Xpenology - Synology DSM 6.1 in PC (Part #1 - Preparation)

It have been sometimes now since my last posting, so I think its time for me to start some overdue posting.

Now we all know the famous Synology brand name, they are famous & popular with their range of NAS (Network Attached Storage) and particularly their user's friendly DSM (Disk Station Manager) operating system.

Before we move on to the next topic, take note that I do not recommend this in a production environment for company. This little project is merely for fun and to test out the DSM OS before purchasing the actual product. If you have important data or intent to use it in a company environment, it is HIGHLY recommended to purchase the Synology product directly as it comes with support & warranty.

Xpenology itself doesn't contains the DSM OS (for more information visit their website), its just merely a bootloader (similar to GRUB4) and its functions is to boot the DSM OS on a desktop PC and run it. Some people called it a "hack" while some called it "testing", whatever your reasons is.......... its just for fun and testing and in any conditions it is NOT RECOMMENDED FOR ENTERPRISE OR COMPANY OR IMPORTANT DATA STORAGE USE.


Let's start..... :)

First we need to prepare ourself a few things :-

1. An old desktop PC that you have (eg. lying in your garage or store room) with a decent CPU (eg. Intel Pentium 4 or above), 2GB RAM or more (recommended is to have more RAM the better), a few working HDD (any capacities, it can mix & match if running in SHR mode).

2. At least 2 x USB 8GB drives (recommended to use Sandisk brand). 1 for the installation & 1 for loading the Xpenology bootloader.

3. Download the matching Xpenology bootloader. I'm using the Jun's mod 1.02b version.
[Filename : DS3615xs 6.1 Jun's Mod V1.02b.img]

4. Download the matching Synology DMS OS version. I'm using Synology DS3615xs v.6.1.7 (15284) version.
[Filename : DSM_DS3615xs_15284.pat]

5. Download Rufus USB tool. Any version will do the job.

6. Download OSFMount tool. Any version will do the job.

7. Download Notepad++ tool (not necessary but recommended). You can also use the generic Notepad but it is better with this tool.

8. URL Link for Serial Number Generator. This is to generate a S/N for tricking the DSM into loading the actual DSM OS.

9. USB Flash Drive PID tool. This is to check the USB flash drive VID & PID number.

10. The desktop's MAC Address, this is usually found inside the BIOS/UEFI system information. But if you're using additional NIC card(s) then its usually stated either on the box or at the card itself. If you're unable to locate the MAC address then try use this MAC Address Generator tool (though I've never use it but it was suggested by some forumers).

11. Also lastly download SSH Client tool or more commonly known is Putty. This is to login to the DSM terminal to enable the SHR mode.


The desktop I'm using in this tutorial is a very old HP desktop lying in my store room. It have the following specification :-

HP Pro 3000 MT Desktop.
- Intel Core i3.
- 8GB DDR2 RAM.
- Intel ICH7R chipset Mainboard.
- Built-in Intel High Definition Graphics.
- Built-in Sound & Gigabit NIC.
- 1 x 500GB SATA HDD.
- Added 3 more SATA HDDs, 2 x 500GB & 1 x 250GB.

Note : The contents of the HDDs will be ERASED, please ensure you have backup all the data out before proceeding.

Another reminder on the HDDs, if you have a RAID Controller you might want to disabled it and let it run under AHCI or IDE mode if you wanted to use the SHR mode (Synology Hybrid RAID) which is highly recommended.

Unless you prefer to use hardware RAID instead then you can proceed to whichever RAID level you've wanted. But do keep in mind that hardware RAID required all HDDs to be in the same capacity or higher and have limited expandability.

That is why I use the SHR mode instead which it can be expanded in the future easily.


>>>>> Part #2 - Installation (coming soon...)