Single Drive in 2200

[nalgene]

Can I put a single drive into the 2200 and then later add a second? It looks like having individual drives is an option but I can't determine if it's going to like only having one drive.

Thanks.

[blue68f100]

Yes, you just can't run a RAID till you add a second drive. If your planning on running a RAID it best to have matching drives (same mfg, size and Firmware) for best performance. And these Snaps are pretty sensitive when it comes to timming.

Remember the OS is on the HD, so you will need your current drive to transfer the OS. Or make a copy of the boot image so you can recover if it goes down.

[nalgene]

What are my chances of ordering a 2nd drive and getting the same firmware version in 6 months?

I'm eying a :

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKB 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100

[blue68f100]

You never know, all depends if they come out of the same case and or shipment.

With that size you may be pushing the limits of the PS on Startup. So run it 24/7 no routime shutdowns.

[nalgene]

Interesting. It seems like all of the larger drives have similar power consumption stats (around 8.x watts) Based on your experience what would you recommend?

[blue68f100]

This is andy's department, but generally the PS can handle 3 platters max. The newer permpiducular HD uses less platters. I have 300gig seagates in my 2200, but my 4500 has the 250gig WD RE drives. In most cases the 2200 PS will start the unit but it really stresses the power supply. I never shut mine down. It's on my 1500VA Smart-UPS so I have around 90min backup since I do not have all of my equipment on. So once you get the unit on never shut it down to make it easy on the PS.

There was a user that installed 2 1T drives in his 2200 resently. There have been several that have installed the 500gigs HD's. Just don't power cycle the units. It's that peak load that will kill the PS, it's only rated at 5amps. Once you got them spinning your good.

[nalgene]

Thanks. That's good information. I decided to get a single 500gb perpendicular. I will add a 2nd when the first is full. If I get ambitious, I'll hook up a meter to it and see what kind of startup drain there is with the new drive.

[nalgene]

My 2200 has been running very reliably over the last year or so. I have in it a single 500gb drive (Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular recording) ST3500630A ) Now I want to add a second drive and use it as JBOD.

The current drive has (according to the mfg) has a peak draw of 2.8 amps. My power supply says it delivers 3.5 amps. Seems like I'm pretty much at capacity.

Does anyone have any long term experience with exceeding the specs on the PS?

Ideally I'd like to put another 500gb drive that has a spinup draw of 1.75amps.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

PS. I almost never turn it off.

[blue68f100]

I was thinking the PS on a 2200 is 5 amps, switcher type. These can handle the little extra load on startup. Just don't get in the habit if turning it off and on. Connect a UPS to it and run it 24/7 that what I do. Startup is when every thing is stressed..

[nalgene]

I was just looking at the specs on the block. You could very well be right. Is the worst case scenario that I burn out the PS on startup?

[blue68f100]

The PS is what normally fails.

[nalgene]

Couldn't you simply get a power brick that has a higher amperage?

[blue68f100]

You can always do that. But the PS supplied with the 2200 are pretty durable.

[nalgene]

Thanks for the advice. I just ordered the 2nd drive.