i want to no is the hp media smart server any good. Is it good with out the screen. How long does it take to boot up

thanks nathan

The front door does not need to be removed (and if it is removed, the lower grill needs to be removed first to expose the silver screw. The screws that hold the plastic retainers that secure the backplane board do not need to be removed – the plastic retainers will rotate out of the way. All hard drives need to be removed, not just the top one.

Thank you very much for the clear directions. It took me only a few minutes to upgrade my RAM, and it’s definitely running more smoothly now (the console logs in much faster).

So you CAN actually upgrade the memory, however it’s not that easy to do… You have to disassemble the unit by removing the front door (One silver screw on the lower left side). Then remove the lower grill by removing two very small back screws on the right side. The grill then slides out to the right and then you have to unplug a cable going to the front USB port. Next remove the top cover of the case (There is a small plastic release on the inside top of the unit accessed by removing the top drive bay. You press the plastic release up, and then slide the top panel forward.) Once you remove the top, you will need to remove the backplane board by removing one screw from each of the two plastic hold downs. Then remove three cables going to the board assembly (Two go to the fans and I don’t recall where the third one went…). With the cables removed, the backplane board unplugs by sliding straight up and out of the case. Next go back to the front of the unit and remove two silver screws that hold the motherboard/power supply in the case ( One is on the left side and one is on the right; the right side is recessed an inch or so back behind the cables). The assembly will then slide straight out the front of the case and you will have access to the memory SIM…

Hope this helps,

Michael

I am based in Australia and looking forward for the HP Media Smart Server to be released over here. Is there any reason why HP are holding of releasing in Australia? Or is it possible some how to purchase and send over to me here in Aus now?

Regards

Scott

My read on the Port Multiplier statement for eSATA would mean that you can add one of those multi-drive eSATA enclosure boxes for tons more storage.

I was thinking of getting one of the MediaSmart servers but was undecided because of the processor speed and amount of RAM – I thought with this spec the MediaSmart might struggle imaging them overnight initially and streaming to them and backing them from thereon.

Now I know that you can’t upgrade the memory in the MediaSmart I’m even more doubtful.

Question: Does the eSATA port support port multipliers?
Answer: Yes it does, the server is fully port Multiplier aware.

I don’t know enough about eSata to understand this question and answer, but I would hope that such a mechanism would be a lot smarter than usb hubs.