ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Nope, you can't.
BM5's serial number is stored in/on both manboard's BIOS and on the harddrive.
Both has to be present, otherwise no updates will be available.
Yes, you can upgrade hard drive in BeoMaster 5. If you clone the old harddisk to the new, it is possible without the Service Tool. !
I know you can upgrade the size of harddisc, but are the updates still downloadable?
I've done this 2years ago, cloning, resizing, in different ways. Even with the dynamic hidden partion/folder on the fourth partition.
But it didn't seem stable at that time.
It worked, but totally unexpected blue screen of death's appeared once and a while.
I've done it for 1 year ago with mine. I replaced my 500 GB for a 1Tb hard drive. And it still works flawlessly.
Could you please explain how you upgraded the drive to work flawlessly?
I used a hard drive cloning Set. And copied over the old hdd to the new one. Then i expanded only storage partition on the new drive using a disk partition program.
I'm thinking of upgrading mine to an SSD... How many CDs do a 512gb fit? or should i go for a 700+gb SSD?
Only other moving part is the fan... and that can be replaced aswell i believe? Maybe with a fluidbearing silent one??
I want it to last as long as the B&O Stereo my dad bought in the 80s... 20+ years... And thats NOT going to happen with a spinning disk drive...
· The HDD in your BeoMaster 5 is maybe 5-6 years old and the risk for failure renders more and more to probability. Normal lifetime of a spinning disk is 5 years
· Soundlevel goes down even though B&O has done a great job in minimising the sound.
· Power consumption goes down
· Most important is that your startup time and look and feel on Beosound 5 goes more smooth as you would always have wished it should.
If you decide to use my guide as inspiration the risk is yours alone. I wil not be held responsible for any malfunction on your system. I can of course provide advice trough this forum as my time allows.
If you have not tried to change HDD in eg. a laptop or have a certain knowledge on IT the I suggest you seek advice from a friend that does.
This guide is only for inspiration as i made this guide on request from "Millemis" a couple of month after I did the actual conversion. Everything in here is to my best knowledge and memory of the process ;-)
Before dismounting BeoMaster 5 be sure the power cable is detached from the chassis as there are live voltage within the box
Buy an SSD HD, preferable same size as the original HDD. Do you buy a smaller one then maybe the music files will no longer be able to fit locally on the BeoMaster 5. If you got you music files on a NAS an SSD size on 128 GB is fine.
SSD has to be with SATA interface, most are. I myself used a Crusial M4 128GB mSATA and a conversion kit to normal SATA due i got the SSD laying around.
Some may think OK I will upgrade memory at the same time, but forget that. The system has enough memory and with only one memory slot it not possible to go to 2 GB
Equipment to be used.
· 128 GB Samsung 840 Pro Series around 100 €. Can be bigger. I will not guarantee the Samsung will work as I have not tried but I am 90 % sure it will
· Adapter 2,5" to 3,5" around 10 €
· USB to SATA adapter, around 20 €
· Empty USB stick >= 1GB
Then it will be needed for ease, external display, keyboard, mouse and an USB hub as BeoMaster 5 only has two USB ports and we need 3. The USB keyboard could be one with internal trackpad, then you will be fine
Download Hiren's toolboks and make an bootable USB stick. Google "Hiren's boot usb" lots of info here.
Attach mouse and keyboad.
Go to service menu.
Select MODE, go to SETTINGS and press > < > < GO
Go to MAINTENANCE and select SERVICE MENU. Now XP embedded GUI is launched.
Go to control panel - system og advanced, settings and remove virtual memory
Now you can shut down XP as usual
Attach external display if you wish and connect you Hiren's Boot USB
Cleanup is only necessary if the SSD is smaller than the original HDD
Power on BeoMaster 5 by pressing the reset button on the back.
Under boot press and hold "esc" on the attached keyboard until the boot menu appears. Select Hiren's Boot USB as boot device
Delete all music files under Music folder if you have it stored and use it from NAS
Defrag HDD with the buildin XP defrag. Most important partition is "Data" because we want to compress the data to be on the start of the partition so it will fit the smaller SSD
Attach you new SSD disk via USB to SATA cable and check its recognized på Windows
Use cloning tool from Hiren's to clone each partition. There are four partitions and they have to be cloned 1to1 except "Data" as we now has the possibility to make that smaller or bigger to suite your SSD.
