Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming TwinStore Replacement = MD600

True; and the TwinStore Data sheet says �Storage Capacity/Expandability: 1 Terabyte = Approx. 2400 albums� but we know 2TB drives work just fine

I would be very disappointed if 2TB really is the upper limit for this �new� product.

Regards,
Carl

I would too, but I doubt that Meridian have allowed for it (best guess)

The Image below, as well as the links, discuss the issues involved in using greater than 2.2Tb Drives on different OS's

Not sure I see Meridian equipping this MD600 motherboard with the required UEFI Interface or Host Bus Adaptor to get 3Tb Drives to work........would be delighted to be wrong

For the Techies out there, fitting HBA's from Hitachi, Seagate and WD is possible, but not quite straightforward on Busybox


3Tb Drive Issues Link 1

3Tb Drive Issues Link 2

Quote from Meridian dealer release:

"We will update our recommendations on suitable HDD choices from time to time and as availability of larger capacity 3.5� SATA drives changes. This information will be posted on our website."

I guess that suggests they have thought about 3Tb drives ....or larger.

Gerry

But the old 8k brochures talked about 192kHz so I think it prudent to expect the specs at release time are those you're likely to be stuck with. This is the new Meridian not the old one... They pull you in with offers of firmware upgrades and hardware upgrades and Trifield width fixes but nothing comes.

Maybe I'm cynical but I think they are smart enough to know the question about 3TB drives will be asked and the answer gives us hope but no promises.

Chris

A little bird mentioned to me that up to 10TB drives should work in a TwinStore, so I can't see the MD600 being any different.

As we all know Meridian seem conservative with recommended drive sizes, against what will actually work.
The TwinStores run just fine with good 2TB drives, but were never supplied in this configuration by Meridian.

Has anyone here actually tried larger than 2TB drives in a TwinStore yet?
I suppose that's the real test.

Rick

People on other sites say they have 3TB drives fitted and they work.

Shaun

Hi Shaun,

Can you post some links, I'd like to read what these guys have to say.
I'm sure someone on here tried 3TB and said that they did not work, that's why I went for 2TB drives in my TwinStore.

I'll do a search of the formum and see if I can find the post.

Regards,
Carl

I did a search and found a couple of posts by Victor (admittedly third hand info) Victor - TwinStore 3TB Drive

I�ll probably have to just bite the built at some point and buy a pair to find out.

Regards,
Carl

Hi Carl,

I think we all knew that there wasn't any reason why the TwinStore couldn't use 2TB drives, in place of the 1TB drives recommended by Meridian.

However, there are definite reasons why for example, most pre 2011 Desktops cannot support 3TB drives without extra interface hardware and drivers.

Essentially, 2^32 by 512byte Sectors supported by most apps = 2.2Tb approx... and as most apps can't suport larger sectors, you're stuck.

The workarounds are UEFI interface on 2011 motherboards... or Host Bus Adaptors from the Disk Manufacturer.

So, if you are going order a 3TB Drive, make sure it comes with an HBA from that manufacturer.

FWIW, Meridian are using the Busybox Linux tools on the Ensemble and TwinStore and if it's properly configured, then it may work without an HBA.

However, I think your CORE is the XP based C15, so I'm not sure how that might react with the limitations mentioned above.

Hi Ronnie,

Thanks for the info and for your earlier post in this thread.

I think the UEFI interface is only required if the >2.2TB HDD is used as the boot disk, on the TwinStore this is not the case.

So BusyBox Linux on the TwinStore has the potential to be able to support these larger capacity drives. At least there is some hope.

As you say the CORE on the C15 is XP, however it accesses the TwinStore via an HTTP interface and does not access the disks directly, so I don't foresee any scalability issues here.

Time to for me do some reading

Regards
Carl

Sorry to belabour the point Carl, but the HBA and Driver also applies when using the 3TB Drive as a SECONDARY drive... see the excerpt below from the earlier link I provided... which itself was simplifying the issue.


That's another reason why Djstjp's post earlier about his Netgear NV+ NAS is NOT able to accept 3TB Drives... and similarly, some other NAS's can't take 3TB drives... and some others can accept them.

And it's worth noting that almost all NAS's use Busybox's Tools to put together their bespoke OS's for these NAS Devices.

Some enabled their version of Busybox Linux to accept larger Drives... while other Manufacturers did not.

So, in summary, because we don't know what Meridian have designed into the OS Version on the TwinStore or MD600... we don't know if 3Tb Drives will work.

However, I'd be surprised if a little bit of playing around with Drivers and perhaps internal additions, that the TwinStore couldn't take 3TB Drives... whether Meridian "support" that is of course a different matter.

Here's a link for you: http://www.audioaficionado.org/Meridian-audio/7917-anyone-using-3tb-drives-their-twinstore.html

Someone told me they have 3tb drives in their TwinStore and it's working. He said his dealer (in another country) installed the drives and had to modify the TwinStore to get them to work. The dealer would not say what this "modification" was.

Hopefully someone will figure this out, for now I'm sticking with 2tb drives in my TwinStores.