Huge announcement from HP today, at least for those who have first-generation Windows Home Server-based MediaSmart Servers, which ship with 512 MB of RAM. HP is allowing customers to upgrade the RAM, an involved process that involves delving into a pretty tight and intricately-packed space, without voiding the warranty. This is a big deal because if the past year has proven anything, once you start installing add-ons in WHS, RAM becomes a serious issue. Here are the details:
HP customers can now upgrade the memory on HP MediaSmart Servers without voiding the HP warranty.
Based on customer feedback, HP will now offer a path for consumers to upgrade the memory on the HP MediaSmart Server without voiding the hardware warranty. HP customer feedback and research shows that some customers are installing multiple add-ins and/or additional software to the MediaSmart Server, which can lead to a need for additional memory.
Details
Upgrading the memory, in and of itself, will not void the warranty on the MediaSmart Server. Damage to any part of the MediaSmart Server during the upgrade may violate the warranty, however, leaving the cost for repairs the responsibility of the customer. Customers should perform a backup to an external device before adding additional memory.
HP is only providing information on a customer memory upgrade path at this time, and customers will not be able to send their MediaSmart Server to HP to perform the upgrade. Customers may be able to find technical assistance for the memory upgrade, however HP is not recommending or training authorized resellers to conduct the memory upgrade on a MediaSmart Server. HP has not qualified any particular DIMMs, but compatible memory includes 1GB or 2GB - DDR2 667 MHz DIMMs. Customers should not upgrade beyond 2 GB of memory. Other than disk drives, HP does not support any other hardware upgrade paths, such as processor upgrades, on the MediaSmart Server.