G’day all,
I have had a MS Surface laptop reformatted and downloaded Start9 on it. I have connected an external 2Tb SSD to the one USBC port because the 500Gb main drive is inadequate for the complete BTC blockchain. I have downloaded Knots and got the blockchain download going. At no stage did I see the external drive on the Start9 OS, so I am unsure whether Start9 is aware of it in order to use it for the blockchain database. I am not a computer wizard and need some advice. Thanks.
Hey!
Sounds like you’re all set. The OS is running off your internal 500GB drive, and your 2TB SSD is being used for data , (that´s where the blockchain is going)
You picked it during setup, so it’s already doing its thing in the background.
Thanks for that, Gloriana. I am still in doubt, because my IT service provider who reformatted the LT did not have the ED plugged in at the time that he downloaded Start9, although his sales section supplied it to me and I had collected it before the reformat was done. Is there a way I can check through Start9? I could not find an obvious way of doing so in Start9.
Right… if the 2TB drive was detected you would have seen an option to select a drive to install to. Looks like you’ve confirmed you didn’t see that.
There is a very obvious way you can check… you can look at the size of your data drive, which is found under System → Monitor, at the bottom. If it says 500GB (or 4xxGB) then you’ve installed everything on one drive. You can still run a full node on 500GB, just not an archival node with a full blockchain. That would be pruned. If you’re running on that small drive and have installed Bitcoin, you see in Bitcoin’s config that it is set to Pruned mode and that you can’t change this.
Why the drive wasn’t detected is anyone’s guess considering this is DIY hardware. Maybe there’s some weird proprietary driver needed for this hardware, or maybe the drive you were given by the “IT service provider” was formatted for Windows and not EXT4.
I apologize if my answer seems to conflict with the other answers provided. I think the three of us might have understood your question from slightly different perspectives. Hopefully these different perspectives can be a benefit, more than a hindrance.
If the drive was not connected during the installation of StartOS, the external drive is not, and cannot be used by StartOS except as a backup drive.
It is possible, and reasonably easy to re-flash the server, and transfer the system to the external drive. This is assuming that the system is able to detect all hardware properly.
I’m assuming that when you check the system as Stuart suggested, you’re going to see that the system is using the 500GB drive. If so, the next step is to look in the backup section. If the 2TB drive is available as a backup location, then the system is seeing it, and the transfer would likely be successful. If it’s not seeing it, there may be some steps we can walk you through to make it available.
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My thanks and appreciation to all who have pitched in. I have communicated with my IT SP and he agrees that the ED should have been connected when he set up Start9. He had forgotten about the ED, being the manager of the place and his days being chockers. He has also recommended that I reflash the server, which I am going to attempt later today and hopefully come out the other side with a fully functional system and also more informed.
Great forum to be involved in. As a relatively new Bitcoiner, I have found that Bitcoiners are generally more considerate than the average citizen. Looking forward to this ride. Cheers.
Once you’ve verified that StartOS sees the drive, here’s the guide:
You’ll want to use the x86_64-nonfree.iso. After you boot from the flash drive you created, you can use the transfer recovery option to transfer your server to the external drive.
Thanks mate, appreciate the advice. I am sure I will need it.