KUbuntu: LVM Horror and Suspense

... I get by with a little help from my friends ... - The Beattles

So the song says and pretty apt for a general Linux newbie like myself. I've got 4 book references and the whole Internet library but it really comes down to situational experience that matches what you basically want to do to get it done in the most cost-effective (and I'm talking about avoiding loss of data) time frame.

Apart from the new dual WAN router and the upgrades for the WHS there was the bit about two-(2) Seagate Barracuda 1.5 TB drives that needed to get added onto the /root directory of my Kubuntu installation.

Now the idea of logical and physical mapping gets quite fuzzy when dealing with disk drives in Linux. Probably as fuzzy as making sure you don't have packet storms or route loops while configuring your router -- I'll get to that separately. From a MS Windows world I've already been initiated to Dynamic Disks as far back 1999~2002 when larger drive sizes started to come out, Disk Expansion on the WHS (Server 2003 based) is also interesting.

Though lacking the pictures, I was basically saved by and old guide. But before jumping into using the terminal commands the Windows User in me certainly went straight out looking for a GUI implementation ... that got me to porting system-config-lvm from Fedora. Yes EVMS is evil, and by that I'm saying it was weeks before I up and gave up on it some time ago while trying to configure LinuxMCE and Mythbuntu.

One key thing to note is that system-config-lvm gui actually lets you do everything easily! However some work does need to be done in terms of pre-formatting the disk with fdisk and setting the disk type to LVM Linux (type: 8e). After that, assuming like me you just want to get more general disk space and haven't configured fancy parititions , extending the /root partition will required a live CD distro that has LVM packages pre-built. For me this was an earlier copy of KnoppMyth versus Knoppix in the guide. Then its simply going to be a disk check using e2fsck and then a call to resize2fs and get all that disk space registered for actual use (if you don't run it I almost guarantee you'll be running into some horrific data loss issues, so just do it so everything gets tagged and registered where they need to be on the system).

My thanks to Andy P. and Morton S. who were kind enough to offer assistance -- I'm going to get back to you guys on other stuff (such as making sense of PGP vs GnuPG) soon don't you worry :-)

But for now, time to decompress archives and hunt for a couple of mobile pests for some tests ...

WHS: Stressing with the Upgrade

[blog entry in progress]

Had some slow down problems and had a hunch it was all those extra add-ins that shouldn't have been there ... possibly due to programming bugs, go figure. The only way I could get rid of them was to manually remove them via the Add/Remove functions in the Control Panel during an RDP session. And finally when I could get some sense, restoring my WHS to a clean workable state was best done by following some useful manual instructions including messing with the registry.


20 hours running stable (less hiccups after I needed to re-arrange my office electrical setup).

My initial installation of the chip killed the system. It plain out refused to boot properly and kept shutting down. So I hurriedly opened it up again next day after buying some 90-proof isopropyl alcohol and reseated the chip and the backplane. Seems the heat was making it do that but I'm almost certain its either due to the chip upgrade, not being able to properly bond the heat-sink, or simply a hardware problem.

MSS Fan Control was a semi-saving grace. But before that I'd also tried using SpeedFan with limited results. At this time MSSFC is set to use the Optimal setting and on Advanced mode I've upped the fans to +200 which works so far in keeping the heat down. There have been a few hiccups though and the system (to me) hang's by not blinking colors (I've used one of the LED easter eggs to get this effect).

WHS: Upgrades with Zip Zoom Bang!

So I finally caved in and got some new hardware. It was fortunate that I found cheaper options for the NetGear FVS336G and the only place for Seagate Barracuda 1.5 TB drives at NewEgg. Figured with the shipping I may as well let it ride.

Following the basic memory and chip upgrade instructions the only difference would be the use of an AMD LE-1660 (Lima) 2.7 GHz.


G.Skill 2GB DDR2 667Mhz PC-5300 which was on sale for $30 that week.







First things first, remove the installed drives and label them so you know which order to put them back. WHS uses DE and you don't want to confuse the operating system and inadvertently trashing your data. The main bay is locked and I used a quarter to twist this clockwise (a large screwdriver would work but beware the groove marks if its tight).






Slide the gray top cover forward gently and it should slide out from the grooves. There are four actions items from this angel that you need to do.

Make sure to mark where the cables match up and be careful not to switch things around later (it could be bad).




Gently remove the black cable as well and gently move it out of the way.








Twist the blue tabs outward to unlock the backplane. Its this backplane that serves to connect the SATA disks.





Put your hand in and reach for the spaces with your fingers, then gently pull up. Be careful as there's a (barely used) thermostat you don't want to damage as you do this.
Remove the two-(2) small black screws on the front lower right side of the casing.






There's an insulated cable in there thats pressed against it and will usually cause it to pop out (don't loose the screws!). Do this gently (I keep saying that) since too much pressure on these small screws could ruin their tread -- mine's almost that way.

Use a medium sized Philip's screwdriver to remove the two-(2) anchoring screws between the casing and power supply.



Gently pull this tray out while gently pushing left as the components tend to snag.







Welcome to the guts/brains of your HP EX475 system.









Disconnect the power supply cable from the board and move it out of the way.






Remove the stick of memory as well. You'll need all the space to remove the heatsink from the chip by unscrewing it in an X-pattern so as to relieve the pressure on the chip gradually.

Then with a twisting left and right action gently remove.








With pure alcohol (pick one type as long as its more than 70% proof such as vodka or isoprophyl) make sure to clean the heatsink and set it aside to dry.

For those who've never replaced a chip before, there's a lever that needs to be lifted before you can remove the chip for replacement. Be careful to re-orient the new chip's pins the same way (don't forget to wipe the beads of sweat off your brow as any of it dripping onto the board isn't good ... and close your mouth).

A little goes a long way in terms of the heat seal, just a 1.5 grain of rice will do.







Then put Humpty-Dumpty together again and reverse the steps above.






Since I was using pure isopropyl and drinking that could cause major gastric distress (check the label), best I could do was step outside for a beer and a smoke. :-)