COMPLETELY Overhauling This Old HP Server [Part 1]

[@matt123337]

I'm hoping he replaces that HP logo with the Hardware Haven logo in part 2, it would look 🔥

[@otter-pro]

Great idea. he has 3d printer so with semi-clear PLA, he could print a nice HH logo.

[@thenono1]

the second he removed it I thought (and hoped) that was the plan hahaa

[@wslycreative]

That would be DOPE

[@nickwort123]

I normally just fast forward through ads, but I didn’t this time and I gotta say, that mic is genuinely impressive

[@HardwareHaven]

It's super cool! And it seems like there's a great team over there as well.

[@rhydonify]

thats good for you but i still fast forward that shit lol :D

[@oscarfiala2104]

It helps to know, that hw-heaven is picky about his ads. Some KZbinrs will promote the most random garbage. But he puts effort into trying it out and Making sure it’s not a waste of money.

[@rhydonify]

@@oscarfiala2104 don't know about that one lol

[@PoeLemic]

Actually, I went and looked, thinking about buying one. But, the price is just outside of my budget for what it is. I teach, so money is always tight.

[@KeithHanlan]

That rogue wire is exactly the sort of clumsy mistake I would make. My response would not likely have been as calm. Kudos for pressing on.

[@LouisGiliberto]

Same - every time I work on computers I invent new swear words. 😕

[@PinataOblongata]

*kudos

[@KeithHanlan]

@@PinataOblongata you're right! I was tricked by my Canadian cellular provider Koodo that I have been fighting with recently. Argh!

[@monad_tcp]

I made that mistake once, but I was lucky that the PSU I was using was so bad that the short circuit current fried it before the motherboard, motherboard lived on. Lesson learned.

[@DIYDaveOK]

So much potential!! As far as self-destucting things, we've all been there: I replaced a broken LCD panel in a friend's laptop, had it all end and was securing the bezel, but squeezed too hard.... and cracked it. Had to order another screen but got it fixed. Awesome looking project!

[@Cjb-nuc9extremegamer]

12:55 My heart stopped when he said VRMS.

[@HardwareHaven]

Lol... RIP

[@monad_tcp]

that ESD discharge, all of the caps, the VRMS

[@Volgin.]

Please don't keep us waiting! This project has so much potential that I just can't wait to see whats coming

[@MrMunkyMeat]

This is a neat little project. Like a sleeper NAS/Media server. I have been looking at some of the mini pc's myself lately to test as a streaming setup. Gonna have to keep up on this project as it is giving me ideas for a "Stream Module" kind of thing. I had been kicking around the idea of using one of the Vevor desktop racks but this looks like it would be a cleaner build.

[@diamondsword243]

Currently looks amazing! The amount of patience you have for these projects is insane

[@jimmyscott5144]

Honestly I love that you show some/all your mistakes. Makes me feel not as bad when I mess my stuff up

[@ChristopherHailey]

This is a great project and a great video that covers pretty much every topic in home server world. Brave and helpful for you to show the fails and recoveries from paint issues and magic smoke releases. This shows what you can do with some parts, thought, determination, and a grinder. I got a lot of useful info here including some ATX power ideas. BTW The ad worked well, good sponsor because it's not something you cover but is of interest to many of your viewers. I'm sure the sponsor will be happy because you covered the product features without annoying the viewers by giving a useful and amusing product ad.

[@batesyboy1970]

You know what, this is fast becoming my favourite YT channel - love the upcyclng you constantly do, the pace of the videos and the extensive research, planning and general effort - very much appreciated.

[@betag24cn]

the worst part of work in a hp server is open it and discover that everything is hp inside 😂

[@TheDesertsweeper]

The N54L Gen 7 was a beast in it's day. Officially only supported 8GB but you could get it to work with 16GB of ECC RAM. And of course the Optical slot could house a 5th 3.5" drive. There is an internal USB port you can boot off if that's your thing. You could use an HBA in the PCIe slot and get true RAID. And there is an eSATA connector out back for further expansion. I used to mod the hell out of them. I still have a bunch sitting on a shelf gathering dust. The AMD CPU was the one thing you could not upgrade sadly.

