New ROCK user/installation

Roon Software Discussion ROCK
1

I’ve been running Roon on a 2014 MacMini since March or April. While that worked well, I didn’t like mixing business usage on the MacMini with my personal usage of Roon. So, I just finished setting up ROCK on a NUC10 with an internal SSD for music storage. Have only had it running for a few hours now but so far everything seems to be working as before. And it sure is a slick looking tiny little box. So, I’m a happy camper once again.

I really appreciate Roon putting out the free ROCK software. But I gotta say that the installation instructions leave a lot to be desired. There’s a lot there, but lots not fully explained. It’s like there’s just enough to make you think it explains everything, but then leaves you stumped when actually doing it. I have a computer science background, and have done lots of electronics DIY stuff (so I know how to follow instructions), yet ran into multiple brick walls getting everything configured and installed correctly. Each time, I ended up stepping away from it, thought it over, did a bit of online research (thank you to this forum!), and ultimately figured out what I was missing or did wrong or still needed to do. And perhaps I’m burying the lead a bit, but I’m guessing part of the problem is the newness of the support for NUC10, which likely caused some of the differences not fully explained in the present instructions.

Basically, I’m just sharing here. My new ROCK system seems to be working well and I’m happy with it. And for now, I don’t have any questions. I’m sincere when I say thank you to Roon for making ROCK freely available. But it would sure be nice if someone took the time to generate a more complete set of installation instructions because at this point I would be hesitant to recommend others try it without a strong warning about likely pitfalls and frustration. I know, I know, now that I’ve successively done it, I should get started on that improved write-up, right? :wink:

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I think improved directions would be a good idea if people think they’re necessary.

But for one more data point, I had no trouble whatsoever and I’m fairly technically inept. I was so concerned I brought all the parts to the office, figuring I’d impose on the tech staff if I got stuck.

Other than borrowing a screwdriver, I didn’t need them at all.

Of course, as you know, I needed to be on my own network to complete the set-up. So I brought everything home and finished without any problems at all.

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I was reading through the NUC/Rock installation guide last week, and in one section was printed something under items you need to set up " A keyboard and Mouse " but not essential!. I cannot remember the exact wording without looking at it again but seemed contradictory to me, I am no expert by any means but how would you get into the BIOS to update the system settings without a Keyboard and Mouse?. Perhaps someone could explain. Of course I may have got it completely wrong.

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From the ROCK Install Guide:

  • Plug in a monitor and keyboard. Mouse can be helpful configuring your BIOS, but it is not required.