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bigo93

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  1. Like
    bigo93 got a reaction from twig1980 in Can’t afford a PC? YOU’RE WRONG   
    No I didnt.
    Reinstalled changing the setting to UEFI modes, even removed all other drives so just pcie nvme drive is in there.
    Still get the winload.efi missing error.

    And now cant seem to get rid of clover from my bios and boot options show 3 possible windows installs. One actual windows the other 2 with no volume locations 😕
    Well tried this cos I was going to do a fresh reinstall anyway. So back to my normal SSD I guess
     
     
    --------EDIT------
     
    So got it to work with a couple bugs.

    First dont use EasyUEFI, it messed up my bios and had to clear CMOS
    Downloaded BDU from https://iowin.net/en/bootdiskutility-en/ as main site download flags as a virus
    Created by boot usb with BDU, if you dont have a partition names CLOVER then you need to redo it.

    Copied NvmExpressDxe.efi from \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\off on the usb to \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\BIOS and \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\UEFI
    Then created a folder called drivers64uefi in \EFI\CLOVER\  then copied NvmExpressDxe.efi to both these folders.

    I removed ALL drives from my PC, even USB drives.
    Only had the pcie nvme and win10 installation usb.
    Cleared CMOS.
    Installed on nvme with all bios settings set to UEFI as mentioned by CoalitionGaming above.
    Removed win10 usb
    Booted with CLOVER usb to complete win10 installation on nvme drive.

    For some reason the windows installation took longer than normal, not sure why.
    Same when I did updates and a restart, took an awfully long time to complete.
    Not as long as the old windows 98 installation days though 😛

    So Windows 10 loads from my pci nvme drive.
    I've attached all my old SSD and external drives again.
    However windows will only detect my external drive.
    None of the other SSDs are showing up even in disk management. Not sure why
    They do show up in the BIOS lists of drives though....
     
     
    ---UPDATE---
    SSDs not showing were due to assigned drive letter conflicts.
    Old Windows installs drive was C: which conflicts with new windows install which is also C:
    External enclosure worked to reset non-windows SSD
    Windows SSD I had to delete the partitions by running windows install usb again, luckily I didnt have data I needed on it.
    So backup if you do! And change drive letters to something else before installing windows on nvme, that should save you from this hassle I had.
  2. Like
    bigo93 got a reaction from CoalitionGaming in Can’t afford a PC? YOU’RE WRONG   
    No I didnt.
    Reinstalled changing the setting to UEFI modes, even removed all other drives so just pcie nvme drive is in there.
    Still get the winload.efi missing error.

    And now cant seem to get rid of clover from my bios and boot options show 3 possible windows installs. One actual windows the other 2 with no volume locations 😕
    Well tried this cos I was going to do a fresh reinstall anyway. So back to my normal SSD I guess
     
     
    --------EDIT------
     
    So got it to work with a couple bugs.

    First dont use EasyUEFI, it messed up my bios and had to clear CMOS
    Downloaded BDU from https://iowin.net/en/bootdiskutility-en/ as main site download flags as a virus
    Created by boot usb with BDU, if you dont have a partition names CLOVER then you need to redo it.

    Copied NvmExpressDxe.efi from \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\off on the usb to \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\BIOS and \EFI\CLOVER\drivers\UEFI
    Then created a folder called drivers64uefi in \EFI\CLOVER\  then copied NvmExpressDxe.efi to both these folders.

    I removed ALL drives from my PC, even USB drives.
    Only had the pcie nvme and win10 installation usb.
    Cleared CMOS.
    Installed on nvme with all bios settings set to UEFI as mentioned by CoalitionGaming above.
    Removed win10 usb
    Booted with CLOVER usb to complete win10 installation on nvme drive.

    For some reason the windows installation took longer than normal, not sure why.
    Same when I did updates and a restart, took an awfully long time to complete.
    Not as long as the old windows 98 installation days though 😛

    So Windows 10 loads from my pci nvme drive.
    I've attached all my old SSD and external drives again.
    However windows will only detect my external drive.
    None of the other SSDs are showing up even in disk management. Not sure why
    They do show up in the BIOS lists of drives though....
     
