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Phoenix32 · 03-28-2010, 08:05 PM

THE PROBLEM(S)

The first problem some people have with the 4400/4500 family is fear of changing drives in them. Let me just say this as direct as I can, this is an unfounded fear. Changing drives in the 4400/4500 family of Snaps is as easy as 1, 2, 3, and any child could do it if they follow a simple step by step procedure that has been documented here on this forum over and over. If you follow the step by step, the GOS is copied over for you and will not be lost in the process. Plus, the GOS will still reside on the drives you removed if you make a mistake. It really is very simple.

The next problem is how not to lose your data while changing drives. Well, your data will not be transferred over to the new drives, and to do the job right, would have the RAID array(s) broken before you changed the drives. Thus, this can be a concern for some folks, but in truth, would be a problem in most cases no matter what you were upgrading or converting over to, so not a specific problem to the 4400/4500 family. The answer is to temporarily store your data somewhere else while you do the upgrade.

The main problem is multi-fold and comes down to the PATA/IDE drives themselves. a) IDE drives are normally limited to availability of only up to 500GB and 750GB drives, b) IDE drives are getting harder to get, and c) Related to b, IDE drives are going up in price day by day. To put it simply, you are going to be limited to 2TB and 3TB in these units and you are going to pay a premium for those drives to do it.

As a further note on this, IDE drives in the 500GB and 750GB capacities have been going up in price to ridiculous levels over the past 6 to 8 months. At the same time, 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB SATA drives have been going down in price at a fairly steady rate over the same period of time. While there are always exceptions to any rule, as it stands now, you can buy reliable 1.5TB SATA drives for less than for reliable 750GB IDE drives, and reliable 1TB SATA drives for less than for reliable 500GB IDE drives. A key word there is reliable, not crap stuff.

03-28-2010, 08:05 PM	#6
Phoenix32 Thermophile Join Date: May 2006 Location: Yakima, WA Posts: 1,282	Re: A Case for SATA on 4400/4200/4500 THE PROBLEM(S) The first problem some people have with the 4400/4500 family is fear of changing drives in them. Let me just say this as direct as I can, this is an unfounded fear. Changing drives in the 4400/4500 family of Snaps is as easy as 1, 2, 3, and any child could do it if they follow a simple step by step procedure that has been documented here on this forum over and over. If you follow the step by step, the GOS is copied over for you and will not be lost in the process. Plus, the GOS will still reside on the drives you removed if you make a mistake. It really is very simple. The next problem is how not to lose your data while changing drives. Well, your data will not be transferred over to the new drives, and to do the job right, would have the RAID array(s) broken before you changed the drives. Thus, this can be a concern for some folks, but in truth, would be a problem in most cases no matter what you were upgrading or converting over to, so not a specific problem to the 4400/4500 family. The answer is to temporarily store your data somewhere else while you do the upgrade. The main problem is multi-fold and comes down to the PATA/IDE drives themselves. a) IDE drives are normally limited to availability of only up to 500GB and 750GB drives, b) IDE drives are getting harder to get, and c) Related to b, IDE drives are going up in price day by day. To put it simply, you are going to be limited to 2TB and 3TB in these units and you are going to pay a premium for those drives to do it. As a further note on this, IDE drives in the 500GB and 750GB capacities have been going up in price to ridiculous levels over the past 6 to 8 months. At the same time, 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB SATA drives have been going down in price at a fairly steady rate over the same period of time. While there are always exceptions to any rule, as it stands now, you can buy reliable 1.5TB SATA drives for less than for reliable 750GB IDE drives, and reliable 1TB SATA drives for less than for reliable 500GB IDE drives. A key word there is reliable, not crap stuff.