HP X510 Data Vault Review 2/3/2010 Tips on restoring the factory settings or recovering your server at the bottom of this page added 1/12/2010
So you have a small workgroup with about 10 pc's and maybe a mac here or there and you find that backing up and sharing folders etc is becoming a bit of a challenge then the HP X510 Data Vault may be the solution for you.
This piece of kit has just been fantastc, very simple to setup and configure its just alittle bit bigger than a loaf of bread !! and less than $1500 New Zealand dollars
All you do is plug it in to your network "That's if you have a network for a smaller setup you may just be plugging this into one of the network ports on the back of your ADSL modem"and then install the software onto one of your computers to complete the wizard based setup.
Once complete you will be able to share folders and set permissions for your other users. Then you put the install cd into the other computers on your network and within a minute or two you will have it connected, this is so easy I am sure that anyone could do it "don't tell everyone!".
Also the user interface makes it really easy to see at a glance how much of your storage you have left. the picture here shows us the file storage and you are able to specify what folders you want to have replicated "mirrored" across to the other drive in your unit, this view also shows how much space is used for the PC Backups - it saves an image of the entire pc so that you can restore the whole thing just by booting from the restore cd on the target client machine.
Restoring your Data Vault can be a challenge as the documentation that you will find easily is not that helpfull and the error report that you recieve when it will not work tells you nothing. So after many attempts I rang the HP Media Center help desk who where very helpfull ! they knew about the problem and emailed me the following solution and this worked:
Server Recovery (or Factory Reset) Procedure using Lx195/Ex490/5/Data Vaultx510 Server
Tools needed:
- MediaSmart Server LX195, Ex490, Ex495, OR Data Vault x510
- paper clip or push-pin (for reset button located on front of server to the left of USB port, or below the health LED on the LX195)
- Windows Home Server Recovery DVD
- a PC or laptop with the WLAN (wireless network connection) disabled and a DVD reader drive
Step 1.) In XP go to add/remove programs (or "Programs & Features in Vista", "Uninstall a Program" in Win7) of control Panel, and please remove these 2 pieces of software; HP MediaSmart Server and Windows Home Server Connector
Step 2.) Disable firewalls and other network security programs on the PC.
Step 3.) Attach the server network cable (or another cable of 6' or less) to the network port of the PC (direct-connect) and disable all other network connections than the one just connected to the server.
* (do not run the recovery DVD yet)
- we need to assign an IP next
Using XP:
A.) click on start, control panel, network connections, right-click on Local Area Network, and select Properties.
B.) highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), select Properties, click on "use the following IP address"
C.) fill in the fields like this:
- IP address 169.37.37.38
- subnet mask should fill itself in with 255.255.0.0 when you click in that field
D.) click "ok" to both windows
Using vista:
A.) click on start, control panel, network and sharing center, click on View Status which is located next to Local Area Network, select Properties
B.) highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IPv4), select Properties, click on "use the following IP address"
C.) fill in the fields like this:
- IP address 169.37.37.38
- subnet mask should fill itself in with 255.255.0.0 when you click in that field
D.) click "ok" to both windows
Using Win7:
A.) click Start, Control Panel, View network status and tasks, click on local area connection, select Properties,
B.) highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IPv4), select Properties, click on "use the following IP address"
C.) fill in the fields like this:
- IP address 169.37.37.38
- subnet mask should fill itself in with 255.255.0.0 when you click in that field
D.) click "ok" to both windows
** place the server into recovery mode by following these steps:
- press and hold the button located at the back of the unit until it powers off
- press the power button again to turn it on, and using the paper clip, push it into the reset hole and remove it - just a "poke"
- the health light (located to the left of the reset hole) should appear to be blinking a violet colour on the LX195 models, and blinking white/red on Ex490, Ex495, and Data Vault x510 models
**For Your Information:
- Server Recovery: repairs the Operating System of the server while trying to keep the data you stored to it intact
- Factory Reset: wipes off all data you have stored to the server and installs a fresh instance of the Operating System, bringing it back to the 'like new' state
*** now we can run the server recovery DVD. Within 10 minutes you should see the message saying it has been placed into recovery mode successfully. At this point it should take at least an hour to complete. Your server will display a window notifying you that everything is finished and now ready to log into the console and ready to use. Continue with updates once inside the server.
** Important **
When you are at the point that allows you to pull up the server console and enter your password, please remove the server from the PC, and connect it back to your router (connect your PC back to the router, too) also, don't forget to go back into the network connections and change the "use the following IP address" back to the original setting of "obtain an IP address automatically", and click "ok" to both windows.
