MSI Wind barebones, why do so many people boot from CF card?

[Muse]

The biggest rap on these systems (the single core Atom 1.6 GHz and the dual core also), is that the CF card slot (if used) requires that you have to remove the motherboard in order to insert the card.

I don't understand why so many people are actually booting from the CF card. The box has 6 USB connectors. What is at play here? I don't personally have any CF cards and never have and don't know what the trip is. Why do they want to boot from the CF card rather than from the HD. These systems can accommodate two HDs, if the 5.25" optical drive slot is adapted with an adapter. Why would someone want to boot from CF card rather than from a HD or a USB stick?

Myself, I'm contemplating running WHS, maybe Ubuntu (never used any Linux distro, but figure I'll benefit from getting into it). I could even run XP Pro here. Will run 2 GB RAM.

 

[Muse]

Bump.

 

[alyarb]

people use the CF slot simply so that they can put their OS on a CF card, freeing up one of the two SATA connections internally. this way you can have a discrete pair in RAID 1 with the OS on the outside.

 

[Muse]

people use the CF slot simply so that they can put their OS on a CF card, freeing up one of the two SATA connections internally. this way you can have a discrete pair in RAID 1 with the OS on the outside.

Oh, so it's useful in the case you want to set up a RAID array, and that's really why they like the CF boot arrangement? The rap on the MSI Wind barebones system that's heard much more than any other is the fact that in order to utilize the CF slot it is necessary to remove the motherboard, a PITA. Well, I have no intentions of setting up RAID, assuming I go with WHS.

 

[hans007]

yeah id ont really undrestand this either. i have an msi windtop actually and considred buying a CF card just to not need a hard drive.

but CF cards are expensive. especially for 133x ones. the SD card slot can boot too and you can remove the car whenever you want... so that seems like a smarter idea

 

[Muse]

yeah id ont really undrestand this either. i have an msi windtop actually and considred buying a CF card just to not need a hard drive.

but CF cards are expensive. especially for 133x ones. the SD card slot can boot too and you can remove the car whenever you want... so that seems like a smarter idea

Plus it's accessible. There must be a reason all these people go for the CF boot option. I didn't see a single review at Newegg (I've read well over 100) that mentions booting from the SD slot, and no more than one or two mentioned USB boot either. All these people talk about what it bitch it was to remove the MB to get the CF card in there so they could boot to it. Must be a reason they want to do that. Alyarb says it's so the 2 HDs can be identical so they can be set up as RAID. At least I think that's what he's saying.

 

[alyarb]

can you even install audio encoders on WHS? I'm pretty sure it's strictly a NAS operating system

 

[Muse]

can you even install audio encoders on WHS? I'm pretty sure it's strictly a NAS operating system

Oh, that hadn't occurred to me. I heard it's a sort of stripped down version of Windows Server 2003. I guess maybe you're right. That might be a good reason to further look into running Ubuntu. :hmm:

I'll post at the wegotserved forums and see if it's possible to encode audio on a WHS server.

 

[Muse]

yeah id ont really undrestand this either. i have an msi windtop actually and considred buying a CF card just to not need a hard drive.

but CF cards are expensive. especially for 133x ones. the SD card slot can boot too and you can remove the car whenever you want... so that seems like a smarter idea

I've read a lot of reviews of the MSI Wind Nettop systems (at Newegg) and don't recall anybody saying they were booting off the SD card, but tons of people talking about doing so off the CF and they usually bitched about how much of a pain it is to get the CF card in there (remove the mobo). One guy said an alternative (not easy, but evidently doable) is to make a hole in the case, and he said he thought the manufacturer should have done that (MSI).

 

[Muse]

can you even install audio encoders on WHS? I'm pretty sure it's strictly a NAS operating system

I think I said this in a different thread, but a super moderator at We Got Served Forums said he thought it would probably work as long as the drivers worked. There are Windows Server 2003 drivers for the audio out there. I'd have to try it. WHS evaluation version is out there, and I guess I could test with that before deciding on an OS. Being able to encode MP3 right on the server is a big plus for me. Of course, WHS has those robust and very easy backup scenarios in its favor, something I've been sorely lacking! :awe: My backup strategies until now have been byzantine.