XigmaNAS

Hi, I'm now working on my fourth NAS4Free box (if you count the previous version) -- and I've successfully made a transition to NAS4Free instead of the other platform, which I found difficult to work with (around ZFS).

1 PROBLEM -- OLD PC CAN'T BOOT FROM USB -- I have an older IBM Desktop (Think Centre 8187 M50, 3 GB RAM, 2 X SATA) which even with the last BIOS update, won't boot from USB. It will boot from CD.

2. RESEARCH ON SETUP ALTERNATIVES -- I'd like to boot from CD therefore, and store the configuration on the USB. There are several references in the documentation to this possibility -- but despite experimentation and lots of reading, I can't figure it out. And I read quite few forum posts and other things.

3. TARGET CONFIGURATION -- I've found the box gets too hot with three disks crammed in there, so i want to keep the box to two SATA 500 Gb drives. This box is a backup (via rsync) from the primary NAS4Free shared files box.

4. TARGET BOOT SEQUENCE -- This is how I believe the box can boot:

a) Boot from CD specified in BIOS -- Not sure how to set this up or which image to use?
b) Specific config picked up from USB key -- Not sure how to format, mount and use the USB key for the configuration.
c) NAS4Free loaded into memory and away we go

4. FILESYSTEM -- in case anyone is wondering, this box obviously doesn't support ECC memory, so I will not be using ZFS as the file system.

NAS4Free is a truly wonderful product. Anyone with an older box that won't boot from USB can benefit from any answers here. Of course it's possible someone will say, "just partition your harddrives and be done with it"???

Thanks!

John

Have you tried to setup using the livecd version with a USB stick attached? It should work.

If not have a look at this link:
http://wiki.nas4free.org/doku.php?id=faq:0037

I use industrial grade IDE flash in all 3 of mine [either PATA or SATA]
http://www.logicsupply.com/components/s ... h-modules/
yes the 512 Mb is big enough

on some older dells that would only boot from the primary IDE
I would first put the CD on primary and using option #9 install the embedded to the flash on the secondary
then remove the CD, move the flash to the primary, and use the secondary for a pair of mirrored data drives

a small [less than 10 Gb] Hdd from the win-95 era will also work and can be set to spin down after the embedded OS has been loaded to RAM
but yes a live CD and a fat formatted usb [for the config] can work, as the basic config is under 25 Kb. I once used an old 8Mb camera card
these are real mode operations so keep the usb stick under 2Gb

Thanks Ken & Armand -- I will try both ideas -- and report back -- it might now take a week or so as the CF via IDE might be a really good idea and need to source and test.

The IBM M50 boxes (off lease, very affordable, and reliable too) have two SATA and two PATA connectors -- so the PATA connectors are just waiting to be used via a CF adapter. And then I will have two mirrored SATA drives for NAS4Free.

BTW, i really appreciate the speedy and substantive responses. Helps with planning.

no problem

getting the reliable boot is the first of the 3 easy steps

boot
set NIC and IP
set drives pools and services

the choice of reliable hardware is good but for one caution
I have had 2 off lease refurbished boxes [HPs from micro-center]
that contained NOS CD drives that are NOT ATA compliant and will not boot.

Armand,

Fortunately, the IBM NetVista and ThinkCenter desktop boxes (we've tested six or seven unique models) all seem to boot from ATA CD, but only some boot from USB.

John

If your IBM is like this: http://microdream.co.uk/pc-components/d ... p0782.html
or: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-51144

It have a IDE connector, buy or find an old IDE disk and install full Nas4Free on it, and boot from this old IDE Disk, you do not lose valuable SATA ports for Data Disk.

Raul,

Your suggestion is worthwhile -- and it works. I have run a NAS box on the IBM desktops with SATA and IDE -- but the boxes are too small and they get too hot with three disks. (This was buried in one of my notes above.) So for anyone reading this to learn -- Raul's idea is a good one -- except in this case (ha ha, "case") I am looking now to a CF-based PATA/IDE boot (because the BIOS doesn't support USB boot) to avoid an additional disk.

John

Perhaps something like this: http://www.cf2ide.nl/product_info.php?p ... 27b7ed82e7

Raul, absolutely! That is the type of product I'm looking at. Will be another week or so before I can get back to this project. In North America I'm looking at Startech, which makes three versions of this type of product.

* IDE2CF - This requires an IDE cable to connect to the motherboard
* IDE2CFINT - The IDE connector on this plugs directly into the IDE port on your motherboard.
* PLATEIDE2CF - This gives you external access to the Compact Flash Card and hooks up with an IDE cable

The reviews and reports seem good and I've been in touch with pre-sales at StarTech (very quick response, and very thoughtful), and the drivers for the three options above are the same, it's really only the form factor that's different.

This is the situation I found myself in not-so-long ago with an old Compaq Deskpro SFF EN which couldn't boot from USB. I fixed it using Plop Boot Manager first on a floppy disk and then by flashing the ROM to a 3Com network card. Both methods worked perfectly until I replaced the Deskpro with a N40L, see viewtopic.php?f=71&t=811 for the HowTo with a floppy disk. If anyone wants to try this with the Boot ROM, let me know and I'll write a HowTo.