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Intel SS4200-E Lives Again

I'm going to be dark for a while. I bought a new Alder Lake i7 and Asus mobo today to rebuild my desktop/emby server 2 so I can then use it for active recording from CATV while I reconfigure emby server 1 and do a clean install of windows so I will be busy with that for a while. On top of that I recently got married and I have tons of stuff to do for her since she is a foreigner so I can get her legal status. I know I have a mobo with processor and cpu cooler upstairs in the closet that has an IDE port on it along with SATA so as soon as I get caught up and all my other hardware is up to code I will pull that out and get it running on the worktable long enough to make the image of my DOM so I can get the ball rolling on my Scaleo Home Server. I have a couple 500Gb WD Blacks I can throw in there just to test the unit and software. I am very thankful to have found you and I am very excited to pursue this when I have more time Samir.....thanks for all your help so far and in a couple weeks or so when I have time I will start working on this project and I will report back to you butt soon as I do.

Thanks again....talk to you soon
Totally understand! I've been only able to work on my ss4200-e units periodically over the last few years as I've had 'life' happen as well. :) Those 500GB WD Blacks will be perfect to test the ss4200-e. That's some extensive system reworking you have planned, so best wishes for all that to go smooth, and congrats on getting married! Ironically, I know exactly what that immigration process is for your wife is since a previous fiance of mine was foreign as well as my current wife (who is now a US citizen), so if you need a sounding board on that too, feel free to PM. Amazing how many things we have in common. :) Talk to you again soon!
 
So I have now acquired yet another ss4200-e that was fully running and came with drives. So I think that makes 5-6? ss4200-e's, several readynas units, a couple of qnaps, the lenovo, as well as several synology units. My oh my how my nas family has grown--and the ss4200-e lives on. :)

This particular unit is a Fujitsu unit that was probably originally sold without the dom, etc and then was converted as it looks like the other one that I have that was converted. This particular unit has only 512MB of ram and I think that's what accounts for the slower speeds I'm seeing from it--around 45MB/sec peak reading and 45MB/sec peak writing. I think once I upgrade the ram, it should be quicker.

I still haven't tried the 4x 4TB drives in a unit, and still haven't restored or upgraded my frankstein ss4200-e that I have to build--life still in the way. The one thing I'm considering doing with my newest unit is taking out the 4x 1TB drives and putting in 4x 3TB wd enterprise drives since I do have those handy as a capacity test that's >2TB but still <4TB. And then the other idea is to repeat my ssd test from a few years back since I just acquired some Dell m.2 ssds cheap along with m.2 sata adapters. It would be interesting to see if any advances in ssds has helped the transfer speeds.

What brought me back to this thread was that on this newest unit, it has the same command queue issue with 'spurious completions during NCQ' errors in dmsg since the 1TB drives are all HGST, and I was looking in /etc/init.d as mentioned in the ss4200-e wiki at pbworks.com (ss4200.pbworks.com) and noticed that it referred to an 'S99commandqueue' file that doesn't exist on my newest unit. And in re-reading this thread, apparently this file does exist on my other units, which is strange. My other units are in storage after some rearranging so once I get them online again, I'll need to look at this and maybe revisit the dual nic idea again as it appears there's a nic recognition routine at /etc/init.d/S39interfaces which specifically says that it looks for all attached nics at first boot:
Code:
# cat /etc/init.d/S39interfaces
#!/bin/sh
#
#       find all attached NIC(s) and append to /etc/network/interfaces at first boot
#
##########################################

IF_FILE=/etc/network/interfaces
ORIG_IF_FILE=/etc/network/interfaces_orig
TMP_FILE=/tmp/tmp_interfaces

if [ ! -f $ORIG_IF_FILE ]
then
        echo "auto lo" >> $TMP_FILE
        echo "iface lo inet loopback" >> $TMP_FILE

        for i in `ifconfig -a | grep eth | awk '{print $1}'`
        do
                echo "auto $i" >> $TMP_FILE
                echo "iface $i inet dhcp" >> $TMP_FILE
        done

        mv -f $IF_FILE $ORIG_IF_FILE
        mv -f $TMP_FILE $IF_FILE
fi
I can't remember if this routine actually runs or not at first boot or was even completed since the hardware never ended up shipping with dual nics.

