Nathan DeLacretaz
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Xserve upgraded drive won't stay connected

I installed a 2TB WD Green hard drive in an ADM caddy/tray and all seemed normal - but after 5-10 min., the drive disappeared/disconnected without warning.  I didn't have trouble with the drive outside the ADM caddy/tray (it formatted and took data fine)... 

 

In some cursory research, I've seen some folks mention "jumper" settings for replacement drives.  Could this be the issue?  Not sure what these settings involve.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on May 6, 2013 8:29 AM

by beatle20359,Solvedanswer
beatle20359 beatle20359
Level 2 (314 points)
A:

Hi Nathan,

 

the green drives would be fine to use in something like a drobo which also allows you to mix and match sizes of drives (Drobo Pro has to use enterrprise class disks) or you could use them in an ioSafe N2 which is a pretty cool fireproof/waterproof 2 disk NAS, if you need the extra protection it brings. If you search through the forum you'll find some posts with details of models of drives that work perfectly, some need a jumper to change the transfer rate down etc. SATA 3 drives wont work and neither will anything above 2TB. Problem with the green drives is the RPM's fluctuate between 5900 - 7200 so they're not suited to a server or proper RAID.

 

All the best

Beatle

Posted on May 12, 2013 5:25 PM

Close
Nathan DeLacretaz

Q: Xserve upgraded drive won't stay connected

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by matt00,

    matt00 May 8, 2013 7:57 AM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz
    Level 5 (4,015 points)
    May 8, 2013 7:57 AM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz

    Hi Nathan,

     

     

    I've been researching for more information. I found the following resource which may be helpful.

     

    Xserve, Xserve RAID: Apple Drive Module (ADM) compatibility

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1219

     

     

    Thanks,

     

    Matt M.

  • by Nathan DeLacretaz,

    Nathan DeLacretaz Nathan DeLacretaz May 10, 2013 7:13 AM in response to matt00
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2013 7:13 AM in response to matt00

    Thanks, Matt - those look to be specs/compatibility for ADMs with drives pre-installed by Apple...  I actually removed the original 1TB drive from an ADM caddy and put my own 2TB drive into it.

  • by beatle20359,

    beatle20359 beatle20359 May 12, 2013 4:38 PM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz
    Level 2 (314 points)
    May 12, 2013 4:38 PM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz

    Hi Nathan,

     

    I don't think you can use the green drives effectively in the Xserve. I've had success with some WD Black drives, some Seagates and some Hitachis, all ADM's use enterprise class drives.. One thing to try would be the following.. Get a large amount of data that is going to take over 10 minutes to copy and see if the drive stays mounted for the duartion of the copy and then for a few minutes later. You'll probably find the issue is with the green drives spinning down when not in use.

     

    Thanks

    Beatle

  • by Nathan DeLacretaz,

    Nathan DeLacretaz Nathan DeLacretaz May 12, 2013 5:08 PM in response to beatle20359
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 12, 2013 5:08 PM in response to beatle20359

    Thanks, Beatle -

     

    Good point...I copied nearly 1TB onto the green 2TB drive in an overnight copy via SuperDuper and it did take way longer than I expected (12ish hrs...!?).  The spin-down may have been the issue..?

     

    Related: I may try to find a way to use the 1TB drives from the back-up ADMs I bought a couple yrs. back (in addition to some aftermarket drives like the 2TB WD Green) in an NAS array or something similar.  Could I feasibly do this with some kind of NAS enclosure? (I mean, without the internal drive spin-down/compatibilty worries that accompany the Xserve)...

     

    Nathan

  • by beatle20359,Solvedanswer

    beatle20359 beatle20359 May 12, 2013 5:25 PM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz
    Level 2 (314 points)
    May 12, 2013 5:25 PM in response to Nathan DeLacretaz

    Hi Nathan,

     

    the green drives would be fine to use in something like a drobo which also allows you to mix and match sizes of drives (Drobo Pro has to use enterrprise class disks) or you could use them in an ioSafe N2 which is a pretty cool fireproof/waterproof 2 disk NAS, if you need the extra protection it brings. If you search through the forum you'll find some posts with details of models of drives that work perfectly, some need a jumper to change the transfer rate down etc. SATA 3 drives wont work and neither will anything above 2TB. Problem with the green drives is the RPM's fluctuate between 5900 - 7200 so they're not suited to a server or proper RAID.

     

    All the best

    Beatle

  • by Nathan DeLacretaz,

    Nathan DeLacretaz Nathan DeLacretaz May 13, 2013 8:05 AM in response to beatle20359
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 13, 2013 8:05 AM in response to beatle20359

    Thanks, Beatle - really appreciate the input.