     
    ---UPDATE---
    SSDs not showing were due to assigned drive letter conflicts.
    Old Windows installs drive was C: which conflicts with new windows install which is also C:
    External enclosure worked to reset non-windows SSD
    Windows SSD I had to delete the partitions by running windows install usb again, luckily I didnt have data I needed on it.
    So backup if you do! And change drive letters to something else before installing windows on nvme, that should save you from this hassle I had.
  3. Like
    bigo93 reacted to Electronics Wizardy in Mapped Network Drive Permissions   
    Try using iscsi. It will make it show the drive shows up and works like a local disk. 
     
    Permissions can be annoying for cifs/smb as its per user in windows, so instlling apps as admin won't often work.
  4. Like
    bigo93 got a reaction from Electronics Wizardy in Mapped Network Drive Permissions   
    @Electronics Wizardy  Thanks for the tip, iSCSI worked like a charm!

    If anyone else want to video tutorial instead of readin stuff
    You dont need to the CHAP login setup if you dont want to, unless you dont want someone else accessing the drive.
     
     
  5. Like
    bigo93 got a reaction from Filingo in Is it possible to get a static IP not from my ISP?   
    idk, create your own VPN or domain. Or set up a DDNS?
  6. Informative
    bigo93 got a reaction from Windows7ge in A How-To Guide: Building a Rudimentary Disk Enclosure   
    @Windows7ge
    Need to add the following, apparently most motherboards will not fully power the expander if they dont have a CPU installed
     
    Easy way to tell if the SAS Expander will work in your motherboard is:
    Turn it on.
    If LED R6 is remains Solid Green permanently then your motherboards isnt powering it up fully
    If LED R6 is Solid Green for a few seconds, then goes to a continuous blink, then it's powered up properly
     
    If you get a constant Solid Green LED then you will need to use a PCI-e Riser instead.
     
    LEDs R4 and R5 always seem to be off, idk why
    But you need R6, the top one in this photo to be blinking, otherwise the expander will not work.
     
     

  7. Informative
    bigo93 got a reaction from TopHatProductions115 in A How-To Guide: Building a Rudimentary Disk Enclosure   
    @Windows7ge
    Need to add the following, apparently most motherboards will not fully power the expander if they dont have a CPU installed
     
    Easy way to tell if the SAS Expander will work in your motherboard is:
    Turn it on.
    If LED R6 is remains Solid Green permanently then your motherboards isnt powering it up fully
    If LED R6 is Solid Green for a few seconds, then goes to a continuous blink, then it's powered up properly
     
    If you get a constant Solid Green LED then you will need to use a PCI-e Riser instead.
     
    LEDs R4 and R5 always seem to be off, idk why
    But you need R6, the top one in this photo to be blinking, otherwise the expander will not work.
     
     

  8. Like
    bigo93 reacted to Windows7ge in A How-To Guide: Building a Rudimentary Disk Enclosure   
    So long as the board powers on yes you can.
  9. Like
    bigo93 reacted to Windows7ge in A How-To Guide: Building a Rudimentary Disk Enclosure   
    What is a Disk Enclosure?
    A Disk Enclosure is a case (most commonly rack mountable) that contains nothing but bare drives, a means to power the drives, and a controller for the drives to use to communicate with a parent system.
     
    Why Would Somebody Want to Build One?
    Less expensive than off the shelf units (often cheaper than the used market) Quieter (being able to choose your own fans) Fully customizable (standard form factor) Easier to repair (standard form factor) The Build Process (an example using Mini-SAS)
    Starting with the enclosure virtually any box or container could be used to build a Disk Enclosure but a chassis designed to hold a lot of drives, a chassis with many 5.25" drive bays (for 2.5"/3.5" drive caddies), or a rack-mount chassis would be ideal.
     
