HP Thin Client Project

[DavePEI]

Most of the parts arrived today for the ITX project. I am still waiting for its RAM, and that for the other ITX board, but I decided to build up what I had (minus installing the power supply as I will need access to the board as soon as the memory arrives.

The motherboard is mounted; all cables and jumpers to the case are installed; the hard drive is installed, and the cable to it is run.

The CoolerMaster case will allow lots of cooling - perfect for an item which will run continuously.

Just a sneak peek:

Dave

[WesternElectricBen]

Dave,

What kind of Cooler Master case is that?

Ben

[DavePEI]

Dave,

What kind of Cooler Master case is that?

Ben

First of all, in answer to Ben, that is a Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced case, a so called Mini-ITX Tower

To avid confusion, I wanted to mention that I actually have 3 projects on the go.

1)  HP Thin Client

2) Mini ITX based on a Epia M150 board in a APEX MI-008 Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case, with 1 Gig of RAM and 80 Gig hard drive.

3) Mini-ITX based on a new Biostar NM701-847 Integrated Celeron Board - that is the one shown in yesterday's photo. It will have when the rest of the parts arrive have 2 Gigabytes of RAM, and a CD Rom, 320 Gigabyte drive. That is the one I will be using as a new VOIP server, as it is the fastest and all new. With its fans, it should also run cooler. Still a low profile compact machine, but slightly taller than the Apex case.

--

Now, a report on #2 - the Epia 150 board, etc. This was the board which was given to me, and which wouldn't save BIOS settings at first. I hate to admit it, but I discovered it was for a very simple reason, and because of my lousy vision, I didn't notice the reason when I first tried it. The jumper was missing on the "keep BIOS" pins. It must have gone by the wayside when it was removed before it was given to me.

Its second problem was that I had only a 256 mb memory chip to use with it. It didn't give the machine enough overhead to install an operating system. I ordered a 1 gigabyte stick of memory and installed it this morning. VOILA - a great working machine!

I now have Ubuntu 8.04 Linux installed on it, and unlike the other day when I tried to load the operating system, it just leaped onto the hard disk in no time. The other day, it was still trying to install it after 5 hours when I gave up!

Anyway, I have that machine completed and it is quite fast and working well!

One down - awaiting the memory for #3 and the expansion case for #1!

Photo: #2 running Ubunto 8.04.

Dave

[WesternElectricBen]

Wow, what a great idea. I'm guessing one of those computers is for c*net, am I right? I don't use a computer for my c*net, but I use an ata stealing a line from my friend.

Did you build your own PC, I would think you have with all of these computer related projects?

Ben

[DavePEI]

Wow, what a great idea. I'm guessing one of those computers is for c*net, am I right? I don't use a computer for my c*net, but I use an ata stealing a line from my friend.

Did you build your own PC, I would think you have with all of these computer related projects?

Ben

Hi Ben:

I have built every PC I have had since 1989, Ben. I also used to run a Laptops for Kids program (and before that used to rebuild PCs for Kids) here on the Island until last year. Finding decent machines for rebuilding got hard when IWMC began their recycling program.

Yes, the last one is for a spare VOIP server for C*NET - as soon as its memory arrives. Just checked the Purolator site, and it tells me the shipping is delayed due to the Confederation Bridge being shut down by today's high winds, so it will be at least another day before I can finish that one up! The one I finished today, I will likely keep for my wife (albeit with Windows loaded rather than the Linux I currently have on it.).

Dave

[WesternElectricBen]

Wow, what a great idea. I'm guessing one of those computers is for c*net, am I right? I don't use a computer for my c*net, but I use an ata stealing a line from my friend.

Did you build your own PC, I would think you have with all of these computer related projects?

Ben

Hi Ben:

I have built every PC I have had since 1989, Ben. I also used to run a Laptops for Kids program (and before that used to rebuild PCs for Kids) here on the Island until last year. Finding decent machines for rebuilding got hard when IWMC began their recycling program.

