server - OPERATING unRAID, All discs fully functional

 

To me these first 2 steps should be relatively painless (cables secure, proper hardware, correct FlASH setup, drives pre-cleared)

 

© If they run into problems at step (1) or (2), research how to fix - TROUBLESHOOT

(d) If they want an option, add-in or functionality they research that after having a operational system - OPTIMIZE.

 

Another group just wants to be led along during every step...

.

 

....If you look at the wiki you will see that there have been 70,000 hits!.....But it is very good.  And many people are using it successfully.  And the community is a very helpful resource.  

 

Agreed that the community and wiki are very helpful. unRAID is one of the best support groups.

It may be a matter of how each individual likes to learn something new.

 

Another group just wants to be led along during every step...

 

 

Give me a break.  I have built more computer systems than most people have ever owned.  From scratch, ordering the parts on line, or even out of printed advertisements in the back of Popular Electronics.  I have installed more copies of Windows from install disks than most people have ever owned.  I have installed (many) raid cards and gotten raid systems up, created volumes, all that nonsense.

 

"led along every step" is a tad insulting.

 

I am not a Linux head, I don't play one on TV, I don't need or want to be one.

 

I am a sole proprietor, a consultant.  Every hour I spend doing anything not billable to a client (like writing this post) is money I don't earn.  Every hour (and there were a LOT of them) spent poking around in the wiki / manual / FAQs is money I don't earn.  It's hard not to get irritated when you are watching dollars going down the toilet.  It is way more than "led along on every step".  In business it is called "lost opportunity cost".

 

I have said it before in this thread, it does need to be a simple "start here and end here and you have a functioning system".  Or come right out and say, "be prepared to spend a day screwing around reading tons of crap that shouldn't be necessary to read".

 

It took me about a single hour to strip down my Windows Home Server, get the flash drive created and booted to the command prompt.  I expected another hour to be dragging and dropping files.  Realistically, that is about how long it should have taken.

 

AFTER learning how to do everything (by endless poking around) this stuff is dead simple.  I will write up a dead simple two page "how to" so the next poor yahoo doesn't have to go through this.

I will write up a dead simple two page "how to" so the next poor yahoo doesn't have to go through this.

I personally thank you for the feedback, and for the offer to put together a "how-to" to help the next person.

 

If you do not want to put it in the wiki yourself, either post it, or send it in a PM to me and I'll add it to the wiki.

(In the user-contributed section, as that is the only section I can edit)

 

You clearly have experience many others do not have, and will never have, and your perspective is needed.

 

Joe L.

I will write up a dead simple two page "how to" so the next poor yahoo doesn't have to go through this.

I personally thank you for the feedback, and for the offer to put together a "how-to" to help the next person.

 

If you do not want to put it in the wiki yourself, either post it, or send it in a PM to me and I'll add it to the wiki.

(In the user-contributed section, as that is the only section I can edit)

 

You clearly have experience many others do not have, and will never have, and your perspective is needed.

 

Joe L.

 

You got it.  I will try and do that this weekend. 

It may be a matter of how each individual likes to learn something new.

 

Another group just wants to be led along during every step...

 

 

Give me a break.  

 

 

 

I think you misunderstood.  I wasn't trying to direct that at you at all.  I agree with your comments. Apologize for not being clear.

 

In fact, you were able to state exactly what I felt when I started my unRaid build a little while ago.

It may be a matter of how each individual likes to learn something new.

 

Another group just wants to be led along during every step...

 

 

Give me a break.  

 

 

 

I think you misunderstood.  I wasn't trying to direct that at you at all.  I agree with you comments. Apologize for not being clear.

 

In fact, you were able to state exactly what I felt when I started my unRaid build a little while ago.

 

AFTER learning how to do everything (by endless poking around) this stuff is dead simple.  I will write up a dead simple two page "how to" so the next poor yahoo doesn't have to go through this.

 

Awesome!

• since windows do not support indexing of non-ntfs systems, it took me a lot of time to find a solution.
  

papnikol, what solution did you find?

 

Set Local Master to Yes.

wsume99, what, exactly does setting Local Master to Yes do? I mean, I can read from the Offical User Manual that "If set to Yes, then the server will attempt to become the local browse master." I'm sure that statement is factual, but what benefit do I have from having it become the local browse master? What happens if the attempt fails? Mine is currently set to "No", and I don't have any problems browsing or accessing the unRAID server (far as I know).

