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HP Z420… More Drives!

The TrueNAS build is still going on! Last time we talked about Drive Caddies but that was weeks ago. Blame work being busy and some travel mixed in, anyway… I thought I could only add six drives to the Z420 because there were 6 SATA power cables… of course there were more than 6 SATA data ports! (Yes, there are five 2.5″ drives in the photo above.)

The optical drive power cable was one of the old 4 pin jobbers, but guess what? They make 4 Pin Male IDE Molex to 15 Pin Female Dual SATA Adapter/Splitters. So I got one. Well, two actually because it’s a two-pack.

So yeah, now I have 7 SATA drives plugged in, and can actually add one more. There are two pools, each with three disks, and then the boot drive, and I will see about adding a second SSD to mirror the boot drive. Yeah, 8 drives… who would have thought such things were possible! This is the free computer that just keeps on giving!

I will have to rethink the strategy of fitting all the drives into the front bay though. Luckily they are all 2.5″ so it may just be a matter of using some of those two-high 3D printed drive caddies I found.

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Focalboard for Task Management

Focalboard

Focalboard

In my quest for a web-based task manager I came across Focalboard. In the past I’ve used Asana, Monday, and Notion. This post is going to talk about Focalboard but also cover why I do not like the other platforms… (I’ve included some screenshots of Focalboard in case you like pictures.)

Focalboard

Asana is the first platform I used for managing my tasks. I used it at work in a team environment and it worked well. For my own personal projects (and small business projects) I was able to use it for free, since I was just a single user. I think I quit using it when it removed the feature that would email you reminders. This was probably 4 or 5 years ago.

Focalboard

I switched to Monday because I wanted an alternative to Asana and maybe they offered the email reminders thing or something else I thought Asana was lacking. I used it for a while, once again as a single user as I am the only employee at my (very) small company. I don’t remember why I left Monday but I switched to Notion… maybe 2 or 3 years ago?

Focalboard

There were things I really liked about Notion, but shortly after I started using it they added this AI feature in beta and forced all users to have it. I mean it was in the interface every time you wanted to type something. Once they rolled it out the only way you could opt-out or disable it was if you had a huge corporate account…

I should note that right now in 2025 all three of these fuckers (Asana, Monday, and Notion) promote AI AI AI all across their home page. “Work Smater with AI. Increase Productivity with AI!” and on and on. I do not fucking want AI. I want a simple task manager…

Focalboard is a simple task manager. It lacks a few things I would like, but I can self host it on my own server, so the data I put into it is only for me. It’s not being used to train AI, it’s not being used to pump up user numbers for some corporation. Here is the code. But wait… it’s still not good.

Focalboard seems to be (sort of) abandonware. As in, the code repo is no longer maintained, and they are looking for a new maintainer. People have volunteered but there’s been no action yet. And I do hope someone takes it over, because when I looked up Mattermost I see they do work for the US Air Force and Department of Defense. Sigh…

So yeah, those are my notes about Focalboard. I am using it for now, it is open source, and for me it is self hosted, and yes, it does not have a few features I would like, but the world is full of compromise.

Focalboard is “good enough” for me right now because I ran out of the motivation and energy to find an alternative. I would like something that is open source, I can host myself, has minimal clicking needed (as in, I can type things inline) and I would love to be able to subscribe to a calendar of due dates for tasks… notifications (email, etc.) would also be nice.

I don’t feel like I am asking for too much but I’ve yet to find something that does those things… Suggestions are welcome!

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macOS Finder and USB Flashing Format (UF2)

Sad Mac

Sad Mac

It took me a while to figure this one out. I’m running macOS Sequoia on two different Macs and I would occasionally get Finder lockups. I feel like in with previous versions of macOS I could quit the Finder and restart it in the terminal and things would (mostly) go back to normal. This was not working, and quitting the Finder meant it would never relaunch and I’d be forced to reboot. My Mac Studio at work reboots in under a minute and I can relaunch all my applications fairly easily, but my home (2019) iMac takes a long time to boot back up, so it’s super annoying.

There’s one common thing between these two Macs, and it’s the USB Flashing Format (UF2).

At work I program micro:bit boards. When you plug one into your Mac it shows up in the Finder so you can copy a .UF2 file to it to load new code. At home I program Raspberry Pi Pico boards, which also mount in the Finder on first use, or when holding down the BOOTSEL button when plugging it in.

Matt Godden suggested resetting the Mac’s USB Bus but the solution that seems to be working is to unplug the microcontroller. Yes, unplug it.

It happened again today so I figured I should write this post to remind me, and maybe inform others. Today it happened right as I tried to copy a .UF2 file to a Pico board. I got the “pinwheel of death” so I walked away and when I came back minutes later it was still spinning until I unplugged the board. I am pretty sure I’ve seen it happen with a micro:bit even when I was not trying to copy new code to the board.