[@PoeLemic]

Very good project. Really liked how you applied your ingenuity to refurbishing this box and really making Something that has quite a statement. Because you created it all yourself.

[@Skungalunga]

I always like to see people acknowledge mistakes as we're all human, and we learn from them. Nobody was born knowing everything.

[@R_Sahasrad]

"Some PCs were harmed" 🤣🙏

[@f4r__]

Oh man, dropping the freshly painted case, zapping the board, now this feels like a project I could do too lmao. Looking forward to part 2.

[@giannistsolebas6962]

How do you manage to get all these things done? You're the definition of patience.

[@HardwareHaven]

I spend way too much time on silly projects... that's how lol

[@famitory]

it might be worth trying to replace that resistor (and check around for other crispy critters in the area). some topologies for building power management can "look like" a short to ground when they're not powered, and you might only need to change out a few exploded passives to save the board.

[@PTSeTe]

Yup, might as well go all in now, the parts should not be very expensive, the difficulty to soldering them back will though😂 But that's good and interesting content

[@kenshiromilesvt.7037]

I will chime in on the Mod Mic discussion. They have really good customer service. They got back to me within a week and I was able to buy a replacement receiver for my wireless mod mic that I bought second hand without a receiver. It was a really good price to $25 or something... Super impressed with them tbh

[@cease70]

Every time I watch one of your videos I think "I wish I could do that." from either a creativity standpoint, a know-how standpoint (I have no idea how to solder and know nothing about capacitors or electrical current) or from a hardware access standpoint lol. Keep the excellent content coming!

[@ThatRandomDude914]

Voltage: Volts Current: Amps Power: V x A Higher the voltage, the more it hurts if you touch it. That’s about all you need to know

[@razorgcy]

I'd paint the Bluray drive in white as well tbh, esp to hide the LG logo and stuff

[@electrofreak0]

Somebody get this man a Gamer's Nexus soldering mat to keep his space clean and grounded safely.

[@thebristolbruiser]

Don’t support that greasy haired scumbag.

[@audigex]

I still use my Gen7 micro server as my NAS/home server. There’s genuinely never been anything that does the same job for even double the price

[@techiteasyaus]

Great video. Can't wait to see the end result. And congrats on pushing through with the project despite the setback ... oh the awful sinking feeling when you realize the MB is dead ... it happened to me and just by the small puff of smoke and the smell I knew I had stuffed up big time ... 😭

[@kevinhu196]

the attention to detail this project was given is simply amazing

[@alessio_q]

Those vids are definitely stepping up in quality every time! Congratulations and good luck 🎉

[@KS-wr8ub]

Nice build mate! I love these type of mods, they’re seldom the most economical or sensible but they often turn out to be an enjoyable project. Ever since your first N40L video I’ve been toying with the idea of rebuilding mine. My best plan so far has been to use a stripped Lenovo Tiny or HP Elitedesk Mini. Still working on those details though. I really want at least one PCIe slot for SFP+ and I also want to be able to use a ASM1166 SATA controller for better C-states. My goal is to either build out a TinyMiniMicro(server)-freak on steroids for my ceph cluster, or just end up with a more usable backup server.. 😅 Looking forward to the next part! 👍

[@idontatalya242]

Yessss...case modding a-la 1999...rotary tool and spaaaarks 🥰

[@chriswarren7204]

This is my Unraid box and storage backbone of my home network. Everything else gets tinkered with, aka has downtime, but this beast of a unit just keeps on trucking.

[@Spreadie]

I just bought one of these, two weeks ago - it arrived on the morning we left for a two week cruise - going to fit a ITX MoDT 12th Gen board and a 6x2.5" dock in the 5.25" bay. 10 bays total, with three m.2 drives. Looking forward to ripping into it. I'm sacrificing one of the rear slots to squeeze in a standard ITX board.

[@leok4007]

love these kinda videos! looking forward to part 2

[@ThorstenSO]

Nice, man. You put in a lot of work into it. The white door is really nice. Make the optical drive white as well. The old hp Server is my 2.5 Gb/s (backup) NAS. Best regards.

