Solved FreeBSD on an HP Home Mediasmart Server

PacketMan

PacketMan

Looks like the Windows home server OS is dying on my HP Home MediaSmart server. Does anyone have URLs or documents on how to (a) wire out a video card output, and (b) installing FreeBSD, say version 10? And by (b) I mean recognizing multiple disk drives and installing/mounting/partitioning them the way you want.

Thanks,
Packet Man
 
PacketMan said:
(a) wire out a video card output,
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To do what exactly? You stick one end of the lead in one of the outputs and you stick the other end of the lead in your monitor. Why would it require re-wiring?

(b) installing FreeBSD, say version 10? And by (b) I mean recognizing multiple disk drives and installing/mounting/partitioning them the way you want.
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Start here: Chapter 2. Installing FreeBSD 9.X and Later
 
I'm sorry, @SirDice, for what might have seen like a dumb post, but I asked those questions because (a) the server does not have a video card output connector on it, but I have read you can fabricate a cable and solder it to leads on the board, and (b) the server does not have a DVD drive to read a disc to install from. I have also read that you have to temporarily wire a jumper or two together to get the thing to come up in BIOS mode.

I have installed FreeBSD before so I think I am good there. I guess I should have dumbed down my questions and worded it this way: Does anyone have a URL or document detailing installations of FreeBSD in the 'unique or challenging' environment of a HP Home MediaSmart server.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
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PacketMan said:
(a) the server does not have a video card output connector on it, but I have read you can fabricate a cable and solder it to leads on the board,
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Aha. That's probably a serial console port, not a video port. But a serial console would do just fine, you just need a laptop or desktop with a serial connector and a terminal program.

(b) the server does not have a DVD drive to read a disc to install from.
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You may be able to boot it from USB.

I have also read that you have to temporarily wire a jumper or two together to get the thing to come up in BIOS mode.
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For that you really have to look for someone that knows the hardware itself. Unless someone is familiar with it we probably won't be able to help with this.

Does anyone have a URL or document detailing installations of FreeBSD in the 'unique or challenging' environment of a HP Home MediaSmart server.
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I don't think there are any "ready-made" tutorials. I'm afraid you have to cobble together a bunch of information. But once you have a serial console and are able to boot it (using a CD or memory stick) the installation process for FreeBSD should be the same as for any "regular" PC.
 
At one point, there was a board that added both VGA and serial ports: http://www.mswhs.com/2010/07/hp-mediasmart-vgaps2serial-debug-board-from-vov-technology/. The company website appears to be empty now. Information about the debug connector: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=4416#p4416, http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7295#p7295.

Will it boot from USB? mfsBSD starts sshd(), so it would just be a matter of figuring out what IP address it got from DHCP. Otherwise, figure out which hard drive is drive 0. Then remove it, and use another machine to install FreeBSD on it. Enable sshd() and reinstall. Then install sysutils/smartmond and do a full test on all the drives, because a "dying" operating system is fairly likely to indicate drive failure.
 
Nope no serial console port either. Such a nice machine yet so sucky too. At a loss to understand how a design team could make such decisions.

Anyway, thanks guys, I will run with that. If anyone else knows of what I am looking for then great. If not, then maybe I will end up being the one to write such an article. I'm a very busy fellow so give me 6 months at least.

Thanks again,
Packet Man
 
wblock@ said:
Then install sysutils/smartmond and do a full test on all the drives, because a "dying" operating system is fairly likely to indicate drive failure.
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It has four drive slots. So I just might go buy a new drive, install to that, then add/mount the others, and run the drive tests. At least that way I know I have installed to a good drive. I don't think my drives are bad. I do think I have a couple processes that for some reason have gone sour. I get Event viewer access via RDP for only a minute or two and then it freezes or disconnects.
 
It does have a serial port, it's just on that debug connector. The problem is that it uses smaller spacing than the standard .1", so it will be hard to find a connector to fit. HP (Compaq) and Dell love to do pointlessly proprietary things like this. They do have a little bit of an excuse with that machine, which is supposed to be a little headless server.
 
wblock@ said:
Otherwise, figure out which hard drive is drive 0. Then remove it, and use another machine to install FreeBSD on it. Enable sshd() and reinstall.
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Sorry wblock@, I missed this. Are you saying I can install FreeBSD on another disk drive using another machine, then insert it into slot 0 on the HP box, and boot the machine up? Or will it only boot as far as single user shell, and then with that I ssh into it because from there I will need to reinstall? I got a few spare disk drives laying around so I can the current drive 0 with Windows server and 'shelf' it, and try another.
 
