quiet - Asus F2A55-M
hardware
- box: Fractal Design Define Mini (was: Arctic Cooling Silentium T1 with psu.)
- power supply: Corsair CX430M (was: Seasonic 350W, active PFC)
- motherboard: F2A55-M from Asus
- memory: 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) max is 64 GB, 4 x DDR3 DIMM 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz
- cpu: AMD A8-5600K
- cpu cooler: stock
- graphics: Radeon HD 7560D
- storage: 6 - sata II (3 Gbps) ports
- usb: usb3.0 2 x ports on back panel, usb 2.0, 4 ports on back panel, 6 internal connectors on mainboard
hard drives: new
ada0: <TOSHIBA HDWD110 MS2OA8J0> ATA8-ACS SATA 3.x device (was: ada0: <ST1000DM003-9YN162 CC4C> ATA8-ACS SATA 3.x device (ok, this is the old system drive)) ada1: <ST16000NM001G-2KK103 SN03> ACS-4 ATA SATA 3.x device ada2: <ST16000NM001G-2KK103 SN03> ACS-4 ATA SATA 3.x device ada3: <ST16000NM001G-2KK103 SN03> ACS-4 ATA SATA 3.x device ada4: <ST16000NM001G-2KK103 SN03> ACS-4 ATA SATA 3.x device
old
ad4 ada0: <ST1000DM003-9YN162 CC4C> ATA-8 SATA 3.x device ad6 ada1: <TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 MX6OABB0> ATA8-ACS SATA 3.x device (was: ada1: <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> ATA-9 SATA 3.x device) (was: ada1: <ST31000340AS SD1A> ATA-8 SATA 2.x device) ad8 ada2: <TOSHIBA HDWD130 MX6OACF0> ATA8-ACS SATA 3.x device (was: ada2: <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> ATA-9 SATA 3.x device) (was: ada2: <ST1000DM003-9YN162 CC4C> ATA-8 SATA 3.x device) (was: ada2: <ST31000528AS CC49> ATA-8 SATA 2.x device) ad10 ada3: <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> ATA-9 SATA 3.x device (was: ada3: <SAMSUNG HD204UI 1AQ10001> ATA-8 SATA 2.x device)
video: ATI Radeon Graphics (in the CPU)
vgapci0: <VGA-compatible display> port 0xf000-0xf0ff mem 0xc0000000-0xcfffffff,0xfeb00000-0xfeb3ffff irq 17 at device 1.0 on pci0
sound: AMD Hudson Azalia Controller
hdac0: <ATI (0x9902) HDA Controller> mem 0xfeb44000-0xfeb47fff irq 18 at device 1.1 on pci0 hdac0: hdac_get_capabilities: Invalid corb size (0) device_attach: hdac0 attach returned 6 hdacc0: <Realtek ALC887 HDA CODEC> at cad 0 on hdac0 hdaa0: <Realtek ALC887 Audio Function Group> at nid 1 on hdacc0 pcm0: <Realtek ALC887 (Rear Analog 7.1/2.0)> at nid 20,22,21,23 and 24,26 on hdaa0 pcm1: <Realtek ALC887 (Front Analog)> at nid 27 and 25 on hdaa0 pcm2: <Realtek ALC887 (Rear Digital)> at nid 30 on hdaa0 pcm3: <Realtek ALC887 (Onboard Digital)> at nid 17 on hdaa0
network: Realtek RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller
re0: <RealTek 8168/8111 B/C/CP/D/DP/E/F PCIe Gigabit Ethernet> port 0xe000-0xe0ff mem 0xd0004000-0xd0004fff,0xd0000000-0xd0003fff irq 17 at device 0.0 on pci3 re0: Using 1 MSI-X message re0: turning off MSI enable bit. re0: Chip rev. 0x48000000 re0: MAC rev. 0x00000000 miibus0: <MII bus> on re0 rgephy0: <RTL8169S/8110S/8211 1000BASE-T media interface> PHY 1 on miibus0 rgephy0: none, 10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 10baseT-FDX-flow, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, 100baseTX-FDX-flow, 1000baseT-FDX, 1000baseT-FDX-master, 1000baseT-FDX-flow, 1000baseT-FDX-flow-master, auto, auto-flow re0: Ethernet address: 08:60:6e:81:a4:82
bios: version 6603, build date 11/25/2014 (was: 6101, build date 04/12/2013, was: 5302, build date 01/30/2013, before: 5102, build date 09/19/2012)
hints: boot menu key - F8,
back to machines page.