[@JosephLane-vt4bj]

I got one of these for free not so long ago and was looking for ideas on what to do with it. Absolutely insane that you have the exact same model as me 😁 Thank you for the idea!!

[@theWSt]

Niiiiice! 😎 Really looking forward to part two! Great job, super cool that you spend so much afford on this content! 👍

[@MayankJairaj]

11:00 xy3606 buck converter spotted, there was a time when i had 15 of those

[@alpine7840]

I cannot tell you how much that I love and look forward to your videos!

[@deechvogt1589]

Thanks for sharing both your successes and failures. Can't wait to see the final result!

[@TheQuickSilver101]

This was pretty awesome. I'm really looking forward to part 2!

[@balex96]

Love videos like this, it gives inspiration for my next project.

[@MegaSunspark]

Yes, never leave any parts you take off your project device on your work surface if they're metallic. Always keep your work surface clear of all items and put loose items including nuts and screws, tools, loose wires, meter probes, etc. in plastic bins off to the side. Been there done that a couple of times... similar to what happened to you, before learning my lesson. Static is another problem. Get some static grounding leads and straps and clips to ground yourself to a metallic object such as the metal frame/legs of your desk or nearby rack or something like that.

[@pship855]

I have three N54L Gen 7 machines - all still going strong 😊

[@VictorFrost]

Awesome build so far! Can't wait for the next part!

[@Goldengate1971]

Really nice project! hope for part 2!

[@_marcioeric]

Being honest... I love this type of projects! Really looking foward into it

[@philippemarcelgrohmann1225]

If the second board looks identical in the damaged area, i would desolder the burned smd-piece and measure the value in resistance. Then keep it seperate for later. If the value makes sense i would then buy a new smd-resistor and solder it on the damaged board. If it works great, if not the you still got a working board.

[@Flargenyargen]

That's a very cool project. Can't wait to see it finished!

[@LiLBitsDK]

thank you, I appreciate you making this style of videos, very entertaining and inspiring!

[@JamieBainbridge]

Really cool project. I love to see old useful boxes given a new lease on life. I have a spare NUC8, makes me wonder what I could do with it 🤔

[@Okofo2]

By chance, I have this exact HP server too that I didn't know what to do with. This video is very inspiring :)

[@Ekz0rcyst]

Thanks for video. Good luck with project!

[@Trainguyrom]

I see now that it's a two partner to pay for the replacement mainboard and definitely not due to the sheer anount of time invested😉 Cool project! I look forward to part 2!

[@johnscabintech]

awesome video :) I have now confirmed I'm not the only one to make costly mistakes. Storm trooper case got to love that. I used to have one of these servers which I sold last year, so wish I had kept it well.... lets wait for part 2 before I say that. Honest video and while it has a sponsor its a good one (just not for me but I'm sure alot of people will buy one). Can't wait for part 2

[@djlalorocks]

You are giving me ideas. Love to see the end result

[@phucnguyen0110]

Happy Friday with another Colten video!

[@Francois_L_7933]

The trick with the open shoe grinder is to properly mark your lines with a visible pen, properly anchor the piece to the workbench (it can throw stuff away) and slowly start cutting well above the line. Once most of the metal is removed, you use the side of the disk to slowly eat-away at the rest of the metal until you reach the mark.

[@Mao-CR]

Now that’s a project! Nice work

[@danielfisher1515]

Really like where this is going!

[@timmiller1103]

I feel your pain about dropping the case. Did it a few weeks ago on a small itx build. Got done spraying a nice metallic blue and the case came off the hanger. Ooops :/

[@mikecondo]

Very excited to see how this pans out!