Dual nics may also be more of a possibility with the pcie to mpcie adapters that are available now, but these are typically still realtek based, which I don't know if are natively supported on the ss4200-e. There is a right angle adapter available for the pcie x1 slot from moddiy that might make mounting a regular nic possible since those are getting to be pretty tiny:

The problem will be sourcing some sort of legitimate Intel nic that would be smaller and with the older chipset. I don't think this would be possible outside of the 'gray area' sellers around the world. :(

The more I think and research this, it's really about what card the native e1000 driver will support. If this dell part fhnx8 is really genuine and is supported, it would be a winner:
540-BBMO_v1.jpg

Lots of used ones on ebay too:

I may have to look into a dual nic set up again--because the SS4200-e still lives on. :)
 
Did anyone ever get gigabit ethernet working? If so please post the details.

Wondering if the 2.5GB PCIe network cards available today might work or if there is an eSata to gigbit ethernet adapter...

514NtDtUZtL._AC_SL1000_ (Téléphone).jpg
 
Did anyone ever get gigabit ethernet working? If so please post the details.

Wondering if the 2.5GB PCIe network cards available today might work or if there is an eSata to gigbit ethernet adapter...

View attachment 61574
The unit has gigabit from the factory, but know one I know has gotten dual gigabits to work 'out of the box' besides the experiment I tried.

As far as 2.5Gb, these require a different driver (as do 10Gb cards), so the stock firmware won't support them. In my research even when people have somehow gotten these to work on other hardware platforms with similar limitations, they will strangely limit to 1Gb speeds.

I think the best bet if one needs more bandwidth out of the box is to set up an openmediavault setup with an esata setup that will easily saturate gigabit and even dual gigabit. Of course, today's ssds might do this too on the stock firmware, but I've not been able to confirm that yet as my experiments are still waiting for me to do them. But the ss4200-e lives on. :)
 
Fun to see that the ss4200 is still kicking...

Given that at some point, things will start causing issues - capacitors mostly...

Not sure I would commit any data long-term - but keeping an older device running is a fun project just to say one can do it...
 
The unit has gigabit from the factory, but know one I know has gotten dual gigabits to work 'out of the box' besides the experiment I tried.

As far as 2.5Gb, these require a different driver (as do 10Gb cards), so the stock firmware won't support them. In my research even when people have somehow gotten these to work on other hardware platforms with similar limitations, they will strangely limit to 1Gb speeds.

I think the best bet if one needs more bandwidth out of the box is to set up an openmediavault setup with an esata setup that will easily saturate gigabit and even dual gigabit. Of course, today's ssds might do this too on the stock firmware, but I've not been able to confirm that yet as my experiments are still waiting for me to do them. But the ss4200-e lives on. :)
Thanks for the quick reply. I had forgotten that the built-in ethernet adapter was gigabit!?!

Not sure if Xigmanas has a driver for 2.5gb... Will try to pick up a cheap card and test it out for giggles. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Fun to see that the ss4200 is still kicking...

Given that at some point, things will start causing issues - capacitors mostly...

Not sure I would commit any data long-term - but keeping an older device running is a fun project just to say one can do it...
Yep! And the way it was built, I think it will be 20yrs+ before they start failing en-masse. These were made exceptionally well. And the best part is that they use standard mdadm for their volume so you can simply transplant the drives to any computer and boot a linux live cd/usb and have all your data even if the unit fails. It was a really well made NAS--and probably explains why it's still working for me.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I had forgotten that the built-in ethernet adapter was gigabit!?!