I used Partition Wizard Home Edition as it was has the least complex GUI. See http://www.partitionwizard.com/ for information of usage. Use the copy disk wizard and shrink/enlarge data partition if needed.
After cloning check that all partitions is primary and System partition is (Boot) partition. And Recovery is (System) partition
Easy test that all is in order is to reboot BeoMaster 5 and select Boot menu and then SSD disk while still connected to USB. It's not always it will be recognized by B&O bios here so better to attach it directly instead of the old HDD.
Remove old HDD drive and the new SSD is mounted - now your BeoMaster has gained new life ;-)
Remember to set Virtual memory back to 1GB again i Service Menu
My BeoMaster did an total MOTS recalculation in around 4 hours with music files on NAS, before it took around 4 days with music files locally.
Updates from B&O works fine with the new SSD. I did write the same serial numbers on the various volumes as on the old HDD. But I don't think this is necessary. I did it because my BeoMaster would not recognize the new SSD. But it turned out that the two year old SSD needed en firmware upgrade in order to be used for boot device.
The serial number of main board and other boards are store on the HDD/SSD but not visa versa so I don't think it will be a problem at all. If you find out different use the Volume Serial Number Changer on you Hiren's USB. You need to get the original Serials from the old HDD.
Finally one, who did it
Thanks.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Struggled for a while to get this done.
Just cloned an 1TB Samsung Evo to my BM5.
The key I think to succeeding now and failing before (could not boot the drive) is to copy the volume serial number.
10
There is another way to get this done, which is much much easier to do even for the folks with NO experience with computer hardware & software:
1: Open the Beomaster 5 and remove the internal Harddisk
2: Buy a Harddisk of the same or larger size than the one installed in the Beomaster
3: Buy this: http://www.amazon.de/DUAL-Dockingstation-alle-SATA-Festplatten/dp/B00FFYN5VW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408522415&sr=8-2&keywords=festplatte+clonen ( or a similar dual HDD docking station with clone function )
4: With the above mentioned docking station, put the Beomaster HDD in the first ( source ) slot, the new HDD in the second ( target ) slot, press the middle button for 3 secs to enable cloning
5: After some time the cloning is done, install the new HDD into the Beomaster ( mains connection must be the last ) and boot it up... leave it alone until the red light doesnt flash anymore and you are done...
In my case I upgraded from a 500 GB spinning disc to a 500 GB SSD ( Samsung 840 Pro ) and the Beosound now feels like it should... everything is much faster, the system is quiet and doesn't consume so much power... the total costs are 200 Euro for the SSD plus 30 Euro for the docking station, I wonder what the cost will be if your BS5 crashes and you ask B&O to get it fixed :-)
Best regards
Stephan
Thanks for that tip!- Will it work with every HDD and every filesystem? That would enable to clone disks from proprietary systems like my old Sony NAC-HD1e, too.- do updates on your Beosound 5 still work? Afaik the serial numbers have to be written onto the harddisk, too.
And how about going from the 500GB HD to a bigger one?
Will the 'Clone Station' do that too?
Millemissen: And how about going from the 500GB HD to a bigger one? Will the 'Clone Station' do that too? MM
According to this (german) Amazon review you have the problem that you'll have two partitions on a hdd if you clone your old hdd to a bigger one:http://www.amazon.de/review/R1LCPFQGXOFKWV/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00FFYN5VW&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=340843031&store=computersAfterwards you have to manually merge the partition with external computer software...
That is what I thought might be the result!
Great idea with the SSD
I think that this station can just copy everyting you plug into it...give it a try, otherwise send it back to Amazon...
The clone function only woks without the computer, simply insert 2 HDDs, connect the mains and press a button....
Cloning to a smaller sized HDD doesnt work, you press the button and nothing happens.
I just wanted to show a quick and easy way, no need to copy any serial number, I've checked that, even the serial number gets copied :-)
Update function works on my Beosound.
ultraviolent: I just wanted to show a quick and easy way, .
I just wanted to show a quick and easy way, .
Every BM5 owner should do that - at least for safety reasons --- so thanks!
Double post
Thanks Utraviolent !
Very good tips !
I noticed the several updates slow a bit down the fluid GUI of the BeoSound 5.
It's not new, we know that updates for a Windows system slow always down the entire hard disk.
