Computer failed

[hedly]

Sooo, it's been a looonnng time since I've been on here. Sage has been plugging away like a champ.

That was until last night when the computer rebooted for some reason and now it can't find the operating system. I can hear a disk cycling so it sounds like the OS drive failed.

I'm debating on whether or not to replace the whole system (specs below) with a mini PC. The system is a few years old and I'm running it as a Sage Media Player (i.e. the recorded shows are on the PC locally...but I do have our music and movies on a separate file server).

I've been debating replacing the system with a MiniPc and then turning our server into a Sage server along with being our file share/server.

So I've got a couple questions.
1) Anything I have to watch out for?
- Known hardware conflicts
- Issues with windows 11

2) what about remotes. If I go with the server option and a mini-PC, I won't be able to use the Hauppauge remote. Used to be that we would use the USB-IRT and that seems to be what people are still using. I also have a logitech Harmony 520 but it never seemed to work as well or as cleanly as the Hauppauge remote.
- What about something like the Rii MX3
- Or the Inteset 4-in-1 Universal
- Can I use any USB-IR receiver dongle?
- Are there any bluetooth HTPC remotes (I did a quick search and didn't see any)

Anything else that I need to consider?

Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide.

Regards,

[sic0048]

My "go to" computer right now is a used SFF computer with the i5-8X00 CPU chipset (8400 or 8600). You can get something like a Dell OptiPlex 3060 with 16gb of RAM for about $200 off EBay pretty regularly. Most times, even if the listing says "No OS", these machines ran Windows Pro OEM previously and will validate a new Windows installation without any problems or cost.

It's powerful enough for 99% of the needs out there (certainly anything SageTV would require of it). It's new enough that it supports Windows 11, but old enough they are dirt cheap. Plus while that SFF size is smaller than normal, it still offers plenty of space for an extra HD and PCI slots for accessories.

I have a mini computer that I use to drive a touchscreen in my kitchen, but I think you pay a lot for that "form factor" and if size isn't a huge concern, then these used SFF computers are a great option.

[Striker:WG]

Why can't you continue to use your Hauppauge remote?

[emveepee]

Originally Posted by Striker:WG

Why can't you continue to use your Hauppauge remote?

The client won't have the IR port that is in the tuner on the server

[KeithAbbott]

Not sure what else the mini PC would be used for. If you are only planning on using it as a Sage client, have you considered using either an HD300 or using a Fire TV stick with the miniclient instead of a mini PC?

[cat6man]

i had a similar problem earlier this year.
i replaced my old 5i7 ubuntu NUC with a new 12i5 NUC, moved the m.2 memory after backing it up, and voila, my sagetv has been rock solid since then.
something was failing over time (it always restarted fine, but within 24 hours i would lose connectivity to it) and a new NUC was the solution.

[Striker:WG]

Originally Posted by emveepee

The client won't have the IR port that is in the tuner on the server

If you have/can get a USB-UIRT you should be able to use the Hauppage remote. Do some googling and see if you can dig up LM Remote Keymap. Was some great software that was around a few years ago. Worked well to allow remotes and keymapping to work. If you can find it, DM me, I probably have an installer kicking around that I could share to you.