Not sure if Xigmanas has a driver for 2.5gb... Will try to pick up a cheap card and test it out for giggles. I'll let you know how it goes.
You're welcome! I think it will depend on what kernal xigmanas is built on and if it has the realtek driver built-in (most do as they consolidated their 1Gb and 2.5Gb drivers). If it does, it should 'just work'.
 
edit: OH MY GOD while typing this thing up i found a simple solution:
  1. Bootet manually into unraid
  2. gdisk /dev/sdX -> found out the disks still had an MBR, created a blank GPT, w for writing it
  3. dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=512 count=1 to remove the MBR
  4. unplugged the dom
  5. reboot -> boots from usb ...
-> killing 512 removed the MBR, but the partition was no longer usable / mounatable in unraid, dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=446 count=1 after gdisk moving it to GPT resulted in a no boot again ..

Hi everyone,

While cleaning out my cellar, I came across my old Intel SS4200 NAS. It’s been ages since I last used it, but I’m determined to get it running again. Back in the day, I installed a 512MB DOM with the Intel EMC software. Now I’ve made a few upgrades:
  • Added a riser (1x to 16x PCIe) and installed a GPU.
  • Upgraded the RAM to 2GB.
  • Replaced the CMOS battery with a brand-new one.
My goal is to use it with Unraid, which boots fine from a USB if I press F3 during POST and manually select the USB drive. However, as soon as I insert any hard disk, the system insists on trying to boot from the hard disk instead of the USB. It just hangs and completely ignores the DOM and USB, even though both work fine when manually selected.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

  1. Cleared the MBR on the hard disk using: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=440 count=1
  2. Formatted the hard disk with various file systems (no boot partitions).
  3. Checked to ensure the hard disk has no boot parition/flag

Unfortunately, the BIOS on this system seems to revert to its default boot order (SATA first) every time I reboot, and there’s no option to disable SATA boot entirely.

Unraid works perfectly if I boot it manually via USB. I really want to make use of this NAS and avoid adding it to e-waste.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop the system from trying to boot from SATA? Or maybe a trick to get the BIOS to save the boot order permanently?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

( i would consider truenas scale or whatever aswell, but how do you guys bypass the "boot from sata harddisk first" issue? it even skips my DOM with INTEL EMC on it which makes no sense)
 
Last edited:
Love to help you in your quest! There's several people here that have gotten something like openmediavault and freenas to boot, and from my memory it comes down to this--there's an option somewhere in the bios for 'legacy' or 'enhanced' or 'ahci' or some sort of option for the ide and/or sata. Changing this allows or disallows booting off the ide dom.

This page might help under where it talks about booting freenas:

Keep us posted!
 
i removed the dom since i want it to always boot from usb - but as soon as i chuck in any harddisk it fails to boot. tried to disable SATA like the wiki suggests, but then all SATA harddisks are gone and cannot be used :(

only option so far seems to fix the reset button on the back and never reboot the system - instead shut it down and do a cold boot .. kinda silly.
 
Last edited:
I would try keeping the dom installed and see if that makes a difference. The ide/sata controller in the ss4200-e is really custom in how it handles the interfaces and may not like the dom missing.
 
I imagine the boot flag is not on the DOM. That is why its reverting to SATA. But what I would do with what you have is make a boot sector with grub on the DOM drive and customize it to boot the usb.
The only thing that might prevent the DOM from booting would be an incorrect master/slave jumper setting on the DOM drive if its formatted correctly.
Because I think these things has a boot order of IDE->SATA

Its unfortunate that the DOM is not 2G or a 4G one, I would suggest just copying the usb partition to it (using the dd command)
 
