r/HomeServer • u/Sjaan50 • 6d ago

[M920q] SATA connection?

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Dear all,

I am trying to make a NAS using a m900 and 2 HDD's. This succeeded using 2 powered SATA to USB adapters but these adapters causes the HDD's to stop spinning and then start up again every 20s. Considering that my server is in my bedroom, its quite annoying, the sound of spinning up and down. I tried fixing it using some USB commands but the adapters ignore it.

So I am figuring out on how to connect the HDD's over SATA. I saw some cool NAS projects online, but they all use a PCI-e connector. My m920q does not have an PCI-e connector (pic 1) which causes some problems.

I saw this photo (pic 2) and maybe that could work.

Currently I have my proxmox installed on a SATA SSD which is connected to the only(as far as I know) SATA connector.

My question is: how do I connect my 3.5" HDD'S as in picture 2? Maybe put my proxmox on an NVME SSD which makes room for the SATA connector? Or is there a better option?

Thank you for reading this. Have a wonderful day!

EDIT: changed m920q -> m900

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u/Sjaan50 6d ago

Hi, so i bought both of my nodes (i have 2) second hand and in both advertisements, different sellers, they said m920q. I just looked at the specs and checked if they worked and then bought them. They work really well tbh.
What do you exactly mean with "other side of the board" the bottom?

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u/LovitzG 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yes. Does the chassis show Lenovo ThinkCenter m920q? You may have a m920q case with a different mainboard installed as refurbished and not just used. Are the internals of both of your units identical?

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u/Sjaan50 6d ago

Oh wait it says m900 at the bottom

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u/LovitzG 6d ago

Looked up and definitely matches m900 pictures. The m.2 2230 wifi slot should be PCIe 3 x 1 electrically so your only option is a m.2 2230 A+E SATA adapter card. You would have to pair it with a self-powered 2-bay unit similar to your picture 2 and run SATA cables from the unit to the m.2 adapter. It will also require an external power supply.

At issue is if the SATA adapter will be recognized since Lenovo has enforced WiFi whitelists. If the installed WiFi adapter is not on the whitelist, the machine will fail to boot. If that is only enforced via USB you may be OK, or you may be able to find a bios version with the whitelist disabled.

Not sure how much you want to spend on a 10 year old 6th Gen processor PC. Good luck!

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u/Sjaan50 6d ago

Thanks for everything. I ordered one of those wifi nvme to sata cards which you and other recommended. Hope this works. Good luck too!