 

I, like jwcolby, am a bit of a techno geek without previous Linux experience. I'm not scared of a command line. I shared some of the same frustrations reflected by his posts related to documentation, but I was taking everything a bit slower and worked through my own issues. It did take a lot of time, though mostly related to add-ons beyond the initial config. My "Basic" system with unMENU has now been up and running for a few months now with no critical issues. This is my first post to the forums.

 

My environment includes a Win7 Media Center, and XP desktop, and two Win 7 Home Premium laptops. The 7MC and desktop are on a wired GigE network, and the laptops are on Wireless N. My initial intent was to have unRAID serve as both a backup server and a media server. I was unsuccessful in getting it to operate as a Media Server, and it is exclusively a backup server right now.

 

I originally moved all of my media content from the Win7MC to unRAID user shares, and added those user shares as monitored folders in Media Center. The performance of the Media Center GUI became almost unusably slow. I tried all kinds of solutions (including XBMC, which worked just fine, but "Live TV" is a critical function for me), and based on my research, I concluded that the problem was that the Win 7 machine wouldn't index the unRAID shares. That's when I effectively gave up and moved the media content back to the Win 7 MC machine, and now unRAID is only a backup server.

 

Further, since I have not yet invested in real backup software, only my Win 7 MC machine (Pro) has the capability to back up to a network location. I might add that I find the built in Windows 7 Backup to be less than fully functional (a known issue on x64 machine with media sharing enabled that won't be fixed until SP1, and who knows when that will be).

 

Bottom line, I haven't "succeeded" in even my most modest objectives. I don't blame unRAID for any of that - it seems to be doing exactly what it should be doing (or at least, advertised to do). To accomplish my objectives, I may need to go to WHS, but I would rather not, for all of the same reasons that led me to unRAID in the first place.

 

So, to bring this back together, would the indexing solution referenced by papnikol help me? Is the Local Master setting related to my issues?

 

And, anyone want to recommend any good free Windows backup software? Or do I bite the bullet and go with Acronis licenses for each of my Windows machines?

I'm sorry but I don't recall what my problem was but I do remember that switching Local Master to Yes fixed it.  See this post for a description of Local Master.

 

I too have a mixed network environment.  I have a Win 7 pc and a XP pc both connected to the server via GigE and a xp pro laptop connected over wireless G.  Non of the machines have a problem connecting to unRAID.  I use MC7 and I don't have any problems with the GUI.  I use Media Browser for my movie library.

OK, so Local Master is just related to name resolution, which I don't have a problem with. All of my Windows clients can see the unRAID shares consistently, so I will take the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach on that issue.

 

Perhaps the size of my media library is causing the MC browsing problem. I have:

• Photos 140,623 files 1,886 folders
  
• Music 7,701 files 465 folders
  
• Videos 6,602 files 270 folders
  

 

All of that is scattered over a 2TB and a 1.5TB drive. Is your media library of comparable, or larger, size?

 

I have not tried Media Browser, but I doubt that is a potential solution for my challenge. I think my Picture, Music and non-movie Video library is what causes MC to choke while trying to browse and display thumbnails. My Movie library is only 284 files over 51 folders (a subset of the Video numbers above). By themselves, MC doesn't have problem referencing unRAID for just movies. But that is such a small proportion of my media, it doesn't really help me.

 

I'm still thinking this "indexing solution" might be a key...

 

 

AZCowboy,

 

I too use Windows 7 Media Center.  I use MediaBrowser

 

http://www.hack7mc.com/category/media-browser

 

which is very snappy.  I was having unbearably slow response times but that was using WHS as the video store.  MediaBrowser was fast with WHS and is fast with UnRaid as well as far as I can tell.

 

jwcolby

• since windows do not support indexing of non-ntfs systems, it took me a lot of time to find a solution.
  

papnikol, what solution did you find?

 

i am using a program called Copernic Desktop Serarch Corporate (my OS is windows 7 64bit). it is good at indexing all kinds of files and quite fast but does not index on the fly and also it does not index directory names. so, if you have a folder call 'Terminator' and the movie file inside it is called 'trmnt', for example, you wont find it using the keyword 'terminator'. still, it is the best solution i have found so far....