History – I’ve been lurking here for a while, and I just can’t find what I need, so it’s time to ask for help.
  • I’ve got one of the Fujitsu branded servers bought new way back when
  • When I bought it I installed (4) 750G Seagate Barracuda HDDs and a console port dongle
  • When I had a drive failure, I was able to install a 1T replacement and everything rebuilt nicely
  • Sometime in early 2022 the power supply died. At that time I couldn’t find a replacement I liked, so the box was pushed to a back corner under my desk
  • I recently decided to resurrect it for use as a secondary backup. I found an FSP power supply that works - I wish some of the cables were longer, but I took what I could get
Present Day - Now that the server is back up and running I’ve discovered some obsolescence issues that has me thinking that it’s time to try to replace the OS.
  • Had to enable SMB 1.0/CFS Client in Windows 11
  • The web interface only uses TLS 1 (disabled in all current browsers)
What I would like to do:
  • Maintain a GUI style management interface that works with today’s browsers
  • Not run the OS on my storage drives (the same way the original used a DOM just for the OS)
  • Host the OS on the IDE port, but I can go the USB route if needed
I decided to give OMV a try because it appears to need the fewest system resources. Even unraid wants 4GB of RAM.
  • I tried every suggestion I found, but I just can’t get OMV to install on a bootable USB drive
  • I attempted to install Debian thinking I could subsequently add OMV, but I can’t get a bootable USB for that either. Maybe there’s a Debian USB tools issue? For what it’s worth – the computer that won’t build bootable Debian USBs will build bootable Ubuntu USBs.
Questions:
  • Does anyone have any helpful suggestions about making a bootable OMV (or just Debian) USB?
  • If I can’t get Debian/OMV to work, what are recommendations for an OS that will run on this server without killing it?
  • Any info about what OSs can, and can’t, be hosted on an IDE PATA drive?
  • Does anyone have any specific info on IDE-to-CF Card adapters that will fit? (has anyone else priced larger DOMs lately?)
 
Questions:
  • Does anyone have any helpful suggestions about making a bootable OMV (or just Debian) USB?
  • If I can’t get Debian/OMV to work, what are recommendations for an OS that will run on this server without killing it?
  • Any info about what OSs can, and can’t, be hosted on an IDE PATA drive?
  • Does anyone have any specific info on IDE-to-CF Card adapters that will fit? (has anyone else priced larger DOMs lately?)
I am guessing you are trying a 64 bit os on a 16/32 bit system. Which doesn't work.
The best I could suggest is getting the current version of Debian which is 12.9 Here: i386-netinst.iso
Then download what you wanted to use from openmedia vault since its a collection of standard Linux programs available everywhere.
 
Last edited:
History – I’ve been lurking here for a while, and I just can’t find what I need, so it’s time to ask for help.
  • I’ve got one of the Fujitsu branded servers bought new way back when
  • When I bought it I installed (4) 750G Seagate Barracuda HDDs and a console port dongle
  • When I had a drive failure, I was able to install a 1T replacement and everything rebuilt nicely
  • Sometime in early 2022 the power supply died. At that time I couldn’t find a replacement I liked, so the box was pushed to a back corner under my desk
  • I recently decided to resurrect it for use as a secondary backup. I found an FSP power supply that works - I wish some of the cables were longer, but I took what I could get
Present Day - Now that the server is back up and running I’ve discovered some obsolescence issues that has me thinking that it’s time to try to replace the OS.
  • Had to enable SMB 1.0/CFS Client in Windows 11
  • The web interface only uses TLS 1 (disabled in all current browsers)
What I would like to do:
  • Maintain a GUI style management interface that works with today’s browsers
  • Not run the OS on my storage drives (the same way the original used a DOM just for the OS)
  • Host the OS on the IDE port, but I can go the USB route if needed
I decided to give OMV a try because it appears to need the fewest system resources. Even unraid wants 4GB of RAM.
  • I tried every suggestion I found, but I just can’t get OMV to install on a bootable USB drive
  • I attempted to install Debian thinking I could subsequently add OMV, but I can’t get a bootable USB for that either. Maybe there’s a Debian USB tools issue? For what it’s worth – the computer that won’t build bootable Debian USBs will build bootable Ubuntu USBs.
Questions:
  • Does anyone have any helpful suggestions about making a bootable OMV (or just Debian) USB?
  • If I can’t get Debian/OMV to work, what are recommendations for an OS that will run on this server without killing it?
  • Any info about what OSs can, and can’t, be hosted on an IDE PATA drive?
  • Does anyone have any specific info on IDE-to-CF Card adapters that will fit? (has anyone else priced larger DOMs lately?)
The problem you're running into is something that happens a lot with the march of technology--older versions that work on older hardware can't be found anymore. :( I don't have any experience with running anything other than the built-in os, but others have run omv and I think they posted links in this thread to the versions they used or at least the version number.

