RPi SSD and mSATA HAT

UglyKidJoe · September 13, 2018, 11:52am

Hi all,

I would like to move my OH2 installation to an SSD using Openhabian.

Would anyone be able to advise if the folowing SSD and HAT will work reliably? Ps I only use this Pi of OH2, nothing else…

Will the Pi be able so supply adequate power to the SSD with this setup?

Many thanks in advance

sihui · September 13, 2018, 1:19pm

I’m using the Renkforce (with a 30GB SSD) without any problems.

H102 · September 13, 2018, 1:33pm

Not sure if the Pi HAT with mSATA has an advantage over just an SSD, if so please share, but here is what I use and no issues thus far.

I read many articles on moving a setup from one device to another and thought I would give it a go. For anyone interested in what hardware was use (seem in most forums this can be an issue) RPI3 B+ with 5V 2.5A power supply, PNY CS900 SSD 120GB (bestbuy on sale $25) and a USB to SATA cable (amazon $12). Here is a link to the cable https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJZJI84/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 lots of issues with using RPI3 with no SD card seemed to come from cable compatibility. I’m waiting on a 2.5" hard drive enclosure w/ USB cable connection, if it works I will edit and include a link.

I changed from using the cable above to this enclosure and have since bought 2 more of these.

Hard drive case came this morning, sooner than I thought, and it works great! I had no issues with the USB to SATA cable, it seemed to respond quicker than before (Note: I was on a RPI2 before). After shutting down, swapping connections, then restarting I can definitely see a difference in response. I know I’m limited to USB2.0 speed due to the RPI3 but I’m pleased with my new setup. Here’s the hard drive case w/cable info for anyone thinking about upgrading. (amazon $8.59)

illnesse · September 13, 2018, 1:51pm

go for it! this is mine:

illnesse · September 13, 2018, 1:53pm

also re: power, see

github.com

openhab/openhabian/blob/master/functions/ext-storage.sh#L51


  infotext="It seems as if your system root is not on the SD card.
     ***Aborting, process cant be started***"
  whiptail --title "System root not on SD card?" --msgbox "$infotext" 8 78
  return 0
fi


#check if USB power is already set to 1A, otherwise set it there
if grep -q -F 'max_usb_current=1' /boot/config.txt; then
   echo "max_usb_current already set, ok"
else
   echo 'max_usb_current=1' >> /boot/config.txt


   echo
   echo "********************************************************************************"
   echo "REBOOT, run openhabian-setup.sh again and recall menu item 'Move root to USB'"
   echo "********************************************************************************"
   whiptail --title "Reboot needed!" --msgbox "USB had to be set to high power (1A) first. Please REBOOT and RECALL this menu item" 15 78
   exit
fi


#inform user to be patient ...

H102 · September 13, 2018, 2:11pm

Nice setup, I see you use the RPI GPIO pin as well. My old setup with an SD card I was using a few GPIO pins but haven’t tried on the new RPI with SSD, worried about power issues. I’m using the 2.5 amp supply that came with the pi and have the max_usb_current=1 but still concerned about using the GPIO’s.

Have you experienced any issues with SSD, GPIO’s and power?

UglyKidJoe · September 13, 2018, 2:52pm

All, thanks all for the valuable input.

I should have mentioned why I posted this setup in the first place…

For my first attempt at running off SSD I plugged in an Emtec 128GB portable SSD into a USB port on the Pi with a 6in USB cable that came with the drive. The Pi itself was powered using a 2.5amp supply (official RPi one). It proved unreliable though, I was losing sight of OH2 after a few hours of uptime. I went back to my SD and had no issues for a year

I used OpenHABian to move the system to SSD.

Here is the culprit…

So I thought I would try an mSATA HAT as it is purpose made. I’ll share here if I have any issues with it.