I’ve got a Nucleus that I purchased back in 2022 which runs on 1.0 (build 259). I’ve read through the threads about 3.0 and I’m struggling to understand if it is possible to upgrade to 3.0 and, if so, exactly how to do it.
I haven’t got a tv, monitor or keyboard that can connect to my Nucleus but have access to both a Windows laptop and MacBook.
I’m really hoping that I can upgrade and won’t be left with an expensive brick if 1.0 does become unsupported. I started a new thread as I thought it may be of use to other original Nucleus owners to keep things separate
Many thanks.
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For the original Nucleus Rev. A & B users…
You need to go into the BIOS, change the mode from Legacy BIOS to UEFI, and reinstall from scratch, using a USB stick to boot from and start the installation.
You will need them. You need to attach the Nucleus by HDMI to see something and a hardware keyboard to type something. Other computers don’t help here because changing the BIOS happens before the operation system boots, so at this stage there is nothing running that could establish a connection to another computer.
But if you have a friend with a TV and can spend 8 EUR for a USB keyboard at Amazon, you can just carry the Nucleus to your friend. Bonus points if the friend has a few computer skills and has installed an operating system before.
Be absolutely sure that you have a working Roon database backup before doing this.
You will be installing ROCK at first. After this you need to open a request (which you can do from the help form on the forum) for converting ROCK into the specific Nucleus software (which has additional software for power management because its fanless).
It will probably some time before this happens and by that time you may want a new machine anyway. OS 3.0 does not make anything noticeably faster or work better (and definitely not sound differently), it’s just an operating system. If there is nothing in the new features that you definitely want or need, there is no pressing reason to update.
Yes, but you don’t have to flash the BIOS (and perhaps better not to).
No, Roon Labs does this remotely after you request it. Go to the Support category here on the forum, click the big Get Help button, select “My Nucleus isn’t working right“, select your model from the menu, select this:
I updated my Nucleus+ Rev A to RoonOS 3.0 without any issue. I had previously replaced the SSD and went through the steps of installing ROCK and I might have updated the BIOS in the process, I can’t remember. I probably did which is why the 3.0 update worked without issue?
It’s not so much (if at all) about updating the BIOS but whether you had it configured as Legacy BIOS mode (the way the old Nucleus was configured out of the box) or UEFI mode when you reinstalled after the SSD replacement.
If you updated the BIOS software it was probably reset to the defaults, meaning UEFI mode. If you didn’t change this and reinstalled RoonOS, it was already at version 2.1 & UEFI mode since then and therefore could auto-update to 3.0 now.
Useful info. So I after addressing the BIOS legacy I then install Rock from USB and finally raise a tech support request by inputting the Nucleus Serial number. Any idea as to the response time for Roon to auto install RoonOS 3.0?
If you reinstall ROCK in UEFI mode, it will automatically update to RoonOS 3.0.
The tech support request is for installing the additional Nucleus software for power management for the fanless case. But you can use it before that - just make sure that you don’t run it under high load.
Not sure about resolution time but from what I’ve seen on the forum it usually seems to happen quite quickly.
We’ve been following the threads about installing ROCK on older Nucleus hardware to get Roon OS 3.0, and I know many of you were hoping it would be a way onto 3.0. Unfortunately, installing ROCK on a Nucleus is not an upgrade path we support or recommend.
The install is technically possible, but the BIOS and operating system changes can leave some devices unable to boot. Nucleus+ Rev B is especially at risk. Even when the install is successful, ROCK lacks the hardware-specific configuration that Nucleus uses.
We want to be unequivocal on one point since it is of consequence for anyone weighing this install: Roon Support will not convert a ROCK install into Roon OS 3.0 for Nucleus. Please do not begin the procedure on the expectation that our team will be able to complete that conversion.
If you’ve already made the switch, please consider contacting Roon support before taking any other steps; our team can go through your options, although recovery may not be possible in every case.
Everything above is about the Roon OS 3.0 upgrade. Your Nucleus is not affected otherwise and will keep running Roon exactly as it does today.
Hi, and the Nucleus+ Rev B uses the NUC7i7DNB board which is used in the NUC7i7DNKE and taller NUC7i7DNHE
It uses the Intel Core i7-8650U CPU (1.9 GHz base, quad-core with vPro support) which were Kaby Lake R” (“R” for “Refresh”) family and actually 8th Generation quad-core but unlike those in the NUC8 units retains a 15W TDP.
However, will not get tempted to boot up into BIOS and change BIOS to UEFI mode.
BTW I have one of my spare NUC5i3MYHE in UEFI mode, as I needed to load DietPi to run UnifiOS and console to manage my WiFi and network. It did move over from Legacy to UEFI mode without issue.
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