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HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

post #1 of 14
9/7/08 at 5:06am
Thread Starter 
I am out here at Cedia and I have to tell you that one of the
things I am most impressed about is the HP MediaSmart Home Server.

Mind you, it's not made for Mac but it has been reported in their
FAQ that it will work under Mac. The big disadvantage for Mac users
is that you will not be able to use HP's included software, but I can't
see why you can't hook this baby up to Apple Airport USB input and
have the drives available across your network.

Now the next question....

Since this baby has multiple drive drawers, I would like to add
some drives that I already have in my home.

I have about 4 assorted Western Digital MY BOOKS and a Seagate
backup drive. Can these easily be dismantled where I can get my
hand on the hard drive inside and insert it into this Media Center?
Should it work?
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post #2 of 14
9/7/08 at 7:40am

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I can't answer your question but I can tell you that these are really sweet and easy to use. Too bad they come with either a single 500 GB drive or in the larger version two 500 GB drives. I would have liked to have them use a single 1 TB drive and leave the other three bays open for expansion. You can pick up 1 TB Sata drives at Fry's Electronics for about $170. I bought the 500 GB version for this reason and added three 1 TB drives. They are great for storing music collections. Oh forgot to mention that if your external drives are USB you can plug them right into this baby and make them part of the array or keep them separate.
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post #3 of 14
9/7/08 at 1:17pm

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I first heard about the Windows Home Server a year ago, and it sounded like a very clever product: a simple way to share files to multiple computers in a household.

That said, and being pretty ignorant of these things, what does this do for you that a networked harddrive (or drobo) won't?
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post #4 of 14
9/7/08 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

Drobo looks neat but after watching it I found:

* Costs hundreds of dollars more than HP Media Server
when you account for included hard drives

* No remote access where I can draw up files from my
computer from any location

* Only 4 drive slots (HP has 5)
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post #5 of 14
9/7/08 at 5:26pm

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Drobo looks neat but after watching it I found:
...
* No remote access where I can draw up files from my
computer from any location
So the Windows Home Server can be accessed when you're away from your home/office? That's pretty cool.
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post #6 of 14
9/7/08 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I am out here at Cedia and one of my staff
members has the HP Media Center and he
accessed his PC through the HP mediaserver
webpage. I tell you, I am rather impressed
by this device.
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post #7 of 14
9/9/08 at 8:38am

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

Ron, you should be able to put any drive in it, so long as it is the right kind of drive (SATA, IDE) and is configured correctly. If it uses SATA drives, you probably won't be able to use the drives from your external housings, since they are most likely IDE. If it uses IDE drives, they just need the jumpers configured correctly. I swap drives all the time.

Was yesterday cold enough for you?

One thing occurred to me, that since you can't use the HP software, you may not be able to format a new drive in the unit.
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post #8 of 14
9/10/08 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

John,

I would think that if I can access the drives on my Mac (as it is
Mac compatible) that I can format them in Mac Journal.

Once that is done I can use it as a network server. Not sure if
it will be recognized by the entire network hooked through the router
without software, but worse comes to worse, I can hook it up through
the USB slot on Airport Extreme.

Cold enough? In Denver? Nah, it was beautiful -- especially Sunday.
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post #9 of 14
9/10/08 at 3:17pm

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I expect you are correct Ron

I was referring to the one where the high was around 52. Maybe it was warmer there than where I am. It's only 60 miles, but the difference can be significant.
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post #10 of 14
9/10/08 at 3:22pm
Thread Starter 

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

John,

We were gone by Monday so we missed the cold front.
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post #11 of 14
9/11/08 at 11:38am

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I actually purchased an hp mediasmart server, I wasn't sure I wanted to buy one considering I have MANY pc's laying around I could convert into a big storage server. I must say, it was the best money i have ever spent. I highly recommend one of these to anyone kicking around the idea. The backup feature, hot swap ability, no kb mouse or mon needed, tons of storage, accessible via rdt or domain name or console. A must if your worried about losing sensitive data or just need storage for your media center pc's
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post #12 of 14
9/11/08 at 11:45am

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

I purchased one of these jewels to eliminate my backup externals and backups of those backups Reluctant at first, but best money I ever spent. All the features packed into this little box are FTW!
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post #13 of 14
9/11/08 at 11:57am
Thread Starter 

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

Craig,

PC owners love this device....

...but you are posting to Mac owners here and that is what we
need advice for.
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post #14 of 14
9/12/08 at 4:45am

Re: HP MediaSmart Server plus dismantling MY BOOKS

Sorry about that

I have read several reports that the network storage side of this box is confirmed working on macs, however apples time machine application is not confirmed yet. Streaming from from the hpms to a mac works excellent as well. The mediasmart server will have to be setup and administered from a windows box as there is no way to use the hp console software on a mac yet.
The Itunes server is another nice feature that I enjoy, but yet again not confirmed yet to work on mac yet.

The answer to the second question is a yes, I dismantled a few of my externals. Dismantle the enclosure, snap on the hotswap caddy and slide it in. (assuming it is a sata 3.0 hd)
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