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My dead Shuttle K45 Home Server :(

E

extremist

n00b
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
3
Well my little Shuttle KPC K45 Windows Home server died... blew some caps. I actually tried replacing the caps, but with no luck. Frankly I suck at soldering, so might be skill related.

I REALLY want to get this box up and running as CHEAPLY as possible. The whole barebones cost me $99 new from Newegg.

Is there a cheap mITX motherboard that can still be purchased that can re-use my components?

I have two sticks of DDR2 667 and a Celeron E1200 1.6Ghz LGA 775 cpu.

Help! I'm pulling my hair out trying to find something on the cheap! I don't want to spend a lot on a headless server box. Cheaper is better! :)
 
One of my K45 mobos just died too.
I replaced it with the Intel Atom mobo that CrimandEvil listed above.
Perfect fit in the old K45 case.
 
Well... after reviewing my options I think for the time being I will try to setup another box.

It would be awesome if I could re-purpouse the old Shuttle KPC case into an external sata drive enclosure.

Has anyone done anything like that with one of these cases? :)
 
extremist said:
Well... after reviewing my options I think for the time being I will try to setup another box.
Click to expand...
Mini-ITX can do that to you...

Apart from that Zotac 7100-based mobo, you can try three other from Intel: DG45FC, DQ45EK and DG41MJ. This last one can actually be cheaper than getting a uATX case+PSU+motherboard, and at least slightly better than the standard KPC motherboard.

DG41MJIt would be awesome if I could re-purpouse the old Shuttle KPC case into an external sata drive enclosure.[/QUOTE]
I believe that is doable.

First, you need to rig the KPC hardware buttons in a way they "stick" to the on or off position, and connect one of the leads to pin 14 on the PSU ATX connector (the green wire), and the other one to a ground wire (black). That way you can control the power flow to the drives.

Then, you'll need an eSATA port multiplier, like this. I'd recommend the PCI eSATA version, that way you can put it on the PCI expansion bracket and be done with it. Up to five drives will fit in the KPC box like that.

Cheers.

Miguel


EDIT: My bad, I had some information wrong. That Port Multiplier will only let you work with 5 individual drives if you have an eSATA port based on a port-multiplier aware controller manufactured by SiI. Sorry about that. However, 2-port PCIe SiI-based (3132) controllers are usually rather cheap nowadays. The controller is like 3 times more expensive...
 
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for you guys who swapped to the Intel atom boards...

how difficult is it to fit 2x 3.5" HDs in the K45?

I can get one for cheap, though only if I could get 2 HDs in there.

Thanks!
 
Cliff Couser said:
for you guys who swapped to the Intel atom boards...

how difficult is it to fit 2x 3.5" HDs in the K45?

I can get one for cheap, though only if I could get 2 HDs in there.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Cliff
There are mounts for 2 hdd in the case. They are in a stacked configuration. I am running mine as a server with WHS no CD and only 1 HDD at the moment.
 
I'm curious how this works out. Been using a K45 since release with pretty much the same setup as the OP, running TVersity and Magicjack. It already has a new PSU from when it was 8 mo old (the first fan started making noise and then bit it).
 
Curious where did you get the replacement PSU and how much? My PSU died and fill the room with a horrible burnt smell. Luckily there wasn't a fire as this happened while I was at work.
 
JohnleMVP said:
Curious where did you get the replacement PSU and how much? My PSU died and fill the room with a horrible burnt smell. Luckily there wasn't a fire as this happened while I was at work.
Click to expand...

It's a regular 1U PSU.
 
Hello you guys,

last month my k45 died due to bad capacitors. after searching on the internet i found this topic and it was very helpfull to me.

i decided to buy the intel DG41MJ as an replacement for the k45 motherbord. after installing i was preparing to do the whole install of my Windows Home Server again, but this wasn't necessary. after installing the chipset and lan drivers I was ready to go, this was a very pleasant suprise! i did not lose any settings or so.

just want to share this information with you so other people with the same problem will have some more info about this topic.
 
JohnleMVP said:
Curious where did you get the replacement PSU and how much? My PSU died and fill the room with a horrible burnt smell. Luckily there wasn't a fire as this happened while I was at work.
Click to expand...

A little late reply here.

