I've been using my EX475 without so much as a blip of trouble for the last 4 years. Still using WHS 1 for the DE. But I'm now unable to access the server. The machine will turn on, so it's not power. But it won't boot up, and I have no way to access it directly (or do I?). There's no anger involved. The machine has served me well for years and I didn't expect it to last forever.
I'm relatively sure my data is OK. I have no reason to believe it's not. I'm not really in a position to experiment too much because this machine contains virtually ALL of my data. It's not a disaster if I lose my data files - I'll live. But the 32,000+ photos I can't lose. The EX475, with it's redundancies, was my only source of backup. I store all data on the server, nothing on local PCs.
So I'm trying to figure out what my options are. I've worked on lots of PCs, but never a server. There's lots of things I don't know: Are the files stored on the drive like any normal drive? I don't use encryption. Can I just pull them out and read them in a PC? Can I pull the drives out and put them in a PC (I have several in the garage) and make my own server? If I buy a new server can I just put the drives in and it should come up? I don't remember which of the 3 drives is the system. Is there a way to tell? If I can't connect to the server via my PCs (which is the way I've always done it) is there a way to connect a keyboard/mouse/monitor directly so that I can try a restore?
If none of these options are viable. Does anyone know of a trustworthy shop in the LA area that I could take it to?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Randy Madden