Should I Pull the Apple Raid Card

[zachsilvey]

I have a MacPro 1,1 with the Apple Raid Card. Recently the card has been acting up in the form of battery failure (seem to go away with reboot). I also want to install windows so that I can use it as a semi-useful gaming machine. I know that I will get reduced throughput on my raid config but it seems like the card is unreliable.

I think someone needs to talk me out of scrapping the expensive card.

[nanofrog]

Apple's RAID card is junk. It's slow, has problems, only works with a single OS, only has 4 ports, and is too expensive for what you get.

There's better cards out there, some for less $$$, depending on exactly what you need. Batteries are typically an option though, and won't be included with the cards.

[zachsilvey]

I'm not worried about price as I already have the card. I am just trying to decide whether I should pull it out of my MacPro or not.

[gugucom]

If you love your life don't bother with crappy RAID cards. I experienced Highpoint and I'm completely cured of the exercise. I now have an Areca Arc-1210 and I'm happy. My only beef with the company is the lack of bootcamp support. That would make Areca perfect for me.

[Tesselator]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

I'm not worried about price as I already have the card. I am just trying to decide whether I should pull it out of my MacPro or not.

As Larry Silverstein would say: Pull it. (and down came building 7)

Sell it.

[nanofrog]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

I'm not worried about price as I already have the card. I am just trying to decide whether I should pull it out of my MacPro or not.

Yank the thing, replace it with a 3rd party card, and sell the Apple branded one off.

[zachsilvey]

Is it easy to remove the card and what kind of price can I expect to get for it on ebay?

[Techhie]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

Is it easy to remove the card and what kind of price can I expect to get for it on ebay?

Considering it is well known how overpriced it is, probably half of what you paid.

[nanofrog]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

Is it easy to remove the card and what kind of price can I expect to get for it on ebay?

Yes, physically it's really easy to remove.
1. Unplug the SAS cable from the card
2. Remove the card from the slot.

Done.

But you want to make a backup of the data before doing so, as I presume you need to sell it before getting a replacement. (You won't have it to make transfers from with both cards and drives available to the system).

As per price, I don't know what it would actually sell for. Currently, there's only one on the US eBay site that's used, and its set at a BIN for $550USD. IDK, that seems a tad high to me.

[zachsilvey]

I successfully removed the card but when I go to reinstall Snow Leopard without raid disk utility doesn't see any of the 4 drives I have installed. Is there a way to run the machine without a raid card at all?

[nanofrog]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

I successfully removed the card but when I go to reinstall Snow Leopard without raid disk utility doesn't see any of the 4 drives I have installed. Is there a way to run the machine without a raid card at all?

Did you plug the SAS cable back to the logic board?
If not, it can't see them, as the HDD bays aren't attached to the board.

Also note, that anything you do with Disk Util with those drives, will wipe them. So I hope you've backed everything up first.

[Cynicalone]

I've found the Apple Card to be worthless even the 09 version. The latest firmware updates and running 10.6.2 has helped but it is good for a Kernel Panic at least once a month.

[nanofrog]

Originally Posted by Cynicalone

I've found the Apple Card to be worthless even the 09 version. The latest firmware updates and running 10.6.2 has helped but it is good for a Kernel Panic at least once a month.

The new one is just a modification of the previous model though (changed the SAS cable input to PCB traces, slight modification to the firmware to switch the 4 port grouping in the ICH10R "OFF", and used a faster processor). The rest of the design is the same. PPC chip, 4 ports, lousy battery functionality, and still Apple/OS X only. Oh yeah, still too expensive as well.

As per OS updates, there's the possibility it will break a RAID. 10.6.2 has done the same with other cards as well, unfortunately. So it's always "proceed with caution" before attempting it. (Make full system backups first, as a simple restore may not work if there's a problem). Usually, it's best to wait a bit, and follow the bug reports and places like MR, as something may be posted as a warning not to proceed or that it went fine, and no problems.

[zachsilvey]

Originally Posted by nanofrog

Did you plug the SAS cable back to the logic board?
If not, it can't see them, as the HDD bays aren't attached to the board.

Also note, that anything you do with Disk Util with those drives, will wipe them. So I hope you've backed everything up first.

I am trying to plug the sas cable back in but I cant get the fan shroud out. I have removed the screw and the cpu cover but it won't come out. I am wondering if there is a second screw somewhere else.

[zachsilvey]

I finally got the fan module out and the sas cable plugged back in but I think I may have frayed a cable when removing the fans. One of the four cables that go into the sas cable was damaged, the insulations was cut through and copper was exposed. All the drives show up in disk utility so I don't think the functionality was damaged.

[nanofrog]

Originally Posted by zachsilvey

I finally got the fan module out and the sas cable plugged back in but I think I may have frayed a cable when removing the fans. One of the four cables that go into the sas cable was damaged, the insulations was cut through and copper was exposed. All the drives show up in disk utility so I don't think the functionality was damaged.

Looks like you got lucky. IIRC, the cable is fairly expensive (~$70USD?), as the power connections are custom.

Keep an eye on it, as it could affect stability and throughputs. Worst case, you'd have to order a new one from macpalace or other sites that sell Apple replacement parts. Or special order it from an Apple store (not sure on their pricing, but they'd install it for you).