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PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:32 am 
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It's Amazing to see so many people still using the old HP MSS. I just brought my old EX485 out of storage and got it working with UnRAID. Honestly, I tried so many distros, and UnRAID just works. Especially with the original single-core Celeron and 2GB of Ram. Also, I don't know if some previous owner of my unit changed the BIOS (I doubt it). But my unit booted right into the USB (All 3 USB ports tested). No tweets or VGA cable was needed. Also, it boots with all 4 HDDs installed, and all the distros I tried saw all 4 HDDs. Another interesting thing I noticed is I can boot off the Esata port, which means I can add a 5th SSD/HDD on top of my 4 internal HDDs. (One thing to note is I think this is because the EX48x doesn't have the eSata port multiplier, so BIOS sees the eSata port on boot)


Currently using it to hold my media library and have Plex Server running off it. Stream 4k over LAN with no problem. However, Software Transcoding is a no-go. Very easy to set up UnRAID all GUI, and there is no need for Command-Line, which was a very nice change from trying to get Open Media Vault working. Also, Open Media Vault web interface was very slow compared to Unraid. (Probably because OMV runs off the USB and Unraid runs off the RAM, moving OMV to one of the internal HDDs could fix that).

This isn't a knock on OMV. I don't think enough people talk about that very important point. And it's possible trying to get OMV to work on the very low specs of the HP EX485 could have caused the problems that forced me to get into the command line. But then again, UnRAID just worked with the same specs. I will say that with UnRAID, just use a USB2 stick. People say it's better to use USB2 but not a big deal if you use USB3. That was just wrong in my case. I tried three big-name brands. Not a single one would boot. (and yes, I tried many times and would double-check by using OMV boot USB and Proxmox boot USB to make use the EX485 wasn't the problem). Once I tried some noname random USB2 I had it just work the first try.

The next steps for me are to upgrade the EX485. Max the RAM at 4gb and get a quad-core working on the until. I'll also be looking at some type of custom cooling upgrade for the CPU. I'm leaning towards a "Intel Quad Q8200S" for the CPU.

I'm looking to run many. Docker Containers, maybe even a VM if the motherboard supports it, so the more cores, the better.

If anyone can recommend some 4GB RAM sticks (That I can buy in 2022). Thank You. I also need a copy of the custom BIOS required to get some of the better CPU options to work. I've seen many guides online to upgrade the EX485 bios with a custom version, but most are from 2012-2015, and most links are broken now. [b][/b]


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:36 am 
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2.5TB storage
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I totally agree. HP made the MSS very robust, enough that even in '22 it's still a very useable piece of hardware.

I found 4gb memory from Hynix, Samsung & Komputerbay (which is probably Hynix or Samsung) can still be sourced new. Hope this helps

For the Hynix look for:
HMP351U6AFR8C-S6 cl6 800Mhz 6400 PC2
HMP351U6AFR8C-S5 cl5 800Mhz 6400 PC2

For the Samsung:
m378t5263az3-CF7 cl6 800Mhz 6400 PC2

For the Komputerbay:
KB_4GBDDR2_800_1 cl5 800Mhz 6400 PC2

Others that are pretty much only available used are:

Manufacturer / PN# / CL / Note
Crucial / CT51264AA667 / 677Mhz 5300
Patriot Signature Line / PSD24G8002 / cl6 / 2x8 800Mhz 6400 PC2
Patriot Signature Line / PSD28G800k / cl6 / 2x8 800Mhz 6400 PC2
Kingston / VR800D2N6/4G / cl6 / must be 8 chips per side not 16
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline / 991762 / cl5 / 800MHz 6400
G.SKILL / F2-6400 CL5S-4GBPQ / cl5 / 800MHz
G.SKILL / F2-6400CL6S-4GBMQ / cl6

_________________
Hi All, Thanks to everyone for your continued effort to keep the MSS & WHS alive. Haven't registered yet? Please do so the moderators know your here!

ex49x/v1 (toyin w/Vail)
VGA
Q8200s w/two 30mm cooling fans
4gb Ram
Rear Casecover Cooling Mod


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