Yes, the last one is for a spare VOIP server for C*NET - as soon as its memory arrives. Just checked the Purolator site, and it tells me the shipping is delayed due to the Confederation Bridge being shut down by today's high winds, so it will be at least another day before I can finish that one up! The one I finished today, I will likely keep for my wife (albeit with Windows loaded).

Dave

Dave,

I never knew this, I always wondered why you were big into computers! I agree, and also where some people live you can't do any trash picking.

What are your current system specs? I could upgrade the memory and an SSD, but besides that, its great.

Mine are: Windows  7 Home
Case: Fractile Designs Define R4 Case
Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Ultra Durable Motherboard
Intel Core i5 4670K Haswell Processor
8GB Corsair XMS3 Ram
Cooler Master GX450 Bronze Power Supply
Boot: Sandisk 64 GB SSD
Storage: Western Digital Blue Drive

Ben

[DavePEI]

Hi Ben:

Now, lets see. I will have to look up in my records as to what I put in the one I am using now... Hard to remember - it was over a little over a year ago now (Oct 2012) when I built it. Found my list:

Windows 7 Professional

AMD ADX640WFK42GM Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core Processor - Quad Core, 2MB Cache, Socket AM3, 95W, OEM

Gelid Siberian CC-Siberian-01 CPU Cooler - Silent 80mm Fan, PWM Control, Aluminum Heatsink, Intel and AMD Sockets

8 GB DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz

EVGA GeForce GTX 650 01G-P4-2650-KR Video Card - 1GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0(x16), 1x Dual-link DVI-I, 1x Dual-link DVI-D, 1x Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot

Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE 22X Internal DVDRW Drive - SATA, 1.5MB Buffer, 22x DVD+/-R, 8x DVD+/-RW, 16x DVD+R DL, 12x DVD-R DL, OEM, Black

Diablotek PSDA600 DA Series 600W Power Supply - ATX, 600 Watts, 2x 80mm Fans

Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB Serial ATA Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s

GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2P AMD 760 Motherboard - Micro ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 760G Chipset, 1333MHz DDR3, SATA II (3Gb/s), RAID, 7.1-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0

Diablotek CPA-6170 EVO ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - ATX, Mcro ATX, 4x External 5.25" Bay Drives, 5x Internal 3.5" Bay Drives, 7x Expansion Slots, 3x Front USB 2.0 Ports, Black. 2 added fans in the case.

I also added another Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB Serial ATA Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s and a card reader a bit later on...

I have several USB 2.0 2 gigabyte external drives connected to it that I keep my media on as well to feed my RPI media server. Everything on those external drives is accessible from the living room via the RPI server and TV, as well as any other computer on the property (including the museum office computer). Great for entertaining me when I am working on phones over there.

It was an ambitious project, but I built it as a post retirement gift for myself, and it hopefully will last as long as I do :-)

I particularly enjoyed this latest series of projects, as it allows me to combine two of my interests, computers and telephony!

Dave

[WesternElectricBen]

Sounds like a great system, I still yet need to add a video card.

I agree, killing two birds with one stone. Or doing two hobbies at the same time is always fun.

Ben

[DavePEI]

Darn Weather! Looks like it will be at least one more day before my memory for the Biostar board gets across the Northumberland Strait. It is the only item I am awaiting for that one. The Confederation Bridge is still closed to high sided vehicles. This is the bridge the builders said would never close back when it was being built. Ha! Were they wrong!

Weather is windy and wet! The power went out for a couple of hours earlier this evening - branches across the lines put most of the eastern Island out just about seven p.m. South wind gusts are expected to reach 100 km/h or more, dropping to SW 40 gusting to 70 before morning, continuing throughout the day..

Incidentally, to make this more phone related, phone cables to the Island cross the Confederation Bridge protected by the service tunnel inside.

I am just hoping that the memory will be delivered now before the weekend, so I can close #3 up once and for all! #2 still working great.

Dave

[twocvbloke]

Could you not arrange something with the delivery service where you can go across to pick up the package? It'd save the waiting if the bridge is to remain closed for tall vehicles...

[DavePEI]

Could you not arrange something with the delivery service where you can go across to pick up the package? It'd save the waiting if the bridge is to remain closed for tall vehicles...