History / work log
2022-05-15: memory - I added 2 x 8 GB DDR3 DIMMs, the machine now has 32 GB (4 x 8 GB DIMMs).
2022-05-14: I picked up the package from Computersalg at Extra Trondheimsveien.
2022-05-12: got a pick-up message for the package from Computersalg.
2022-05-11: after doins some tests on the drives, I replaced ada3 (s/n: WL20TAVY) with the new drive (s/n: WL20VHR5).
2022-05-11: this afternoon I got a pick-up message for the package from Proshop, and picked it up at Extra Trondheimsveien. One drive:
ST16000NM001G, s/n: WL20VHR5, fw: SN03
which means I must upgrade firmware on it.
2022-05-09: I ordered 1 x Seagate Exos X16 16TB hard drive from Proshop for NOK 3336.- and one from Computersalg: 1 x Seagate Exos X16 16 TB hard drive, also NOK 3336.- let's see who delivers first.
2022-05-08: I selected a Toshiba P300 1TB drive as the new system drive. Model HDWD110. Press F8, select UEFI Generic Flash, but still no UEFI? OK, user error - I forgot to turn off Secure Boot in BIOS. It works now. info about the new drive from /var/log/messages
ada0: <TOSHIBA HDWD110 MS2OA8J0> ATA8-ACS SATA 3.x device ada0: Serial Number 3844H61NS
2022-05-07: more testing. Moved ada0 from channel 0 to channel 1. Replaced cable for ada4. Nothing seems to help. In the end, I got tired of playing with the sata controller, and moved all drives back to the internal sata controller. Still trouble with the drives. Hm. Maybe the old boot drive is dying? Perhaps I should dump and restore to a new drive before it is too late? Correction: it is only the ada3 drive that seems to have problems now.
2022-05-07: replaced the PSU (old CX430M, new RM750x) - no change in behaviour. Replaced the sata cables for ada0 and ada3 - still lots of timeouts on sata channels. Hm.
2022-05-07: I went to Digital Impuls and bought a new psu, a Corsair RM750x for NOK 1190.-. I also bought 2 x 70 cm sata cables at NOK 80.- each.
2022-04-30: Ok, the physical layout of the sata ports on the DEL-89384 is confusing. If you look at the top edge of the card, with the card up and the ports below (you now have the rear with the bracket to the left) the ports maps to sata channel like this
chan 4, chan 0, chan 8 chan 5, chan 6, chan 7
the last four ports are on the short edge. again, card up, ports below (top of card to the left)
chan 1, chan 11 chan 9, chan 10
Whoever did the layout / design of this card did a very poor job.
2022-04-30: I installed the DEL-89384 into the machine.
2022-04-28: the package from Computersalg.no arrived.
2022-04-19: I bought a DeLOCK DEL-89384, a 10 x SATA 6 Gbps controller for NOK 1546.- (shipping included) fro Computersalg.no. It has a JMicron chipset.
2022-04-16: new drives
ada1 - ST16000NM001G s/n: WL20SAGT fw: SN03 ada2 - ST16000NM001G s/n: WL20T6D7 fw: SN03 ada3 - ST16000NM001G s/n: WL20TAVY fw: SN03 ada4 - ST16000NM001G s/n: ZL2K1NKS fw: SN03
2022-04-16: I powered the machine down and on again, before an upgrade, just to see that it powers on and verything works. It does.
2021-07-07: I re-created this page on my self-hosted web server.
2021-04-18: power button off / on, and the machine is back to life again. No clues in logs, as usual.
2021-04-17: machine is unresponsive this night: no ping, dead ssh sessions, and nothing on the console.
2020-06-13: power button off / on, and the machine is back to life again.
