what OS for just HTPC

[najames]

[QUOTE=S_M_E;335555]AHCI support just doesn't seem worth the work and can cause issues with WHS. I like the simplicity of using IDE mode for my SATAII drives. QUOTE]

Oh oh, what issues can the AHCI cause? After working on this setup nightly for a week or so, I **think** I have the ACHI install down to a science on this box. I thought if I do this and your 64K clusters I should have a basic server install.

I still need to read know how to set up the OS drives/directories/pool for recording/playback when I get the software Friday....more searching.

My next hurdle will be not knowing SageTV 6.5 and how/what to configure without spending another week...more searching.

[S_M_E]

Originally Posted by najames

Oh oh, what issues can the AHCI cause? After working on this setup nightly for a week or so, I **think** I have the ACHI install down to a science on this box. I thought if I do this and your 64K clusters I should have a basic server install.

I still need to read know how to set up the OS drives/directories/pool for recording/playback when I get the software Friday....more searching.

My next hurdle will be not knowing SageTV 6.5 and how/what to configure without spending another week...more searching.

I had stability issues (random reboots) and false WHS drive health warnings using AHCI drivers. You may not have problems with your HW/driver combo but as you found out it was a pain to setup. If you use IDE mode WHS uses the drivers on the WHS install DVD and it's much easier, I don't even need a floppy drive now. I've never even missed AHCI, it wasn't worth the driver hassle. Use it if you want; just keep it in mind if your server has issues in the future.

The 64K tutorial may be changing, I now believe that it's a good idea to convert the D partition to 64k too but I haven't verified that the method I'd suggest works yet. It wastes some free space but it provides more peace of mind and ensures better performance even if data is put on the D partition. It seems that a lot of people let their WHS get too full before addressing the issue and WHS is now more willing to put data there.

You'll probably find a number of Sage tutorials here or on the web and a lot of Sage is self explanatory. It even comes with a PDF to help you out, check your install directory. You'll probably be up and running quickly but you may spend a lot of time, after, tweaking it all.