So this may happen when copying a file to the board or just even when the board is connected via USB.

So if you are using a Mac to copy a UF2 file to a microcontroller and the Finder locks up try to just unplug the board to see if it fixes is.

Update 2025-05-07

After a few more days of testing I’ve realized that it’s not just an issue with the Finder locking up. There is also an issue with the Finder slowing down. I left a micro:bit plugged in via USB and went about my work and the Finder still worked but suddenly had issues opening folders and displaying files. I took a screenshot and it never showed up on the desktop… until I unplugged the micro:bit! So we’re dealing with an issue that may lock up the Finder but may also slow down the Finder. Sigh…

Update 2025-07-08

To replicate this issue you need to use your Mac. If you just leave a board connected and walk away it seems fine when you return, but the process of actively using your computer, switching applications, creating files, using the Finder, seem to help reveal the slowdown and lockup. I’ll try to get a better sense of things the more it happens.

Update 025-07-30

Still having this issue on macOS 15.4. If I leave a micro:bit connected via USB and try to save files they will not show up in the Finder until the micro:bit is disconnected. This magically fixes things and files suddenly appear. It’s maddening.

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HP Z420 Drive Caddies…

3D Printed Drive Caddies

3D Printed Drive Caddies

This TrueNAS project has had some setbacks, including RAM, but I’ve made progress!

3D Printed Drive Caddies

Since I am loading up this machine with drives I need some way to hold the drives in place, so once again 3D printing is the solution. I didn’t want to design a drive caddy as I assumed there would be some out there already, and there are, so I started looking, My results are below.

3.5″ to 5.25″ Drive bay adapters – Universal
I like this one. It does require a few bolts, but those bolts do allow you to secure this into the case, which can be a nice advantage. It’s got a lot of hole pattern options as well. It definitely feels solid since it gets bolted onto the drive.

3.5″ Hard Drive to 5.25″ Drive Bay Adapter
This is an interesting design! It uses no hardware and (for my print) snaps into place using the screw holes in the hard drive. It you don’t have hardware or don’t want to use it, this is nice. IF the fit isn’t tight it should still stay together once inserted into the computer. (I did need to print with supports.)

3D Printed Drive Caddies

3D Printed Drive Caddies

HP Workstation Rack for 2.5 HDD-SDD
This one is pretty good for holding a 2.5″ drive with bolts through the bottom. The one issue I have is that it’s a bit too long, at least for my computer. I could probably do a quick tweak on it in OpenSCAD to work for my needs though. It does need bolts on the side to slide into place.

3D Printed Drive Caddies

3D Printed Drive Caddies

3D Printed Drive Caddies

2.5” to 5.25” adapter for HP workstation case
I like this one as it’s got space for two drives, though you certainly can put just one drive it in if you want. It’s got a nice little cutout handle to make it easy to slide in and out if needed. I’m pretty sure I had to print it with supports though because of the little rails on the side.

HP Z440 3.5 drive caddy for 2 ssd drives
This one is okay, though I think I prefer the one above over this one. The sides where the drives attach seem a little thin, and the drives could be spaced out a bit more, though this one does have a hole on the bottom for more airflow. This one does not have built-in rails (so not support needed) so you’d need to add some bolts.

I’m still not 100% sure which of these I will end up using as they all have pros and cons. Of course it’s nice to see some variety in design and how people approach the problem of holding a hard drive (or two) in place.

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USB Hand Warmers?

USB Hand Warmers

USB Hand Warmers

First of all, I know I should have posted this a few months ago before it was April and 60 degrees F outside, anyway…

Yes, USB Hand Warmers are a thing! I was joking that it’s just a USB power bank that shorts itself out and overheats, but hand warmers you can charge via USB are totally a thing… And I tried a pair out.

USB Hand Warmers

I actually ended up giving these to my daughter who was hoping for “electric gloves” (sorry!) and she said they’ll work just fine… but I did test them out a bit before she got them. These “OCOOPA Magnetic Hand Warmers Rechargeable” were just under $20 USD and they did work well. The magnetic part just means they stick together on the flat side. I’m not sure it’s an amazing feature unless you think magnets are magic. (Some people do!)

USB Hand Warmers

USB Hand Warmers

I think my only complaint is that the little LEDs to show if it’s charging or the battery is low are difficult to see. You need to get the angle just right to see them as there are tiny holes that lead to the LEDs mounted inside.

USB Hand Warmers

The warmers were small and slim enough to slide into my pockets for a winter bike ride and then put into my gloves (facing my palms) once I got off the bike. So yeah, just like magnets these totally work. USB Hand Wamers. Cool. (I mean, Warm!)

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