2020-06-12: machine is unresponsive this night: no ping, dead ssh sessions, and nothing on the console.
2020-01-19: unresponsive machine again this evening. Swedish button power off / on, back to normal. As usual, no clues in logs.
2019-11-04: bios - newest version is 6603, from 2014/12/10. I upgraded to from version 6101 to 6603, using a usb memory stick and Asus EZ Flash 2.
2019-11-04: power - powering off with the switch on the psu worked (obviously). Afterwards, turned the psu switch on again, and I could power it on with the power switch.
2019-11-04: this afternoon the machine was unresponsive, no image on monitor and it didn't answer ping. More, it can't be forcibly powered off with the power button.
2018-06-09: ada2 drive replacement. ada2 isn't good either, so I'm replacing it. New drive is a Toshiba P300, temporarily connected as ada4:
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada4 smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [FreeBSD 10.4-RELEASE-p9 amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Toshiba P300 Device Model: TOSHIBA HDWD130 Serial Number: 38BG5LNAS LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 fe6e2a13b Firmware Version: MX6OACF0 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Rotation Rate: 7200 rpm Form Factor: 3.5 inches Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4 SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s) Local Time is: Sat Jun 9 12:23:38 2018 CEST SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
ok. as ada2
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada2 smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [FreeBSD 10.4-RELEASE-p9 amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Toshiba P300 Device Model: TOSHIBA HDWD130 Serial Number: 38BG5LNAS LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 fe6e2a13b Firmware Version: MX6OACF0 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Rotation Rate: 7200 rpm Form Factor: 3.5 inches Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4 SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s) Local Time is: Sun Jun 10 11:23:55 2018 CEST SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
ok.
2018-04-28: ada1 drive replacement. ada1 is showing many errors, so I'm replacing it. The new drive is temporarily added as ada4, so I can copy data to it:
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada4 smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [FreeBSD 10.4-RELEASE-p3 amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Toshiba 3.5" DT01ACA... Desktop HDD Device Model: TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 Serial Number: X3L85VNGS LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 ff4d1d078 Firmware Version: MX6OABB0 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Rotation Rate: 7200 rpm Form Factor: 3.5 inches Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4 SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s) Local Time is: Sat Apr 28 23:45:10 2018 CEST SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
ok. Ready as ada1
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada1 smartctl 6.6 2017-11-05 r4594 [FreeBSD 10.4-RELEASE-p9 amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-17, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Toshiba 3.5" DT01ACA... Desktop HDD Device Model: TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 Serial Number: X3L85VNGS LU WWN Device Id: 5 000039 ff4d1d078 Firmware Version: MX6OABB0 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Rotation Rate: 7200 rpm Form Factor: 3.5 inches Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: ATA8-ACS T13/1699-D revision 4 SATA Version is: SATA 3.0, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s) Local Time is: Sun Jun 10 11:22:39 2018 CEST SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
ok.
2017-05-20: bios - newest version is 6603, from 2014/12/10.
2016-10-05: an unscheduled power outage this evening required a power on of the machine after power was restored.
2015-08-02: new cabinet, first power on - ok, it works. The power LED is (as is common these days) a bright blue color. I apply my usual fix to soften and dampen the light (but I really should get more black stickers soon).
root@kg-quiet# uname -a FreeBSD kg-quiet.kg4.no 9.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 9.1-RELEASE #0 r243825: Tue Dec 4 09:23:10 UTC 2012 root@farrell.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC amd64 root@kg-quiet# df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on /dev/ada0p3 145G 2.9G 130G 2% / devfs 1.0k 1.0k 0B 100% /dev
All drives are detected:
root@kg-quiet# camcontrol devlist <ST1000DM003-9YN162 CC4C> at scbus0 target 0 lun 0 (ada0,pass0) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus1 target 0 lun 0 (ada1,pass1) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus2 target 0 lun 0 (ada2,pass2) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus3 target 0 lun 0 (ada3,pass3)
good.