    The Power Source
    Depending on the enclosure different form factors of PSUs are available including ATX, SFX, FlexATX, and server variations (1U, 2U, 4U)/Mini-Redundant/etc are all options. It's important to understand that larger quantities of disks are going to require a larger PSU. Not for the reason of standard operation power draw but because of initial spin-up power draw. Staggered Spin-up is a feature designed to mitigate this issue but your controller and/or SAS Expander may not support it. Depending on your choice of disks datasheets can be found online to tell you how much current (Amps) are required to get the drive spinning. By multiplying this by the number of disks you have (make sure to pay attention to both the +5V & +12V rails) it will give you an idea as to how strong of a PSU you'll need. Make sure to give yourself some overhead for future expansion.
     
    The SAS Expander (the controller)
    There are a variety of SAS Expanders on the market but this guide will only go over one. If you have reason to use another be it better quality, cheaper, or you already have it you may be able to adapt it to work with this guide.
     
    One that will provide modularity and give you 24 ports for HDDs is the HP 468405-002.
     

     
    It can be found on sites like Amazon & eBay for cheap. It comes with a SFF-8088 port (which will connect to your parent server) and eight SFF-8087 ports (6 of which will go to your drives/caddies/or backplanes, two of which can go to your HBA/Controller but we won't be using them).
     
    Powering the SAS Expander can be done in one of two ways, which you choose may be determined by what you have available to you or how you've setup your box. The x8 slot on the SAS Expander isn't needed when the rear SFF-8088 port goes to your Controller. Because of this you can setup a low-end spare motherboard with CPU and RAM. This will just give it power. Then you could connect the front I/O cables to the motherboard for controlling power/reset.
     
    An alternative option would be to use one of the powered PCI_e risers made for GPU Crypto Mining.
     

     
    Some people have reported this hasn't worked for them but instances of this haven't been checked that it wasn't user error. Never-the-less, this method may or may not work for you but it would be a lot cleaner and when building your own box, easier than mounting a full motherboard. Powering the Disk Enclosure on/off could be handled by shorting pins 15+16 (Green wire to a Black wire) on the 20+4 pin cable from the PSU then operating power by using the switch on the back of the PSU.
     
    Additional Components
     

     
    SFF-8088 to SFF-8088 cable This cable will run externally to the Disk Enclosure and will connect to your server. HBA/RAID Controller (with external ports) An HBA or RAID controller with external ports (such as the LSI 9207-8e) will be needed in your server for the Disk Enclosure to interface with it.  
    Optional Components
     

     
    SFF-8087 Cable This will be needed for connecting the SAS Expander to your backplane if you're using one. SFF-8088 to SFF-8087 adapter In the event you have an HBA/RAID controller with internal ports this paired with SFF-8087 cables will allow you to use it in substitution of a controller with SFF-8088 ports. SFF-8087 to SATA Forward Breakout cable If you are connecting the SAS expander to drive caddies or directly to the drives these will be needed.  
    Assembly
    Connecting everything together is quite strait forward.
    Install the HBA/RAID controller in your server. Connect SFF-8088 cable to the back (or though SFF-8087 to SFF-8088 adapter) Assemble the Disk Enclosure Install your drives Connect SFF-8087 cables to backplane or breakout cables directly to the drives/caddy) Install PSU Install unpopulated motherboard or powered PCI_e riser Install SAS Expander, connect SFF-8087 cables. Connect other end of SFF-8088 cable to Drive Enclosure Connect power  
    Testing
    Once assembled a Disk Enclosure is very plug'n'play. Be sure to power up the Disk Enclosure before the server. Your HBA or RAID controller will see the disks connected though the SAS Exapnder and will appear within the OS for whatever you need them to do.
     
    Conclusion
    Building a Disk Enclosure yourself is a very cheap fully customizable option to expanding storage on your desktop or server. How far you want to go with it is entirely up to you.
  10. Like
    bigo93 reacted to Windows7ge in Expand HP Gen8 Server   
    What you'd be looking for is a Disk Enclosure. I'll be finishing and posting a guide on how to do it yourself hopefully a little later today. May prove useful for you.
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