So, your idea to replace the HDD for a SSD is really interesting. And i didn't know this clone machine. Very clever.
One thing : Is the SSD always recognized by the motherboard ? It doesn't need drivers ?
Hi Steph,
I was in doubt about this as well but no drivers were needed at all....Simply just plug and play, the new SSDs are backwards compatible... as long as the connector is right, you cant go wrong.
I tried the above described way with the cloning programs and Hirens etc. which all ended up that I got an error on my Display and nothing worked..
My problem was that I tried to merge the 500GB original disc to a slightly smaller SSD ( 480GB, I had this left...) which the cloning station doesn't do ... so I tried by hand and failed....
Finally I gave it a shot yesterday, with a new 500 GB SSD and my 400GB library was cloned in around an hour with the cloning station which is great... I tried to do a data copy using the Beomaster itself which ended in 3 days (!!!!) constant copying... forget this... take the HDD out, plug it into the station and let it do all the work...
The GUI will be superfluid after the SSD upgrade and you can keep the old HDD somewhere in storage if something goes wrong with the SSD or the data on it...
If B&O charges you over 300 Euro for a simple CD ROM drive aka Ripping Device, I wonder what they will charge you if you tell them your BS5 HDD crashed ( out of warranty ) and you need a new one with Windows embedded OS and all that :-)
If you have any questions, let me know - happy to help!
P.S.: if you want to do it the super-correct way, get a 3,5" to 2,5" converter / frame for the HDD as you are not able to fix the much smaller SSD into the place where the old HDD was... ( Something like this: http://www.amazon.de/CSL-Einbaurahmen-kompatibel-Festplatten-Montagezubeh%C3%B6r/dp/B00F3XQGNO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408545310&sr=8-3&keywords=ssd+einbaurahmen )
I really think it's a good idea to swap the HDD for a fast one.
And apparently, the updates are OK, despite the change of hardware (serial number is copied too).
So, maybe my next purchase... with a BeoLab 11 for my BeoLab 3 connected to my BeoSound 5 !
I agree. Unfortunately (?) I have a 1TB disk in my BM5, and the price for a 1TB SSD s still quite high.
I had the original 500GB replaced to 1TB under warranty.
Instead I will make a copy in any case to another 1TB disk, that is really a good idea.
I tried to change the disk to a 1TB SSD (samsung 840EVO) without success...I could easily copy everything to the disk, but the motherboard has problems detecting the SSD.
Sometimes it detects the SSD and boots without any problem. As long as the BM5 does not reboot it works perfect (quick and smooth ....)But when it reboots, sometimes it does not detect the ssd (no boot device available).I found on the net this happens a lot with ssd's on older system boards.Mostly a bios update or a firmware update of the ssd could do the job, but it has already the latest firmware.... so this is no solution for this problem. I emailed Samsung support and the only advise i've got from them is also bios/firmware update ...I asked them if it can be the ssd is malfunctioning but no answer yet..Maybe I will be able to try with another SSD in a couple of days...
nico
Nico,
Your original BeoMaster hard disk was a 1Tb too, or it was a 500 Gb ?
I am going to try the exact same tomorrow, however I am copying to a Samsung 512 Evo Pro SSD instead. I will share my results.
BeoVision Eclipse 55, BeoPlay S8 (sub+rears), BeoPlay A9 MKII (living room), BeoVision Avant 32 DVD (retro gaming, basement), BeoLab 4000 (entertainment room, basement), BeoSound 8 (workshop), 2x BeoPlay S3 (PC), BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay H2/H3 (on the go)
Steph:Nico, Your original BeoMaster hard disk was a 1Tb too, or it was a 500 Gb ?
Maybe this is why it's not totally OK.
Ultaviolent said to reduce the risks, the SSD should have the same capacity than the original HDD.
So, Frederik, we're waiting for your review !
i do not think the capacity difference is the problem….
or the SSD is defect or there is a problem with motherboard supporting some (newer) SATA standards.
for example you can not choose AHCI in the bios from the BM5..…
for SSD this options should be set to on. With newer systemboards you will have this option
this protocol is a standard for detecting and configuring SATA adapters/disks.
But this is a newer protocol so …
I think the systemboard has SATA1 and these disks are SATA3, but backwards compatible to SATA 2 and 1
If you check on the net you will find more people with similar problems and this has always to do with bios compatibility
maybe one other possible cause :
I used a MSATA with an adapter to SATA
Maybe this could be a cause of the problem (timing problem ?)
