· The Nucleus boots up and I can connect to it in the Roon app without issue, but I have a question about configuration/storage/attached devices
Describe the issue
I started on Roon two weeks ago. I installed the server on a Mac. I like the Roon experience. It has revitalized my ripped CD collection (1,300 CDs ALAC and FLAC). However the connection between the Roon Server and the Library was tenuous on my Mac. So, I bought a Nucleus One. It arrived last night. I spent the better part of 12 hours iterating through connecting the Nucleus to the NAS. The CDs are ripped to a WDMyCloud NAS. The NAS worked well and was stable for SONOS for several years. Works equally well for KEF Connect now. The install connection to my library has been painful. I have been inside community articles going back 5-10 years to current. The NAS appears to connect and starts indexing. Then it stops and crashes the NAS after about 200 CDs are indexed. The 200 CDs appear in the Remote app on my Mac and iPhone. But they will not play music on my KEFs or any Air Play 2 devices. I want to get this working and just start enjoying Roon. Thanks for your help.
Unfortunately, we were unable to pull the diagnostic logs from your machine automatically, so we will need your assistance.
Could you please follow the instructions in this article to extract the logs from your Nucleus, and then upload them to our Logs Storage so we can review them.
Additionally, at first glance, it appears your Nucleus currently has 4GB of RAM, which can struggle to index larger libraries like yours. We will likely recommend upgrading the RAM in your Nucleus (the modules are quite inexpensive), but we need to review your logs first to confirm if this is the root cause.
Thank you, Alex. Please put this request on ice for now. I am going to acquire an SSD drive and store the music files on the Nucleus and take the NAS pain out of this.
If the memory is easily accessible, I will upgrade that while installing the SSD in the Nucleus. If you could point me to a knowledge article on swapping the memory, I would be grateful. I do have limits with my comfort mucking around the inside of the machine. I am not a novice to memory and storage upgrades, but I know my limitations.
Lastly, I plan on using ChronoSync from the current NAS to the Nucleus drive. I have seen this get general plaudits from the community. But if you have an opinion on ChronoSync and Nucleus, please let me know now.
You could make it easier by getting an external USB drive instead of an internal one. That way you could populate it on a different PC before plugging it up to the Nucleus. The speed of an internal SSD is wasted anyway for music playback since USB speeds are more than fast enough.
That way you can also have a place to do backups, since you cannot backup to an internal drive on a Nucleus (or any ROCK based PC).
Thanks Rugby. Makes sense. I will give the USB drive a shot before going the internal drive route.
Alex, Re: upgrading the RAM. The pix and workflows to take the cover off the Nucleus One are either dated, or I am missing something obvious. I am looking at the directions in the article. There are no screws on the top of the unit. There are six small, four large on the bottom. Two on the back panel. What screws dislodge the Nucleus One top?
Did you follow these directions? I haven’t messed with a One as I prefer to use my own PCs. But, it might be that you only need to follow the 2a instructions.
Changing the RAM on the ONE is, as I understand it, a more involved affair than the other Nucleus, which I have an original Nucleus; currently sitting on a shelf doing nothing. Keep in mind, there is only 1 RAM slot in the One, so you would be removing the old RAM and replacing it with the new stick.
Open the Nucleus Case
Remove Screws: Use a small screwdriver to remove the screws securing the top cover of the Nucleus.
Lift the Cover: Carefully lift and remove the top cover to access the internal components.
2a. Nucleus One only:
After removing the top cover, turn the unit upside down.
Unscrew the 6 shorter screws located on the bottom of the device.
Next, unscrew the 2 screws on the back panel.
Once all screws are removed, carefully lift the lid to open the unit.
The likely reason for the crash is not dependent on where your storage is located.
When your Nucleus indexes your music files, it creates its own database. During this indexing process, it can consume a significant amount of RAM.
Since you are planning to disassemble your Nucleus anyway, we recommend upgrading the RAM at the same time. A 4GB SO-DIMM DDR4 RAM stick typically costs less than $30.
For the disassembly process, please consider following @Rugby’s advice. Please note that the Nucleus One requires a small extra step.
Let us know if you have any questions about this process.
We haven’t heard from you in a while and wanted to check in.
Were you able to perform the RAM upgrade, and did the process go smoothly after that? Please let us know if you have any updates or if you need further assistance.
Hi, Yes I got the RAM upgrade completed. I swapped the 4GB factory stick with a 16GB Vengeance. I have not had time to add the WDMyCloud. That is the test for success.
The 16GB stick is working. Will advise once I add the NAS. Which is where we hit the wall that required more RAM.
Feedback
If too large for the factory RAM libraries are defined as 1000 lossless CDs, then that might be disclosed in the sales specs for the Nucleus One.
Maybe offer RAM upgrades in checkout process.
The swap is not impossible, but it is non trivial. Unplugging, dislodging the mother board is required. Also, the support doc for swapping RAM needs updating with clearer instructions on opening the Nucleus One.
Thanks Suedkiez. Exactly my point about the specs. Yes, I am nowhere near any limits as described in the specs. Make me wonder whether the Nucleus One setup process was tested initially scanning a NAS at different lossless file numbers. The attraction of a bespoke device like Nucleus One “just works” plug and play integration between hardware and software. I love Roon, but I am not looking for an ongoing home A/V project. Just want to listen to music.
We are back to the first square on the game board. I reconnected the WDMC NAS. The scan process crashed the NAS at exactly the same file count. So happy the RAM is maxed. But it didn’t solve the problem. I will extract the logs and get them off to you per the first instructions you posted. Frustrating. I am thinking I should do a completely new install of the OS. But we will wait to see what the logs say. This is a lot of work to get up and running.
No, I did not load the logs. I made a decision to ditch the WDMyCloud as my file store.
I installed a Crucial BX500 2GB SSD drive in the Nucleus. I used ChronoSync to load the music files to the BX500 from a backup copy of my CD library sitting on a portable SSD attached to my Mac. After the music loaded (1 1/2 hours), I enabled the drive and what do you know? I have a fully functional, populated Roon Nucleus One. I don’t know what the Nucleus One and/or MyCloud NAS hated about the initial scan, but at this point I am happy to just enjoy the setup. I am guessing that there was, or maybe still was some detritus related to the initial core install on my Mac that was screwing up the scan. Or something in the MyCloud NAS config that the Nucleus hated. Like I said it worked as a music server for SONOS for years and KEF for two years running now. So I am flummoxed.
Summary: I upgraded the RAM to a Corsair Vengeance 16GB stick. I added the Crucial 2GB SSD. I am backing the Roon DB to two locations: 1. WDMyCloud NAS and 2 Dropbox. (Funny yes, that the MyCloud NAS is happy to be a DB backup location).
Screen shot of loaded music attached . I think the actual count of added albums is more like 1200-1300. The headline album count includes a few hundred in my Tidal library and, I think it the Roon DB is double counting albums that had multiple CDs - CD1 and CD2 and CD3 from same album.
You can close the ticket. If you are interested in what was screwing up the initial NAS connection, I can still pull the logs. But I am OK not knowing as the Roon now working well. Thanks.
The WD MyCloud NAS was the device that was crashing, not the Nucleus One. Adding RAM to the latter was superfluous advice, and I do not know why Roon Support and community members suggested it. The NAS was the problem from the beginning.
