Freenas Mini with Windows 10

[elementalwindx]

Just in case anyone was wondering I felt I would post this up.

The ASRock motherboard C2550D4I that comes in the Freenas Mini is 100% compatible with Windows 10. Nowhere on ASRock's page does it say that it is, however I have gotten it to work extremely easily. The only driver that is a pita to find is the ASpeed driver (which isn't even that hard to find)

Links: http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C2550D4I#Download (Windows 2012)
ASpeed driver: http://www.aspeedtech.com/support.php?fPath=24 (ASPEED Graphics Family BIOS/Driver Package 1.01 2015-06-3) Direct Link: http://upload.aspeedtech.com/BIOS/v101_whql.zip and I used the driver under v101_whql\wddm installer\win81_x64.msi

All the other drivers can be installed from the first link above. The NIC drivers install by themselves as Intel NIC's.

:) Enjoy for those of you who want to repurpose your mini's.

 

[DrKK]

....why would anyone want to repurpose their Mini?

 

[INCSlayer]

....why would anyone want to repurpose their Mini?

well if you move to a larger server you might have a mini lying around and you want to repurpose it for something else? like a router box or something?

 

[jgreco]

Might be able to resell it here.

 

[Ericloewe]

well if you move to a larger server you might have a mini lying around and you want to repurpose it for something else? like a router box or something?

Sure, but with Windows? I can imagine lots of uses for a Windows server, but router is waaay down the list. Close to "rabid UNIX fanatic defence tool", but not quite "Paperweight".

 

[anodos]

Sure, but with Windows? I can imagine lots of uses for a Windows server, but router is waaay down the list. Close to "rabid UNIX fanatic defence tool", but not quite "Paperweight".

Well, I can think of more inappropriate devices to use as a router. For instance, a mainframe or anything manufactured by d-link.

 

[Ericloewe]

anything manufactured by d-link.

Having been burned by D-Link's atrocious software support before ("ah yes, we have a new firmware that contains essential features like IPv6 support, but it's only for the newer hardware revision of that year-old product you have"), that's a statement I can understand.

 

[jgreco]

Having been burned by D-Link's atrocious software support before ("ah yes, we have a new firmware that contains essential features like IPv6 support, but it's only for the newer hardware revision of that year-old product you have"), that's a statement I can understand.

But that's the model under which the Internet of Things currently works. The idea is to sell as many devices as you can and to treat them as disposable devices. Consider the example of Smart-TV devices, where typically companies manufacture them and support them for about three years (I'm looking at you, Sammy). It seems unconscionable that you could spend thousands of dollars on a product and then have the company just forget about you only a quarter of a way into the reasonable lifetime of the product. But this is the model that tech companies have gotten used to, with phones and tablets, and they'd like to treat other devices as disposable too. But if you are buying a car with an electronics package, or light switches that get wired into your house, or a thermostat that's wired into your furnace, or door locks installed on your front door, these things aren't likely to be swapped out every two years for the next greater model. Ironically I have to give props to Apple, where what they've done with the AppleTV 2 and 3 is closer to what needs to happen with the IoT... the AppleTV 2 went on sale over five years ago, and is still very functional and is still getting software updates. But in general? We can't even figure out to throw enough CPU, RAM, and flash that we can promise five years of life out of a device like a NAT gateway.

 

[Ericloewe]

But that's the model under which the Internet of Things currently works. The idea is to sell as many devices as you can and to treat them as disposable devices. Consider the example of Smart-TV devices, where typically companies manufacture them and support them for about three years (I'm looking at you, Sammy). It seems unconscionable that you could spend thousands of dollars on a product and then have the company just forget about you only a quarter of a way into the reasonable lifetime of the product. But this is the model that tech companies have gotten used to, with phones and tablets, and they'd like to treat other devices as disposable too. But if you are buying a car with an electronics package, or light switches that get wired into your house, or a thermostat that's wired into your furnace, or door locks installed on your front door, these things aren't likely to be swapped out every two years for the next greater model. Ironically I have to give props to Apple, where what they've done with the AppleTV 2 and 3 is closer to what needs to happen with the IoT... the AppleTV 2 went on sale over five years ago, and is still very functional and is still getting software updates. But in general? We can't even figure out to throw enough CPU, RAM, and flash that we can promise five years of life out of a device like a NAT gateway.

Another positive example is Asus' line of consumer gateways. They're still actively developing their software, adding features and patching vulnerabilities - even on older models - and they have a reasonable presence in forums that cover their stuff. I hope they continue doing so for a long time, even if they have to limit the influx of new features to older models due to RAM or flash restrictions, as long as they keep the security fixes coming.

Edit: Specifically, the RT-N66U has been on the market for close to four years now. A selection of features released since then (also available on other models):

• Relatively robust IPv6 gateway features
• Dual-WAN support (including 3G/4G adapters)
• Support for ISP setups that provide IPTV, VoIP and internet access over a single connection (typically using VLANs). I have to commend them for even going after ISPs in smaller markets, like ours - their local office has been working toward including pre-configured profiles for both fiber ISPs.
• Networking monitoring gadgets
• Several network service features (basic NAS)
  
• Numerous security fixes

 

[jgreco]

I'm actually fine with limiting new features. It's the security updates that bother me (or lack thereof). I think I was playing with one of the ASUS devices for home use before I got exasperated and went and bought some Ubiquiti. Now it looks like I might even want to upgrade to the new UAP-AC-Pro stuff

There's actually quite a good argument to separate the wifi from the NAT gateway - especially in my case as I've got no use for the NAT gateway.

 

[elementalwindx]

Thought I would follow up. The ASpeed adapter BSOD'd the machine after several hours, so I've uninstalled that adapter and am just using Microsofts generic video display adapter. No need to find the correct one as this computer is just going to sit there as a file server, even though a monitor/keyboard/mouse is hooked up just like a regular desktop :)

 

[jgreco]

Owww. Love those Windows drivers!

 

[jprouvos]

So you dismantled a perfect FreeNAS-mini to have it run Windows 10 as a fileserver? Didn't you like the background color in the FreeNAS GUI?

 

[9C1 Newbee]

Holy step in the wrong direction, Batman!