Can I out n00b you all... getting started from nothing

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insolent

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Jun 8, 2011
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I dug out my old box, I thought it was pretty slick until I powered it up.

Every fan that is attached to the motherboard either sounds like it is going to explode or rattles the case like an off balance washing machine... so I think I may start over.

Am I correct on this, or am I just that horrible at figuring things out. Is the disk that holds the OS, completely unusable for storage? My confidence in USB thumb drives is fairly non-existent, and I am not seeing too many other options for small affordable media that was made in the last 12 years.

Other part is, I'd like to just order some new guts and put together a machine (hopefully reuse this case) but compatibility scares me. Most stuff like this seems to be intended for older equipment getting slapped together. Anything to stay clear of? Anything that is an easy win, as integrated components?
 

jafin

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My confidence in USB thumb drives is fairly non-existent, and I am not seeing too many other options for small affordable media that was made in the last 12 years.

Had no problems here, 2-4GB sticks are so cheap, just get 2 and clone your stick. If you primary stick dies use your backup and clone it.
 
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Bohs Hansen

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if you're board got an IDE port, you can use that. There are multiple small IDE SSD's for relative money. Another option via IDE is a small adapter to CF Cards. You can even get those single or dual and even run raid on it via the devices. They cost from around 5usd via ebay (new).

I got the same trust issues when it comes to usb sticks, so i went for a small sata ssd
 

T-Monster

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Jun 9, 2011
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Anyone tried those IDE converters that allow you to use CF cards? That way, it's all neat & tidy inside the case... (while it's rattling around like an unbalanced washing machine! LOL)

I looked into this a while back, but you need to make sure that the CD/IDE converter supports ... um... some extra interupt, or cable connection, or something (I forget which), - could be for speed, could be for drive capacity... not sure what it was now... :confused:

I think the ebay items would need careful checks
 
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Bohs Hansen

Guest
I've had no experience with those adapters, as my mainboard doesn't have an IDE port. You can get them many places, ebay is just one of the places I know you can get them .. and I don't mean used ones.

While I just made a quick search, I noticed a new kind. More useful then the old. The ones i knew up till know where just like an internal stick to plug into the slot. The new ones here are a backbracket where you can attach power and ide cable. With that you can switch them without opening the case.
Again, I don't know if they'll work perfect with FreeNAS and I have no idea about the performance - guess that depends on the cards you use.

As example:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ADAPTER-IDE-TO-C...uter_Computer_Festplatten&hash=item483b048504
and
http://cgi.ebay.de/Neu-IDE-40-PIN-4...uterzubehör_Kabel_Adapter&hash=item4aa9f08239
 

insolent

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Jun 8, 2011
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there was a lot of discussion over on the smoothwall forums about using CF media for the drive. It seemed pretty awesome, but it sounded like folks had to tweak the system to keep from prematurely ending the life of the card. I am not sure how differently freenas operates, but it might be something to be aware of.

For the price of usb media, it looks like I will start out in that direction. Some of the smaller SSD's are getting nasty comments, which doesn't surprise me.

I've been looking at motherboards this morning, I can't say I am liking my choices. I suppose it would be best be conservative on the CPU and crank the memory up.

Funny, I started writing this 5 hours ago.
 

marcusmarcus

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May 27, 2011
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Anyone tried those IDE converters that allow you to use CF cards? That way, it's all neat & tidy inside the case... (while it's rattling around like an unbalanced washing machine! LOL)

I looked into this a while back, but you need to make sure that the CD/IDE converter supports ... um... some extra interupt, or cable connection, or something (I forget which), - could be for speed, could be for drive capacity... not sure what it was now... :confused:

I think the ebay items would need careful checks
I am using an IDE to CF adapter in my FreeNAS build. the only problem I had was that with CF card in the adapter plugged into the motherboard, the card blocked the back of 1 of my SATA hard drives so I could not plug the SATA or power cable into it. I ended up getting an IDE extension cable, plugging that into the mother board and pluging my adapter with the CF card into the IDE extension cable. I have been running that since one of the FreeNAS RC. I have not had a problem with it. Boots up quickly for me.
 

T-Monster

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Yeah, I read somewhere on the big wide super interweb about those CF adapters that plug straight in to the mobo, were obstructing air flow around the CPU ... I guess that all depends on the mobo layout, but something to think about.

I quite like the look of Bohs Hansen's 2nd link to ebay - looks like you could change the CF card out - ideal when FreeNAS 12 is released... ;)

I have an old Dell powervault that boots up from a cheap and nasty USB memory stick (the kind you get free with breakfast cereal) - it takes "ages" to start (60 seconds? :)) - but this is for a VMware setup, so it's always on.

I guess the question to the OP is - how often do you turn off / on the NAS to make the CF card worth doing? You might already have a tiny old IDE hard-drive kicking around the place (ie free) that might do just as well?? For example, there's a 120GB SATA 3'5" HDD on ebay for less than the cost of the CF/IDE converter (and then you have to buy the CF card too...?)

(Not that I'd recommend ebay for a hard-drive ...)
 

T-Monster

Dabbler
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Jun 9, 2011
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Getting back to the second thing on the original post - the most important thing I'd say about building any PC - is to check the PSU. If the PSU's one of those light grey one's that came with the case... I'd be tempted to bin it.

If you're going to have loads of hard-drives whizzing around - they'll need a bit of wattage, so make sure you size the PSU correctly - I don't mean worry about the nth degree, I mean just think about how many drives, their power requirements and then check that the PSU can handle that drain with a bit to spare. Worst case scenario is powering up - when all those motors are starting to turn... Last thing you want is the PSU dying and causing a drive problem.

You'll be fine to put one drive in now - but when (not if) you think about more drives, just think about the PSU...

What's your worry about compatibilty? Did you mean with FreeNAS, or between hardware components?

The fact that you're talking about an old case, I'd guess this is for a home network rather than a corporate datacenter? :)

I would say have a look around, just look at the people's signatures in this thread for ideas. For your fileserver what do you need? Big drives which are fast, plus a fast network card. You won't need much RAM, but you just want to make sure the motherboad & CPU(s) can get the data between the drives and the network.

I'd also recommend a Gb network card even if your network's 100Mb - then you'll know it's not the NIC that's slowing you down

Oh - one last thing - new fans are also fairly cheap, plus you can probably get "silent" ones - I had a similar washing machine case that I turned into a media pc... really quiet...

Have fun
 

esamett

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May 28, 2011
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345
tigerdirect sell transcend 1gb ide flash drive. no adapter. no CF card. about $25
 
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