[@chrisutley9147]

Waiting with baited breath for "Part 2". I have this exact same HP server (and one of the models before it), and I think they're great. At the time... they were a super cheap "home server" and I ended up putting a lot into mine to make it better. This one was $250 when I bought it, and I can't find a server that would equal it at that price even now, so I see why you went with it... I had a lot of the same thoughts (how can I update the MB?) when I got mine, and it didn't even occur to me to go with the Intel NUC, what a great idea! I've been looking to repurpose mine, and I'm gonna say right now that I'm looking at the Zima boards to make mine magical again. I'd put 5 spinning drives it it way back when (500gb each), and put a SAS controller with an eight bay 2.5 SSD in the 5 1/4" slot (to make a NAS), but I've long since replaced this box as a NAS, and I'm thinking it'd be a great "media server" as described here, with the Blu-ray drive, and a bunch of SSD's. Something like this running CasaOS would be very cool. One of the reasons why I like and subscribe to this channel is the fact that it gets me thinking about my options. 30 years in IT as a professional, and 40 years as a lover of all things tech and I still truly appreciate getting a different perspective on various tech, because it makes me think of the other 9 out of 10 ways to skin a cat. Thank you!

[@mx2004mx]

11:50 completely ignoring the sparks

[@chrisparker2010]

The mod mic makes you look like a modern day Bob Barker. Great project!

[@SickyWys]

waiting for to long! i love your content!!!

[@StressedRuby]

i can't wait to see the end of this awesome project

[@Elia__M]

What’ve you done! Now I absolutely need this mic for no reason 😶

[@kylesparrow9564]

Great work! Looks amazing! You should totally swap out the HP logo for your Hardware Haven logo though. :-)

[@bluesirius1]

looking nice! can't wait for part 2

[@craigprocter1232]

I have 3x HPn36l microservers that have been in use for 13 years. I recently decided to upgrade the ''main NAS'' to an Intel n100 based system (aliexpress motherboard with 12X SATA ports on board, 2x 1Gbe, 16GB DDR4 RAM in a Jonsbro N3 case) so I could consolidate data and possibly decommission the older NASes.

[@Polo4413]

I have one of these running with synology dsm and i could not be happier!

[@Bouipi]

love it, i wish i could downsize my home server but with stuff in it, i don't think i can

[@jonathanchevallier7046]

Cool project. Thank you.

[@diabeticnomad]

Embrace the jank! The mic is great! 💜

[@jameslewis2635]

Why not just order a replacement resistor for the damaged board? I believe those small ones are less than a dollar.

[@abunk8691]

Had a good laugh with that stray wire causing that SMD to blow up since you got footage of it with the flying spark. Then I felt the dread of accidentally killing hardware. I got reminded of my most expensive accidental killing of hardware on a Lenovo Yoga laptop where the I broke the ram slot. Damn ram slots were so fragile I immediately broke one side trying to get the ram stick out and caused more damage trying to superglue to ram slot clips back which ended up causing damage to the surrounding area of the board and the laptop never worked again. I felt some vindication years alter when I learned that there's others on the Internet whose experienced the crappy build quality of those Yoga laptops, but damn it was still about 600USD lost on that mistake alone.

[@Movies4118]

I had one same HP Server back in 2015-2016. Threw it away after the motherboard got fried for reason. At the time, felt like the internals were all proprietary and I wouldn't be able to repurpose it for anything. After seeing your video, now regret throwing it away.

[@robertjung8929]

i did a similar rebuild of my N40L gen7 micro server. but used a laptop motherboard with a 1135G7 i5 , same mini sas adapter from aliexpress , but i had to use a USB3 2.5G ethernet dongle for connectivity as my board had no ethernet (but has a wifi soldered on). but yours look much better so far ;)

[@Thewickedjon]

this is a monster of a project brother

[@Spreadie]

I've been hacking up my Gen7 Microserver today - to accommodate a standard IO shield and you can definitely make an ITX board fit while only sacrificing one PCI slot. I managed to test fit a board with a low profile PCIE card in the furthest right PCI slot. I just have to rewire the front IO and mod the motherboard tray a little. I did manage to get the plastic panels off - you have to remove the bottom one first. Guitar picks or old credit cards will be needed to defeat some of the pesky panel clips. Even then, I still snapped two of the slide clips on the bottom panel - doesn't seem to have caused any issues. The side panels come off pretty easily after the bottom has been removed. I also had to cut out the guide rails for the rear fan, because they'll interfere with any stacked IO on the new motherboard. The biggest issue is the CPU cooler - I have an ID Cooling IS-30 on order because even the ubiquitous Noctua NH-9Li is too tall at 37mm. The actual height of the top of the NH-L9i fan, measured from the PCB, is closer to 43mm so the IS-30 should just about squeeze in. It should be enough for a 12th Gen i5 MoDT ITX board.