As far as IDE-CF adapters, I like the ones from Startech, but I can't remember if they fit well in the case as I've not used them in the SS4200-E yet.

One thing to consider that may make your upgrade easier is that the drive size limit goes away once you move away from the original OS--so you could simply have 2x 16TB drives and a 1TB for the OS if you wanted and forget about the IDE altogether. From what was previously posted in this thread by people that did install an alternate OS, the IDE had a lot of quirks to so even in its heyday it was a bit of a kludge to get working right.

And one final note, if this is just a backup nas, you could have your primary nas simply back up to this one directly via smb1 or even ftp and not even worry about any upgrades. :)
 
I am guessing you are trying a 64 bit os on a 16/32 bit system. Which doesn't work.
The best I could suggest is getting the current version of Debian which is 12.9 Here: i386-netinst.iso
Then download what you wanted to use from openmedia vault since its a collection of standard Linux programs available everywhere.
Thanks, but.... I had considered that this might be the case so I tried building both the OMV and Debian bootable USBs on a Dell Optiplex Micro 7020. I built the installation USBs on a Windows 11 PC using Rufus and they ran just fine on the Optiplex. I removed all other storage from the Optiplex before I tried to install to a USB. The Installations they built aren't recognized as being bootable.
 
The problem you're running into is something that happens a lot with the march of technology--older versions that work on older hardware can't be found anymore. :( I don't have any experience with running anything other than the built-in os, but others have run omv and I think they posted links in this thread to the versions they used or at least the version number.

As far as IDE-CF adapters, I like the ones from Startech, but I can't remember if they fit well in the case as I've not used them in the SS4200-E yet.

One thing to consider that may make your upgrade easier is that the drive size limit goes away once you move away from the original OS--so you could simply have 2x 16TB drives and a 1TB for the OS if you wanted and forget about the IDE altogether. From what was previously posted in this thread by people that did install an alternate OS, the IDE had a lot of quirks to so even in its heyday it was a bit of a kludge to get working right.

And one final note, if this is just a backup nas, you could have your primary nas simply back up to this one directly via smb1 or even ftp and not even worry about any upgrades. :)
I really do understand the issue with "old". I'm not just grumpy, I'm also cheap in that I'd rather solve a problem with what I have, instead of just buying something new.

I've read about the PATA/IDE issues, but I've also seen comments that seem to indicate that Linux distros might be able to accommodate them using something called libATA.

I hadn't considered using less that 4 drives for storage because that's what I've "always used" with raid 5. You've given me something else to think about. Thanks.

Another reason I want to get off of the original OS is that I need something like NUT. Since I already have enough UPS capacity I don't want to buy another UPS just for this sever. But I do need to be able to run a client that can access UPS status via the LAN.
 
I'm with you--hence why I created this thread in the first place to give these great units a second lease on life if someone has one.

You've got more experience than I do with linux so you can probably make it work how you want it to. One thing you could try is to use an older lga775 based Dell Optiplex and set everything up on that platform and then just remove the drive from the Dell and put it into the SS4200-E. I've found evidence that people were taking the original Intel OS image and turning the Dells into cheap NAS units so they're probably similar enough that this might work.

But something to consider is that you're working with an older system with very limited hardware capability with the ram restriction. I know a 2GB module works and there is probably a 4GB module out there that would work, but that's still very light on ram. Comparatively you could run a hypervisor on a more modern system to run NUT, TrueNAS and more, and even a system just a generation or two later can do that. (And NUT does allow running on a different system than the ups is connected to.) Then you can just use this in its original form as a straight backup. You could also enable NFS and connect to it that way vs smb/cifs.
 

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