2015-08-01: mounting - I unpacked the new cabinet (FD Define Mini). Mounted the I/O shield, eight standoffs for the motherboard, the motherboard. Next is the CX 430M PSU, mounted using the four (black) screws provided with the cabinet. I routed the PSU cables on the back side, very neat. Internal connections: I connected the fan at the back of the cabinet as the chassis fan, connected the HD audio, usb 2.0 and front panel connectors. The motherboard doesn't have a internal usb 3.0 connector, so I skipped that. The case doesn't have a HDD led, so no cable for that. Hard drives - I mount the system drive (ada0) at the bottom, and then ada1, ada2 and ada3 (bottom of the upper slot). All drives are mounted so the connectors for cables are on the back side of the cabinet. Then I added power cables for the sata drives, also routed on the back side. Power cables are angled at the drive end, normal sata cables are not, but it looks like they will still fit. Finally, I inserted the fan controller in a slot and connected the front fan to it.
2015-08-01: umounting - I unmounted and removed he hard drives from the old, cabinet, then the motherboard and the I/O shield.
2015-08-01: hardware - I went to Digital Impuls' shop and bought: 1 x Fractal Design Define Mini black (118039) NOK 850.- and 1 x Corsair CX 430M (120393) for NOK 575.- Finally I also bought 2 x molex to 2x sata adapter (110737) for NOK 65 each. Total cost: NOK 1555.-
2015-08-01: bios - newest version is 6603, released on 2014/12/10. This machine is a bit behind, to put it mildly.
2015-07-31: this evening the machine is dead; pressing the power button does nothing. Need to check if it is the PSU or something else.
2014-11-01: the new drives are now mount from bottom to top in the case: ada0, ada1, ada2, ada3. camcontrol output:
root@kg-quiet# camcontrol devlist <ST1000DM003-9YN162 CC4C> at scbus0 target 0 lun 0 (ada0,pass0) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus1 target 0 lun 0 (ada1,pass1) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus2 target 0 lun 0 (ada2,pass2) <ST3000DM001-1ER166 CC43> at scbus3 target 0 lun 0 (ada3,pass3)
cool. serial numbers:
ada0 Z1D1PQ93 ada1 W500596B ada2 W50045K6 ada3 W5005NJ0
nothing more.
2014-10-31: temporary drive ada4 is now ada2:
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada2 smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST3000DM001-1ER166 Serial Number: W50045K6 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 077f77917 Firmware Version: CC43 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ACS-2 (unknown minor revision code: 0x001f) Local Time is: Fri Oct 31 23:56:14 2014 CET SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
and temporary drive ada5 is now ada3:
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada3 smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST3000DM001-1ER166 Serial Number: W5005NJ0 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 07852e28a Firmware Version: CC43 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ACS-2 (unknown minor revision code: 0x001f) Local Time is: Fri Oct 31 23:57:16 2014 CET SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
fine.
2014-10-31: new drive ada1:
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada1 smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST3000DM001-1ER166 Serial Number: W500596B LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 07853b508 Firmware Version: CC43 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ACS-2 (unknown minor revision code: 0x001f) Local Time is: Fri Oct 31 23:54:04 2014 CET SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
great.
2014-10-29: I am going to replace some drives. Since the motherboard has 6 sata ports, I just added two drives temporarily (currently just laying on a cardboard box in the bottom of the case). Both are Seagate Barracuda 3 TB drives. ada4 (the bottom drive)
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada4 smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST3000DM001-1ER166 Serial Number: W50045K6 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 077f77917 Firmware Version: CC43 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ACS-2 (unknown minor revision code: 0x001f) Local Time is: Tue Oct 28 22:17:03 2014 CET SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
ada5 (the top drive)
root@kg-quiet# smartctl -i /dev/ada5 smartctl 5.43 2012-06-30 r3573 [FreeBSD 8.4-STABLE amd64] (local build) Copyright (C) 2002-12 by Bruce Allen, http://smartmontools.sourceforge.net === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST3000DM001-1ER166 Serial Number: W5005NJ0 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 07852e28a Firmware Version: CC43 User Capacity: 3,000,592,982,016 bytes [3.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ACS-2 (unknown minor revision code: 0x001f) Local Time is: Tue Oct 28 22:17:27 2014 CET SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled
now set them up.
