Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
Two simple questions: 1.) What is the performance like with the Spinpoint F4 drives using the NV+ or Ultra 4? 2.) Is Netgear ever going to put these on the compatibility list?
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
enklined wrote:
Are these working well for everyone still?
Mine seem fine. I'd pick em up.
Just a quick edit: I had to patch mine and it was a pain. So make sure you've access to a pc with a sata connection to flash the hdd's. Read earlier posts if you don't know what I'm going on about.
Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
enklined wrote:
Are these working well for everyone still?
I have 12 of them and they seem to be running well, just be sure to patch them. I patched mine even though they were probably already factory patched. Better safe than sorry.
Just be warned that if you run into problems Netgear can, and probably will, deny support since they currently aren't on the HCL.
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
Since there has not been a single reply, let me be a bit more specific. Using Gbit Ethernet (Intel CT PCI-E adapter) and a Gbit switch (or direct connect) with Windows CIFS/SMB: What is your average MB/sec when reading large files to the Ultra 4 when using four Spinpoint HD204UI drives? What is your average MB/sec when writing large files to the Ultra 4 when using four Spinpoint HD204UI drives?
Is Netgear ever going to put these on the compatibility list for the Ultra 4?
This will require a boot disk of some variety to boot into DOS to run the file. All I did was power down the NAS, take out one drive, connect it to the SATA header in my main PC, and run the update from a boot disk. Then replaced that one drive back to the NAS, and powered it up to ensure there was no detremential effect on the drive. With this done, I then proceeded to power down the NAS again, and repeated the update for the remaining 3 drives.
The update will run multiple times on the same drive. It would seem the update only checks for drive compatibility before performing the update. It does NOT seem to check if the update has already been applied. So regardless of the manufacture date of your drive (Mine: HD204UI/Z4 date: 10/2010) I would apply this patch to be on the safe side.
It is not nessecary to disconnect other drives from your main PC, although the paranoid among you may decide it prudent to do so. I have 4 internal SATA drives in my main rig already, and getting access to them and their cabling isn't easy, so i decided to risk leaving them connected. The tool correctly skipped these drives and only updated the single HD204UI drive I had connected each time.
One final note, using Intel's ICH10R southbridge in RAID mode on my main PC, i've lost two HDD's over the last month. Not sure if it's my built in caddy, my ham-fisted handling or the fact that the system is not running in AHCI mode (it does either IDE / AHCI OR RAID mode. AHCI cannot be active when RAID mode is active). I have heard that hot-plugging drives in any other mode than AHCI could prove fatal, so with my experience of losing those (albeit older, redundant) drives I played it safe and FULLY powered down between flashing each drive.
You can download a bootable ISO to use to flash your drives using a CD-RW / CD-ROM if you can't boot to DOS / USB. You can get it here: http://captaingeek.net/tag/f4eg/
It already contains the F4EG.exe upgrade utility. When booting from the CD, choose the default options on each screen UNTIL it asks you for a HDD to install FreeDOS to. Then choose the boot from CD option instead. You'll be dumped to a command prompt. At which point doing a directory listing (DIR or DIR /W) will show the F4EG.exe program on the disk. In my case it was mapped to drive X:.
Just type F4EG.exe and hit enter with the HDD you wish to patch connected to your system. Power down, connect the next drive, rinse, repeat.
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
Oh, I also made sure when the drives were originally installed in the NAS to number each one with a permanent marker. Don't put the drives back in the NAS in the wrong order or you will lose data. Never done something this daft personally, but have heard of people who have.
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
It's not supposed to happen, but then Murphy is always lurking. Yes, it has happened. I number all of my drives whether in an NAS or PC and have an Excel spreadsheet to track them. If you don't want to permanently mark on the drive or attach a sticky, you can use a spreadsheet to track which serial number goes in which bay.
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
I like to use my trusty label maker. In addition to numbering them, I also give them a "Set" letter( i.e. Set A, Set B, Set C...etc) to keep groups of HDD straight since I have multiple NAS's with the same model HDD.
Re: Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM working good so far
Granted you have a lot more NAS units than I do, From my count, you have 36 in service which if you don't have a good numbering system, can get confusing. And that does not count spares and drives in PC's. I currently track 38 3 1/2" SATA drives but have only two active NVX units and one NV+ that is currently out on loan to a friend who is experimenting with it. He's fostering the NV+ and may adopt it. I also have 2 or more drives in 3 PC's and several drives that are used to store information (they are no longer used for NAS service but hold system drive clones and NTSF backups. It's amazing how drives start to proliferate when you have multiple NAS units. I use small rectangular labels that I stick on on the drive and then write the number with a Sharpie. To me drive organization is as important as file organization.
