It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... another RAID tutorial from TechMikeNY? (Yes, yes it is.) This time, we'll walk you through how to set up a RAID 1 Virtual Disk in UEFI Mode.For the following process, it is best if the server is in UEFI boot mode. TechMikeNY configures servers in UEFI before shipping so you should be good to go, but if you need help setting it up on your own, you can see our i...
If you don't have fault tolerance for your OS and your drive fails...no worky. As in, the magic smoke has leaked out. As in, your device won't boot. Enter: the BOSS card. Setting up a RAID 1 array on a BOSS card can provide data redundancy and fault tolerance for the OS. So here's how you do it.
Creating a RAID 1 Array in the F2 Menu
1. To begin setup, boot into the F2 Menu and head to...
As you may know, TechMike’s office is practically a jungle at this point. It’s also filled to the brim with server chassis. Amid the greenery and the gear, TechMike realized that you could totally turn an R720xd into a planter… so that’s exactly what happened. We put together a quick tutorial for how you can upcycle your old equipment; whether it’s because of forced obsolescence or your rack ju...
This tutorial will show you, step-by-step, how to install a rear flex bay into a 24-Bay Dell PowerEdge R740xd server. The installation would also be the same for installing in an R740xd 12-bay server; however, with rear flex bays for 12-bay servers, the SAS cable placement is different on the chassis backplane, and you would need to use a different SAS cable (more on that later).
NOTE: With 12t...
Knowing how to switch between the BIOS and UEFI boot modes can come in pretty handy. In this quick video tutorial, we show you how to access the right settings so you can freely switch between BIOS and UEFI.
What are BIOS and UEFI?
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is legacy firmware that initializes hardware when you boot up. Legacy BIOS is the old mode that uses a 16-bit code and has a...
Thinking about retiring your system or transforming it into a brand new server? Whether you're doing an overhaul of your Dell server or preparing to put it to rest, you'll need to do a full system reset. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use Dell's Lifecycle Controller to do a full system reset on your server.
Step-by-step Tutorial
Let's get right into it.
Start by booting the serv...
If you’ve been thinking about setting up a centralized media server of your own, there’s a good chance you’ve come across Plex, a media server software that allows you to organize, stream, and access your personal media collection across various devices. To set up Plex, you need a reliable, high-performance hosting solution. That’s where TrueNAS Scale comes in.
TrueNAS Scale is a powerful free ...
Why use NVMe drives instead of an ATA interface? Simple answer: because it gives you the throughput of the PCI bus to the drives. And why does that matter? Because the PCI bus is considerably faster than you would get with SAS and SATA.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to use NVMe drives in a Dell PowerEdge R640, from ensuring that your server is equipped ...
In today's installment of TechTalk (get it, installment?), we're showing you how to reseat RAM. Note that newer Dell PowerEdge RAM modules are not compatible with older servers; make sure to check the RAM compatibility with your server, as the notch will be in a different location and will not sit in the memory lane.
When you first open the server, you’ll notice that you can only see half o...
No matter if you’re scrambling to put together a last-minute meaningful gift or intent on crafting an intricate masterpiece, this list is full of ways to give a handmade gift while safely and sustainably repurposing your old gear! Here are some of our favorite DIY upcycled tech gift ideas for Valentine's Day.
1. Recycled Motherboard Necklace
Image(s) credit: ReComputing on Etsy
For something ...
This week, we're going back to basics with a video tutorial on an important step in building your own server: applying thermal paste! From proper heatsink removal techniques to our preferred application method, we've got you (and your processor) covered.
Note: this tutorial demonstrates thermal paste application on a 12th generation Dell server. To apply thermal paste onto a 14th gen server,...
