Replies (31)
No. Swap it out for a 2tb. When you set up your start9 it'll make you run it one drive, from what I remember
I was reading that from one person in the Start9 DIY forum. I’m definitely considering it.
Start 9 on initial boot asks which drive to install OS. Then it removes the installation bloat.
Next time it boots it asks which drive you want to use for storage. That’s when you can pick your secondary drive.
@stupleb is a man that can. I've set up 2. One for btc the other is a server for Nostr, simplex, syncthing etc...
I replaced the ssd for a 2tb one and was good
I concur, with
@Zaikaboy, I tried to use a PCie M.2 extension and it didn't read from any other M.2s I had beside the one with the OS boot on it.
KISS 🤓
My Bitcoin Maxi opinion, upgrade the drive so you have the full blockchain, mempool and other tools.
If you don't care about that and want the 2 drive hybrid approach then run it like it is and it will prune the chain down to 0.5 GBs. That's what I've been running as a lightning node for the last years but don't put too many eggs in one basket aka node with a shit ton of apps. It over works the machine and can lead to issues.
What I did. I have a pruned (500 GB) Start9 lightning node and another Start9 with a larger 1TB drive running the other stuff like Next Cloud, ValueWarden, NoStrudel, back up #AlbyHub etc. I need to take my own advice and upgrade my drive so I have the full blockchain but SSDs are expensive and if it aint broke dont fix it.
Swap out to a bigger SSD 2TB or 4TB. They say the Optiplex 7050 Micro is limited to 1TB but I think that’s not true. I’m considering buying the same machine (although i5) for £60 ($80). My current node is a Lenovo T480 but it feels too good not to be used as a Linux laptop in its own right. Just want something capable to sit on the shelf now. Keep us updated with the install 🙂
I used something very similar for a self build node.
Older tech, 8GB RAM but with 2TB SSD.
Lasted a few months, and died on me.
I am now nodeless until I sort it out - unsure whether machine or SSD failure at the moment.
It took me days to build too - had core, Tor, VPN, Mempool, Elctrs etc.
I'm so bummed thinking about doing it again, I may just do a DIY Umbrel
WiFi probably won’t work btw, but it’s always better to network it physically. Always worth updating the BIOS too before anything if it needs it and you also might need to disable the secure boot stuff in the BIOS. I’ve noticed that this seems to interfere with restarts.
My start9 diy Raspi4 8GB is basically unusable at this point so I’m rebuilding a proper setup for the current times.
Yeh, I moved from Rapberry Pi too.
The external drive made it too temperamental.
The wife moving it to polish the desk it sat on would cause it to crash. Sucked balls.
🔥🔥👌🏾👌🏾
Bios update and WiFi card getting removed immediately.
Yeah something about the power source being limited for an external drive.
I’ve been doing my research. 🤓
I have a Ras pi working really well but no Bitcoin on it, just as a server
If you are going to run a Bitcoin node, you've got the right equipment. Seriously consider separating btc from other stuff. Its why I have 2. I'm convinced you'll need to dedicate the drive from the get go but try it out. Start9 is really good. I had an Umbrel for about 5 years, Embassy is better
Agree. One for Bitcoin. The other for home server stuff.
Asking
@npub126nt...e9ll frens, i would likely say running the os on the smaller ssd is fine and having it mount all apps etc on the TBs drives.
Let me know if this bastidge overheats on IBD. I just got the exact samw setup (an i7 7050 Micro) and the fan went apeshit about an hour in and the machine hard cut the power. Running it without the cover now, and CPU temp reported at steady 37C.
Maybe I have to refresh the thermal paste.
Should work great! I run umbrel a beeline ser5 max (small nuc) and my only problem is it gets how, so having space to swap the fan or have more air on components is a win in my book
I'm running the same Raspi with umbrel and it's working great still, just need to upgrade the SSD as it's almost full
If it was me I would run it all on one drive... The multiple drive thing always seems to turn out to be way more complicated than it should be IMHO
Also these are my go to for
@npub126nt...e9ll DIY nodes. Small, quiet, cheap. They seem reliable so far, I have a few of them.

I was looking at that one as well.
🤘🧡💜🤘
start nine only lets you use one drive at a time. make sure you buy a really good one, I've blown out a few hard drives already with the same setup.
You can "waste" the majority of that 256gb drive by installing StartOS on it, then using the whole of the 2tb for data just fine. If the 256gb drive is not something you would reuse, it might make sense to do this. A small benefit to doing it this way would be making things clearer for you in the event of any future drive failure... You'll know what failed. But it's no big deal.
stupleb
You can "waste" the majority of that 256gb drive by installing StartOS on it, then using the whole of the 2tb for data just fine. If the 256gb drive is not something you would reuse, it might make sense to do this. A small benefit to doing it this way would be making things clearer for you in the event of any future drive failure... You'll know what failed. But it's no big deal.
View quoted note →
M2. My first node used a 2.5" SSD and it had constant health warnings and issues staying connected. As soon as I switched to an m2 my issues vanished
I went ahead and splurged for the heat sink as well with the small form micro environment.