Transferring my SSD from one Nucleus to another. Will it work?

If you’re bored you could try an Ubuntu install. May even be able to see it from an Ubuntu distro booted off usb or cd.

I take it that you are doing database backups to a different computer or a NAS? Remember you can’t backup to internal storage.

I was going to say that those Windows ext4 mounters don’t always work. If you could see the drive before you unplugged it, then you probably are fine. The worst case scenario will be you might have to reformat when you put it into the returned Nucleus and then recopy your music files.

You cannot do that. Internal Storage has to be EXT4 AND ROCK or Nucleus will want to format any newly installed drive. That is why they tell you to not put in a drive that has data on it or you will lose it. It doesn’t matter if it is already formatted in the correct format, RoonOS will want to reformat it new.

Now, will he have an issue with his returned Nucleus? Not sure, and that should be a question he discusses with support. I really wouldn’t recommend doing a lot to the drive until the returned unit is back.

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True enough. That’s not terrible. But I started the day thinking that backing up the flacs would be straightforward and I’m still scratching that itch.

I looked into using WSL but I don’t think it can mount ext4-formatted drives. For that you need WSL2. And WSL2 has some irritating Windows dependencies the last time I checked. But there’s still an hour until dinner.

Or maybe, in the interest of relaxing, I’ll just wait until the new Nucleus arrives and see if it reads the SSD. Fingers crossed.

Wait a minute. So you’re saying the Nucleus-formatted SSD will not be usable in the new Nucleus without reformatting? (I assume that’s what you meant by “already formatted in the correct format”.)

Sorry, I just re-read your message more carefully. You’re saying it should work. False alarm.

No,

He’s saying it’s something you should discuss with support.
I agree.

He’s also saying don’t screw too much with the drive.
I agree with that now better understanding how unforgiving rock and nucleus are.

If it were me, I’d tinker cause it’s what I do. :face_with_monocle: He’s also saying don’t do what I’d do. :smiley:

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Thanks. My feeling is that “it can’t hurt” to just insert the Nucleus-formatted SSD and see what happens.

In the meantime I too can’t resist tinkering and so have upgraded my WSL to WSL2, which might be able to mount/read ext4 drives natively.

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Ah, that explains it. One other thing that puzzles me about your set-up: I get the impression that your core is not on the Nucleus and that you only use it to store your flacs. That would be one expensive hard disk case!
But perhaps I’m misreading your post…

Sorry for the confusion, Leo. I am using the Nucleus in a totally standard fashion: as the Core and to store my music (on the installed SSD). Before I bought the Nucleus, I was using a Windows laptop as the Core and storage; maybe that’s what led to the confusion?

To summarize: the ‘original’ mp3s are still on the laptop; the transcoded flacs are now on the SSD, which is on a shelf awaiting the arrival of a replacement Nucleus. Since there still seems to be some uncertainty about whether my SSD will or won’t need reformatting, I’ll let you all know as soon as I find out.

Okay. I’m a newbie Roon/Nucleus user myself, so I’m always curious about how other people do stuff. Haven’t got an SSD in mine, just the core, as I already had all my music files on my NAS. Works perfectly. I may consider installing an SSD in the Nucleus at some point and use the NAS as backup only. My current backup is the harddisk in my previous streamer Mede8er X3D. Good luck with your new Nucleus, and it’s good to hear that Roon replaced it without problems.

Here’s the promised update on whether one can simply pop a Nucleus-formatted SSD into a different Nucleus. The answer is yes. I did this today and the new Nucleus immediately starting registering all 2500 albums on my SSD without incident. The whole operation took 20-30 minutes.

This was actually a bit of a surprise. I had tried several different methods to read and backup the contents of the SSD before the new Nucleus arrived: plugging my sata-to-usb adapter into a Windows 8 or 10 computer; using DiskInternals Linux Reader to read the ext4-formatted drive in Windows 10; using Linux Ubuntu running under WSL2 to mount the ext4 drive natively. In each case, the drive was not even noticed; it just acted like a piece of inert plastic and metal. But once inserted into the Nucleus all was well. Phew.

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Glad to.hear it’s sorted.