I have an old Synology 1819 NAS that was the unfortunate victim of the Intel Atom/Clock bug. I would like to repurpose the case as I like the compact form factor. Has anyone tried replacing a synology mobo with something else (ex: an ITX board or a Raspberry Pi), and using an alternative operating system?
The main board seems to be a custom form factor, not sure you could fit an ITX board in there, and you’ll need a PCI-E slot to connect the SATA expansion card.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/synology-ds1819plus/4.html
I think you’re right, it measures 200x145x15mm with 2 PCIe slots at right angles connecting to the backplane. I’d had it taken apart for so long I hadn’t considered the height. I was also wrong about the model# it was an 1815, now that I look at the mobo. I guess I could re-purpose the case for something else. I appreciate the reply, looks like I’m going hunting for a similar form factor case this weekend
Wasn’t the Atom bug only in the c2xxx series of chips. You may have a different issue?
I was incorrect about the model#, it’s actually an 1815. I’d had it apart for so long I’d forgotten. I was going to try the resistor ‘fix,’ but too many people were reporting erractic behaviour after they’d done the same. I may re-purpose the case for something else as it seems only something like a Raspberry pi or one of the Adafruit boards would fit
Ahh I have one as well that is flaky I have the resistor fix and changed the other part and new psu. This will sound odd but if you warm up the motherboard side of the case with a hair dryer it should boot. Not hot just warm. It will just continue to work.
I’m going to have to give the hair dryer trick a shot, I’d already migrated to a 1821, so I’m not sure if it’ll boot diskless…but getting a busted NAS to boot with a hairdryer, is too hilarious not to attempt 😂
You may be surprised, I just leave my one on 24/7 now as similar to you I moved to the 1821
This might mean a failing capacitor. I had a MB that was similar. If it was a cold start it would not boot properly. When it was already warm it would boot first time no issue.
Don’t have much experience with synology, let lone replacing their boards, but I wonder if something like the Zimaboard (https://www.zimaboard.com) might do the trick. It’s x86-based and has a pcie slot.
I had no idea that existed, that’s a slick piece of HW. If I pull the case off I may be able to shoehorn it into the spot where the old mobo was. I could also just rip out the Synology backplane, add a sata expansion card, and make it a general purpose NAS, just with fewer disks.
My hope was to re-use the case to backup ~30TB of RAIDed storage. This is an excellent find, thank you!
Awesome. I haven’t had the chance to play with one yet, but I’ve been eying them and have heard nothing but good reports. Please do let us all know how it goes.
I defintely will!