Lenovo PX4-400d NAS, upgrade EOL EMC software to something Linux via USB

[mikeford]

I am a total novice to Linux type OS almost, followed a recipe 20 years ago to turn a Mac IIc into a firewall / router, but never "played" with it. Deals part of the forum has a thread on these old EOL NAS units being clearanced out cheap. I bought one and am using as a NAS, but looking it over gave me the idea to convert one to a more general purpose network box, price dropped this morning to $99 so I bought another. A few threads already exist where people have done this, but they knew what they were doing so don't really cover any steps, hence this thread where I plan to dump all the details I find out.

Specs
Intel Atom D2701 Dual Core 2.13GHz , not sure if Intel ever released 64 bit drivers.
2GB ram, maybe expandable.
2x Gbe, USB 3.0, HDMI ports on the back.
SFF X11 PCIe, bios may have limited support.

4 SATA 3.5" bays, so I expect to keep some kind of NAS function, with tha in mind which OS do you all suggest looking into?

Maybe something simple to poke around with before deciding?

Thanks.

 

[compcons]

The picture on the site looks like it has an hdmi port and USB prts. Can you get video from that hdmi port? Is a USB keyboard functional on boot? If i didn't have 2 synokogies and an expenolgy running already, i would consider giving this a shot and if I couldn't make that work, just use it as designed. The CPU is earth shattering, but good enough for iSCSI to a raspberry pi eaxi-arm server.

 

[mxnerd]

OP asked the same questions several times in different threads,

Though a different model, the internal disk size probably will be the same for NAS OS.

The Daily Nerdism

yet another nerd blog by

open-desk.org

quote from the article:
Before installing a new Linux to the internal disk (1 GB size), a backup of this disk should be done.

I really don't know what Linux based NAS distro can be installed on an internal disk that's only 1GB in size.

Just give up the idea. Sell the NAS and buy a new one.

 

[mikeford]

AFAIK yes the HDMI outputs video, what works on the USB is to be determined, but I've read reports that there are a couple more USB ports on the MB.

Just a guess, but I think in reference to the PCI slot that its X16 not X11, which doesn't seem to mean anything, x11 that is.

 

[mikeford]

The link to the PX6 to linux post is one of many I have found, but the 300 series and 400 series are a generation apart, so details will vary. My guess the 1GB reference is to the internal flash.

Give up, nah this will be fun. Fair chance I will get some time to open up the PX4 and look around this week.

 

[|JosephB17331|]

I have successfully got Unraid and Synology DSM (via xpenoboot) running on my second PX6-300D. Currently testing DSM to see how it functions.
Main purpose is to use this for my NFS datastore for my Proxmox cluster.
Only issue so far is HDD S.M.A.R.T. isn't functioning (showing as not supported).. (works under Unraid)

 

[ScrappyLaptop]

Just adding this from 2025. I was cleaning up the garage and realized I had one of these (px4-400d) and decided to mess with it rather than e-cycle it. So if anyone else needs this info for the LenovoEMC px4-400d (that mention was for Google) here's what I've figured out so far. It's sad how little there is remaining online about them and many other systems that were fun to tinker with.

The system board is fully 64-bit. The Lenovo OS however is only 32-bit, so it maxes at 4GB of memory. Linux sees the full 8GB that the board can handle. It has a 1GB on-board (as in soldered to the board) flash drive to hold the original OS. This drive is connected internally via USB. There's also an eSATA port on the back; I did not dig into it at all. The BIOS allows you to boot from any drive that the BIOS recognizes. That includes up to four drives in the drive bay and the built in USB drive. It can also boot from an external USB drive, but you'll need to pull one of the drives in the trays because the BIOS only recognizes five drives total. Once you realize this and pull one HDD sled, it will always see the external USB and boot from it (if set to boot from it in the BIOS). I'm using a USB to NVME external enclosure tray b/c with a strip of thermal tape, it zip ties to the internal steel cross member that acts as a heat sink. The USB cord goes in through the pcie bracket slot. Btw, either modify a plate for this or otherwise be sure to block the airflow from going through the PCIE bracket hole, otherwise the fan won't draw air in from the front past the drives. About that PCIE slot - I cannot get a NVME-to-PCIE drive to be recognized by the BIOS, which is disappointing. A pcie-to-msata board might work, but the only ones readily available get the sata from a cable connected to a motherboard; this board has none. There used to be pcie msata boards with a built in controller but I'm only very rarely seeing them now and at a price that's 3x what I originally paid for the whole system.

So with one HDD missing, the system boots from USB and runs whatever stock x64 linux reliably. Not sure if there's a workaround as it would be nice to utilize all 4 bays.