2014-10-25: bios - newest version is 6602 "Improve system stability", dated 2014/10/17.
2014-06-08: ok, it turns out that drive ad8 lives in the hard drive caddy on top, so it was easy to get out and replace. Info about the new ad8 from smartctl:
Model Family: Seagate Barracuda (SATA 3Gb/s, 4K Sectors) Device Model: ST1000DM003-9YN162 Serial Number: Z1D1QFY8 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 04dab3f29 Firmware Version: CC4C User Capacity: 1,000,204,886,016 bytes [1.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ATA-8-ACS revision 4
good.
2014-06-08: hard drive ad8 is getting many errors, so I have decided to replace it. Info from smartctl:
Model Family: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 Device Model: ST31000528AS Serial Number: 5VP9R9H7 LU WWN Device Id: 5 000c50 03e5d7db9 Firmware Version: CC49 User Capacity: 1,000,204,886,016 bytes [1.00 TB] Sector Size: 512 bytes logical/physical Device is: In smartctl database [for details use: -P show] ATA Version is: 8 ATA Standard is: ATA-8-ACS revision 4
it will be replaced with another Barracuda, a model ST1000DM003, partno: 9YN162-302, firmware: CC4C.
2014-06-06: bios - the newest bios is version 6508, dated 2014/05/22.
2013-05-06: bios - the newest bios is version 6101, dated 2013.04.23. I upgraded to from version 5302 to 6101, using a usb memory stick and Asus EZ Flash 2.
2013-04-05: there was a spike on the main power, resulting in the machine rebooting due to the "anti-surge protection circuit". Oh well. The machine stayed on the UEFI screen with this message until I rebooted it.
2013-02-16: I bought a new usb to ps/2 adapter (32-4024) from Clas Ohlson. NOK 199.- but it works. It shows up like this in /var/log/messages:
Feb 16 22:37:19 kg-quiet kernel: ugen0.2: <CHESEN> at usbus0 Feb 16 22:37:19 kg-quiet kernel: ukbd0: <CHESEN PS2 to USB Converter, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.10, addr 2> on usbus0 Feb 16 22:37:19 kg-quiet kernel: kbd2 at ukbd0 Feb 16 22:37:19 kg-quiet kernel: ums0: <CHESEN PS2 to USB Converter, class 0/0, rev 1.10/0.10, addr 2> on usbus0 Feb 16 22:37:19 kg-quiet kernel: ums0: 5 buttons and [XYZ] coordinates ID=1
That's all.
2013-02-16: bios - the newest bios is version 5302, dated 2013/02/04. The motherboard had version 5102, build date 09/19/2012 on it when I got it. I upgraded to version 5302.
2013-02-15: I connected up all the existing SATA hard drives (I just laid the hard drive caddy on top, where the CD drive used to be. This motherboard doesn't have any PATA / IDE connectors, so I installed a new Seagate Barracuda 1 TB (model: ST10000DM003) which I intend to use as the new boot drive. I installed that in the bottom slot (where the PATA drive used to sit).
2013-02-15: Installed the io shield in the chassis, unpacked the motherboard, decided to install CPU (sorry - APU), cooler and memory before installing the motherboard in the chassis. Installed the APU, the cooler and connected the CPU fan. I installed the memory, one DIMM in each of the blue sockets as recommended. I had to take out the aluminum hard drive caddy in order to install the motherboard in the chassis. And the SATA connectors on this new motherboard points forward in the front of the left side of the motherboard, so I have to find another place in the chassis for the hard drive caddy. Or dump it. I installed all the connectors to the motherboard.
2013-02-15: I fetched the package at the post office (Sofienberg).
2013-02-14: I ordered a new motherboard, CPU and memory from NetOnNet:
motherboard: Asus F2A55-M, NOK 499.- cpu: AMD A8-5600K 3.6 GHz black, NOK 769.- memory: Ballistix Sport 16 GB 1600 MHz (kit of 2 x 8 GB), NOK 649.-
a total of NOK 1917.- (shipping is free / included)