[@codeman99-dev]

8:12 missed chance to pop the mic onto your glasses! What a product placement though. Very top notch.

[@Yandarval]

Or clip to the peak of his hat. Or make a makeshift stand.

[@stuckndema]

So ready to see how this turns out!!

[@leangxd]

waiting for the second part you can also make a separate video repurposing the old motherboard that u took out of that old machine

[@macphile]

What a fun project! Do you think you'll share your board tray model when you're done?

[@keithgoldston2859]

That's a great start

[@AWIRE_onpc]

I really want to see the DL360! Its sooo awesome!

[@ChrisCebelenski]

Great idea to throw the NUC insides into the case - not as new as the N100 but it's probably more powerful.

[@scottbradley4012]

I want to do something similar with my HP media smart server…. I have been keeping it just for this kind of project. Your video is good, but do you have a discord or other presentation where you go a little more in depth on some of the technical decisions you made? I am really curious how you used a desktop PSU to power a nuc that normally uses a barrel Jack. Looking forward to part two.

[@marthinus.x]

Niiiice! Keen for part 2!

[@Skudster13]

Server Restomod. Awesome!

[@cameronfrye5514]

Sometimes components do get sacrificed in the name of modding... "It wasn't my incompetence that led to the death of this thing, more so just my negligence" - 10/11/2024 That phrase is absolutely going into the repository.. thank you for sharing!

[@dktol56]

@HardwareHaven Can you provide (in part 2) more detail about ensuring a common ground between the mini-pc and the external PSU for the SATA HD storage? I think I'm running into grounding problems when powering 4 external SATA hard drives from an external ATX PSU. The drives are talking to an HP Elitedesk 800 G4 Mini using an M.2 ASM1064 SATA adapter board with an SFF-8087 to 4 X SATA breakout cable - likely the same board and cable appearing in your part 1 video. For more than 2 drives, I see SATA bus/reset error messages, so maybe noise from improper grounding.

[@tnaxpw]

I'm looking forward for part 2, and in the meantime I'll put my N36L into a wardrobe instead of trying to sell ot for next to nothing.

[@jackipiegg]

6:17 According to the spec sheet, that nuc can work on 12V no problems. Beats doing this janky stuff of dual power supplies which is a nono if you can avoid it. For future projects, 12V to 19V boost modules exists, just get one that has a huge heatsink and proper power rating and you're good.

[@30FpsGaming-j8k]

i like your videos keep it up

[@mikedoth]

Ditch the jig saw and get a oscillating tool. So useful for all sorts of things.

[@gustavinus]

Mic ad was good. Would be better if you 3D printed a head mount for it to use it in the garage though. Killing that MOBO was painful. Made me cry

[@truevulgarian]

This is my first visit to your channel but your interesting project has me hooked. +1 sub I love little projects and this one is looking very nice. Do you plan on doing anything with the 4 drives? I suppose you could make a super-duper fault-tolerant media center, but it could probably do a lot more. Maybe an automated backup solution? (That's what I want to create.)

[@FARBerserker]

mine started with a 250gig HDD, an HD DVD Drive and 4 Gigs of RAM. it now has: 120gig SSD for OS. 5x8TB HDD Slim Line Blue Ray Drive, 16 Gigs of RAM, AMD ATI 6450 or something low proifile for an HDMI Output. An USB3/SATA controller card for 2 more ports and USB3 support.

[@jaydaytoday3548]

I build my nas with a coolermaster 130 with a 3d printed hdd cage and you'll have room for 4 hdds maybe more if your creative and you can use a regular power supply and a regular mini itx board.

[@Monarchias]

12:32 That is why I never, I mean never work on a motherboard laying on a hard surface, like a wooden desktop! No way! Always put on top of a plain paper box, or put a thick cotton towel on the desk! For me the reason mainly was, I scratched a nice and shiny wooden desktop once with a motherboard. The mobo was OK, but the scratch remained visible on the desk! Of course I realized I could hurt the pins or something as well, but luckily I learnt from a scratch, not from a spark! :)