Could be because sometimes it boots sometimes it does not … (just a guess ..)
I will change the msata ssd to a sata ssd and then try again next week…
I hope this time it work …. -)
Oh dear... I have had a very bad result trying to clone the HDD of a BeoMaster today. I used a cloning dock without the need of a computer. I tried to clone the drives but nothing seemed to happen. I then connected the dock to the PC and installed the software. When I ran the cloning programme from the PC I got an error after 5% progress saying "read failure". I tried another cloning software and everything was fine. The drive was cloned to the new SSD and I thought everything would be fine. I hooked up the SSD to the BM5 but got the message "Boot failure. Insert system disc and press enter". I just thought that I had the same issue as nico stated above, but when I then put the standard HDD back inside to boot the system on I got the same message!! Have I really broken the system disc?! I cannot understand why this has happened. I have been very careful not to format the original data on the standard HDD. I did not even try switching the system on before starting this process so I really don't know if the disc was dead on arrival. Please help
Frederik,
see my PM, you should go into the bios to see if detects the disk and to tell the system there is another boot device.
also : ...
I tried today with a 500 GB Samsung SSD 840 pro and have exactly the same problems as i had before ...(drive not always seen by bios), so same problem as the 1TB SSD ...
I guess this has something to do with the firmware not backwards compatible enough .. ?May be it is a timing problem because sometimes it works and sometimes it does not ....Thats why it may be works with other system boards ...Anyway i wrote again an email to Samsung to ask their advice..
I am away from my BM5 so cant directly help. I would look at the following subject to the caveat I'm not a PC expert and dont technically know 100% what I'm doing myself:-
1. NV has confirmed that AHCI cannot be flagged. Check to see if "Enhanced" can be
2. check EHow-6551234 on the wondernet for tweaks
3. Look at you partition alignment (AcronisAlignTool 2.0 or Samsung Evo Magician 4.4). The partitions on SSD need to be precisely aligned with 1024k gaps.
4. Check with BiosAgentPlus and Viarena.com for your Bios and Hardware particulars. Via may have a flash-update.
SSD is a PITA with XPe and I'll be getting stuck into the above in a coupel of weeks when I have access to my BM5. Theres a lot out there in terms of info. Just got to piece it all together.
Best of luck.
I have tried the 840 EVO too and this SSD does not work. :-(
What a pity !
I would have liked to try this SSD too.
Apparently, only Ultraviolent succeeded to get a good result !
It's really a pity, because as i've said before, it's a very good idea to increase the security of the datas and at the same time to get a more fluid GUI.
Just one thing :
Did someone try to compare the access time between the BS5 and the BS5 Encore ?
If the BS5 Encore access time is the same or maybe superior than the BS5 one, maybe the solution is to use a large external SSD connected in USB to the motherboard of the BS5 (Nico said he's got good result with an external HDD) ?
today I use an external disk connected via USB to extend capacityBut I do not think an SSD connected via USB will give better results in performance.The database remains on the primary disk, which is slow ...The usb disk is just containing music files...Also when you put new music on the USB disk, the beo software will not autodetect there is new music added.After a couple of days it will show up, or if you do a restart it will detect it also.When you put new music on the primary disk, the beo soft will detect it and add it to the mots database.The work around is to put most of the music on the extra USB disk so you enough space on the primary disk for new music ...
about SSD : I have seen there will be a new firmware somewhere in a couple of weeks from samsung.There is a bug for read performance. (data older than 1 month)This bug has nothing to do with our problem, but hopefully they will make some changes to the firmware for better IDE emulation :-)As soon as the new firmware is available i will give it a new try
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8570/firmware-update-to-fix-the-samsung-ssd-840-evo-read-performance-bug-coming-on-october-15th
Thanks Nico for testing !
And apart Samsung, is there any another SSD brand that can do the trick ?
The solution would be that B&O propose an "upgrade kit" (hardware and software) for existing users of BS5/BM5...
But with the new Moment sound system based on streaming music, i think the area of music system with physical drive is dead...
I have ordered the Samsung 840 Pro and I will try this SSD with my Beosound 5.
Does anybody know, how I can update the OS Version? I have Version 5 and one other user here has OS 6.Maybe this is the problem.
The application Version is up to date!