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That can't be true. If it is I will truly be enlightened. :)

When I said "another machine" I didn't mean another HP Media Smart box, I meant any ole other machine, say a Dell PC for example.
 
FreeBSD does not have a cooked-in hardware dependency like Windows. The generic kernel will run on anything from an original 486 or Pentium up to the latest i7. Most hardware is detected at runtime. So yes, installing on a second system then moving the drive does work.
 
Looks like it's not going to be that easy. I pop in a hard drive and it doesn't boot up. I think I figured out my NIC number and changed that in rc.conf, but I'm sure it's not booting up. (No further drive sounds after a split-second of 'scrunching'.) A lot of articles are telling me that I need a VGA debug cable so that I can make necessary BIOS changes, but also NIC is not recognize, and there is an on-board flash that gets used but FreeBSD (FreeNAS) doesn't recognize. Seems many have the impression that a fair bit of anti-hacking went into this box. :(

But I found one article that talks about making a bootable disk, then using a PC to install FreeNAS (so I am hoping I can with FreeBSD), and so on. The journey continues.

Thanks for all your help so far guys. Stay tuned.
 
wblock@ said:
Isn't that what I just suggested?
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Well, not quite, that was an article that was written for FreeNAS, and the bootable disk is USB. I thought you said install to a hard disk. Anyway, I have done both, and the HP box doesn't boot. I can take my USB stick, stick it in a Dell machine and it will boot from the USB stick with no issues. I change the NIC name for DHCP to what I think it is for the HP unit, and try it. I am pretty sure it's not booting because the LED on the USB stick doesn't flash. I'll keep at this for a few more days but I suspect I might have to go buy the debug cable.
 
If the only problem is the Ethernet interface name, use
Code: 
ifconfig_DEFAULT="inet 192.168.1.100/24"
Beware that the options given will be used for every Ethernet interface, so it might be best to use DHCP and then check the DHCP server for the address for a first-time ssh in to change it.
 
Yes !! Done!!

Bye bye Microsoft Windows Home Server. Hello FreeBSD 10.1-RELEASE 64 bit on my HP MediaSmart Server EX470. I got me a Generation 4 MediaSmart Server Debug Board made by Charles Kalapati's company VOV Technology. I changed the BIOS to boot hard disk and set the onboard sata controller to "4P(IDE)+4S(IDE)". I used another host machine to install the OS, and then simply swapped the drive. My original WHS drive is setting on a shelf for now, but I will likely blow away the OS someday and re-purpose that disk.

Now I've just got to figure out a purpose for it. :D
 
Just to be sure : so finally you needed to get into the BIOS first to change the settings on the 470EX, nor ? I have had also a 470EX ( upgraded with more RAM and better CPU) but I never managed to get it booted from an internal HD - so i scratched that beast. I think the 470EX is booting from an internal eprom as a standard. Today I have a Gen6 and Gen 8 Microserver from HP and they are awesome as home server :)
 
Yes I need to get to the BIOS first. It boots from EPROM first, so you need to change that. I'll have to check out those Microservers some day. Just had a quick glance, and they look nice.

Everyone told me to ditch the 'little old' 470EX, but it being my first home server it is dear to me. :) It has worked flawless since I have got rid of Windows, and put FreeBSD on it. That reminds me, I still have the old HomeServer drive. Time to reformat it.
 
Thanks for the confirmation. I had an eagle electrical drawing here over years to do the hack (VGA and BIOS change) in a future, but never had the chance to do so. So I gave it now to one of my nephews for hacking (he is using it with the standard Windows). Was hard to give it away as I also had done the memory and CPU upgrade.

But now I have the two other and I am very happy - I might change the Gen6 into another Gen8 or Gen9 "for fun" - there is no need at home (and I don't know what I anyhow do with ~24TB of storage :D ). Sometimes HP has offers on theses nice cubicles that I can't resist…
 
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