The bridge is at the other end of the Island, and I can't drive that far because of my disabilities. Also, there is a matter of the $45 toll I would have to pay (in addition to the gas it would cost to go to Moncton to pick it up).

However, they came through in a way - the bridge finally opened up for a few hours, and they mis-delivered the package to a business in Montague. I did drive up there to pick it up, and have it in the computer now. I just got back from Montague a few minutes ago....

I will put the machine through its paces later on...

Dave

[DavePEI]

I guess now is later. I just finished up the new ITX (#3) in the Cooler Master case and for now, loaded Windows XP on it for testing... It is on the right hand monitor. The windows is only temporary - Linux will replace it as the operating system. Here it is. It still needs some neatening up inside, and some fine tuning....

So, two down - just the Thin Client to finish up whenever its expansion case arrives!

Now, all that is left on these two is loading software!

Dave

[DavePEI]

Ok, you learn something new each day. I had trouble getting Linux to see the boot drive in ITX #3 - during installation, it would get to the point of selecting a drive, and came up with an empty selection.

So, if anyone comes up with this on a new machine with a BIOS designed for Windows 8, I discovered two solutions, one which I know to work:

a) (as suggested by Dean Clark), Go into BIOS and ensure that the boot protocol is set for legacy as opposed to UEFI  in order for Linux to load correctly. In the case of my BIOS, this was already set to Legacy, so didn't help.

b) Go into your IDE settings menu in BIOS and select AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface), rather than IDE. That worked like a charm. Windows XP won't boot under AHCI, but now Linux recognizes the drive and will install. If I were to change back to Windows, I would have to re-enable IDE or do a fresh install of Windows so it will load with AHCI drivers.

Note: The next day, I tried loading the latest stable Ubuntu, 12.04.3 and for an experiment set the BIOS back to IDE before loading it. Voila - it works. Apparently the drivers in the newest version of Ubuntu have been updated for recently manufactured machines. The version I had been using before was the Hardy Heron release, about 5 years old.

So, while I test it all out, I have Ubuntu loaded on the machine now. It is extremely fast, and I have found no problems at all. After a few days, I will install PIAF.

Lower photo: The ITX Twins, #2 and #3 side by side.

Dave

[twocvbloke]

It's been a while since I last tried Ubuntu, fora moment I thought for a moment you'd managed to get macOS running on there from the way they styled the GUI...

[DavePEI]

Hi All:

I ran into a bug in the operation of the Biostar NM701-847 Integrated Celeron Board I installed in #3. It rears its ugly face only in Linux, particularly when running Ubuntu Linux.

The machine will randomly reboot - apparently without rhyme or reason. I went through all the normal troubleshooting, including monitoring motherboard and case temperatures, removing Linux and trying Windows XP on it to see it it would exhibit the same behavior (which it didn't),

I did however find the cause researching in the Ubuntu Forums - it is the way Linux interfaces with the  Intel Graphics i915 RC6 (graphics core deep sleep). The solution is to go into BIOS to chip-set power management and disable both RC6 options, save and reboot.

According to a posting on the Ubuntu Forums, it is also necessary to modify the grub file:

Add "i915.i915_enable_rc6=0" to /etc/default/grub "GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT".

so it looks like:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash i915.i915_enable_rc6=0"

then run:

sudo update-grub

http://tinyurl.com/q85x9oc

Now, to do this, I had to re-learn how to access and edit root files in linux - long ago forgotten.

Type in the terminal sudo nano -B /etc/default/grub and your password if asked

Make your edit, then save with Control X.

Then you need to type sudo update-grub and your password if asked. Once this is done, restart Linux and the problem is gone!

I thought I would mention this in case anyone suffers random reboots on this or other modern motherboards running Linux.

It seems to have worked, and I have Windows and Ubuntu dual booting on the machine. One of the reasons I got into this project was to learn more about Linux now that my Linux expert/Son has moved away to Ottawa, and I am having fun doing it. He eats, breathes and sleeps Linux as a System Administrator, but poor Dad at 61 still has oh, so very much to learn!

When these projects are completely done, I really have to get back at the phones!

Dave