Say it ain't so! The MediaSmart is dead...

After over two years of faithful service my beloved HP MediaSmart server called it quits. As a quick reminder, this is the system that has provided backup, media streaming and some remote access to my data for all this time. It has been a small, silent media powerhouse for that time. The power supply appeared to have died. That rendered it still small, even more silent and not much of a powerhouse at all.

Clearly, I've been quite happy with it so I set about trying to find some replacement hardware. The power supplies for that system were quite expensive. Not surprising since "service" parts for older equipment tend to sell at a premium. What made it even more challenging is that some time ago, HP announced that they were exiting the MediaSmart server business - At least the one powered by Microsoft, anyway.

As a result, hardware was difficult to come by in any shape or form. The few systems I found that were used on eBay were selling for retail prices. The few retailers that still have them were selling them above MSRP! Clearly, I will have some work ahead of me to locate a suitable replacement. wish me luck.