Installing unRAID 6 on my HP Proliant Gen8 Microserver G1610T

In this post I am going to discuss how I went about installing unRAID 6 on my HP Proliant Microserver G1610T.

Downloading the unRAID image

Before going about installing unRAID I was under the impression that it would come in an ISO package like every other OS. However unRAID just comes as a package of files with a 'make-bootable' executable inside. Preparing the USB is easy! First of all your USB needs to be formatted to FAT32 and the volume label must be set to UNRAID in capital letters. 

Then simply transfer all the files to the root directory of the USB (i.e. not in a folder) and then run the 'make-bootable.bat' file as administrator. (Right click -> Run as administrator) A CMD prompt will appear just asking you to confirm you want to proceed - Press any button to continue and hey presto job done.

Now you just need to eject the usb from your computer, connect it to the internal USB slot of the microserver and boot it up. Mine booted into the USB straight away without editing any BIOS options. After successfully booting up I was able to navigate to http://tower from my desktop and was greeted with the unRAID web GUI. It really was that easy!

Licensing

Before you're able to do anything inside unRAID you need a license key. Upon first installation you're entitled to a 30 day evaluation period to test out the software. To activate your license navigate to 'Tools -> Registration'. You will need to enter in your email address so the license URL can be sent to you which you then paste into the box provided.

After that you're pretty much good to go!