I ordered a PicoPSU but never got the 100w power brick to go with it. Budget was tight at the time. The Pico is still sitting in my misc hardware box.

Instead I RMA'd it to Shuttle. They had really great customer service (I got a human, no annoying hold time, etc). They let me RMA just the power supply, which is a lot nicer than most companies. I stuffed it into a manilla envelope and got a new PSU for the cost of shipping to them ($8ish).

So far my K45 is still trucking, although the fan is a tiny bit noiser than it used to be.
 
Apparently from other sites, the system is very failure prone, psu's and mobo's going bad. ouch.
 
Bump

My K45 died. Looks like a bad motherboard (possibly CPU...but I find that unlikely...maybe test later).

I love the case and form factor (minus lack of front USB) and I'm trying to figure out what to do to fix it.

Is a dual-core atom 330 much slower for video transcoding than a Celeron e1200?

This article suggests the 330 isn't much slower that an e1200...maybe with an ION board?

I'm debating between a MITX core2 board (since I have the e1200 still...I think it works that is) and one of the Atom 330 boards. Guess I'm not sure if it can handle video transcoding OK. I saw there's a couple of Intel CULV boards...but they don't seem that much faster for the price. I still have lots of DDR2 and the PicoPSU also.

Anything on the horizon? I think for now I'll repurpose my video capture box to serve up the media...maybe do something by January.
 
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Cliff Couser said:
I would do the same. The Atom based CPU's are really not that good for anything beyond file serving. I have a D510. THe D525 won't be any faster either.

DDR3 prices have really dropped as well. You could sell some of your DDR2.

If I was looking to buy in the near future, I would be looking for i3 and USB 3.0 support.
Click to expand...

Dude your doing something wrong.. I had an Intel d510 board running WHS & I used it to transcode Video for my Tivo's & it was a little better then 1/2 speed at DVD quality. Lower quality xvids it would keep up with real time.

This all being said the Athlon II x2 240e at 45w TDP & available now would be a good option. AMD also has a few lower TDP AMx chips that are harder to come by as well, Not to mention 3 x4 chips at 45w tdp. & your not waiting for intel to release them at the cost of a weeks pay.


Edit.. 25w TDP Sexiness
 
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bastage said:
Dude your doing something wrong.. I had an Intel d510 board running WHS & I used it to transcode Video for my Tivo's & it was a little better then 1/2 speed at DVD quality. Lower quality xvids it would keep up with real time.

This all being said the Athlon II x2 240e at 45w TDP & available now would be a good option. AMD also has a few lower TDP AMx chips that are harder to come by as well, Not to mention 3 x4 chips at 45w tdp. & your not waiting for intel to release them at the cost of a weeks pay.


Edit.. 25w TDP Sexiness
Click to expand...

I essentially had the same conclusion (results) as AT on encoding and playing HD content.

Yes, it can be done, but just did not seem 'efficient' much less effective in doing so.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2889/12
 
Cliff Couser said:
I essentially had the same conclusion (results) as AT on encoding and playing HD content.

Yes, it can be done, but just did not seem 'efficient' much less effective in doing so.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2889/12
Click to expand...

depends on what your asking of it.. I Was transferring to a tivo, so nothing was actually being played live anyway. & I loved it for my server as the only fan in the whole thing was the psu & it was a 400w corsair with a 120mm fan so it was damn quiet.. Infact I couldnt tell that the system was on unless I happened to have my ear within 24" of it & the hard drives were doing something. Now my server is loud as shit as I havent taken the time to put an aftermarket fan on the phenom 9150e (65w quad) & the fans in the v351 are loud as well..
 
bastage said:
depends on what your asking of it.. I Was transferring to a tivo, so nothing was actually being played live anyway. & I loved it for my server as the only fan in the whole thing was the psu & it was a 400w corsair with a 120mm fan so it was damn quiet.. Infact I couldnt tell that the system was on unless I happened to have my ear within 24" of it & the hard drives were doing something. Now my server is loud as shit as I havent taken the time to put an aftermarket fan on the phenom 9150e (65w quad) & the fans in the v351 are loud as well..
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong. My D510 (WHS) is awesome for what I need it to do. I'm using a 100 watt Pico and a 92mm Nexus fan, so the loudest things are the 2x 2TB Samsungs.
 
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