Buffalo Forums

Products => Storage => : johnradams September 20, 2010, 08:47:51 PM

: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 20, 2010, 08:47:51 PM

I have a LinkStation HD-H250LAN which is in the state of "DIAG blinks 6 times", which I understand generally means that the hard drive needs to be reloaded.  Or in fact, the hard drive might be toast, and I need to  install a new hard drive.

 

The serial number of the unit is 45800450412261.  The MAC address appears to be 00.07.40.FB.FD.04

 

The device is auto-switching (does not have the cross-over switch on the back), so I understand that it is not an LS1 device.

 

I am OK with losing the data; I just want the device to work again.

 

I understand that one method of recovery is to re-load the software onto the disk using TFTP.  The instructions that I have seen on this forum tell me to use the GUI to determine the firmware number (eg, does my unit have a MIPS processor or a PowerPC processor).  As the device is not booting, I obviously can't use the GUI.

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. Can the software required be determined from the serial number, or by some other technique?

 

2. Assuming I can learn what software toi reload via TFTP, where can I obtain this software?  I ftp'ed to 24.153.165.234 and looked in "/mnt/array1/share/nas-recovery".  Unfortunately, I don't see a "TFTP Boot Recovery" image for the HD-HxxxLAN product.   Am I missing something?

 

3. If indeed the hard drive is toast, what sort of hard drive will work with this unit?  How large a drive can I install?  It would be nice to gain some space if I do need to replace the drive.

 

If this is as much of a hassle as it already feels like, I suppose I will end up buying another Linksys NAS box (about $100 without drives) and going that route -- which also gives me the option of mirroring.  Maybe the Buffalo linkstation forum will come through for me?!?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 21, 2010, 04:18:34 AM

There is no TFTP option for your unit, with 6 flashing LED's the HDD has failed.

You will need a new unit.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 21, 2010, 10:10:52 AM

Thanks for letting me know; I appreciate your honesty.

 

Now I'll be honest: I'm not very impressed by a device that can't accept replacement parts upon failure.  Hard drive fails and device is rendered useless?  Give me a break.  At least not something designed and built in the past 10 years or so.

 

Anybody have any other suggestion?  It would be nice if I could get my hands on a drive with the LinkStation software already installed, and then just pop that drive into the case.  Even if the drive were small, I could still attach an external USB drive to the unit to provide additional storage space.  Anybody have a spare hard drive with the LinkStation software already installed?  Maybe someone at Buffalo could help out?  Thanks.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 21, 2010, 10:25:30 AM

Well since the boot loader is located on a flash and not the HDD you can see if it is indeed the HDD is at fault or something else.

 

All you need to do is remove the HDD and power up the unit. (yes without any HDD)

 

If the casing is still operational then the unit should be in EM mode (you can verify this by using the Nas Navigator)

 

If it does appear in EM mode then power it down, get a new disk, reboot the unit and reinstall the firmware.

 

If it does not go into EM mode with the HDD removed then there is literally nothing more you can do.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 21, 2010, 11:10:32 AM

OK, making progress.  Upon power-up with Rsetset button depressed (with power removed from hard drive), the LEDs look like this:

Power: blinking green

Link/Act; steady green

Disk Full: blinking red

DIAG: blinking red

 

Is my unit in EM mode?

 

The electronics appear operational; the unit shuts down after holding in the power button for a few seconds, etc.

 

What is "Nas Navigator"?  I looked on the "HD-HLAN_CDimage" but there is nothing with that name.

 

Any particular requirement for the hard drive?

 

Thanks!

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 21, 2010, 12:05:17 PM

OK, I found the Nas Naviagtor software on the Buffalo site.  How do I know which firmware to use?  I've still got the device open; how do I identify which processor I've got so I know whether to use the 1.x or 2.x firmware?  thanks

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 21, 2010, 12:21:17 PM

I've reset the device by holding down the reset button while powering up (this is the technique, right?).

 

I understand the device should now have an IP of 192.168.11.150    Can I expect it to respond to ping at this point?

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 21, 2010, 12:36:34 PM

first things first...... If you run the nas navigator software does if detect the Linkstation? (make sure ALL your anti virus and firewall software is disabled) There is no point in going to step 14 when you haven't passed step 3 :P

 

FYI: you have a Linkstation II.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 21, 2010, 12:53:09 PM

I've run the Navigator software, but since the installer (Inst.exe) doesn't work, I have little faith in it.  That's why I asked about responding to a ping (try something simple!).  I did run the NasNavi2.exe and it failed to find the device; but as noted I was unable to "properly install" the Navigator, so I don't know what should have happened.  The version of NasNavi2.exe that I downloaded is dated 5-21-2010 at 2:52 PM; I got it from the standard download place on the Buffalo website.

 

As noted in an earlier post, the device does seem to be operating in a sane manner, as the buttons are responsive, and the fan seems to adjust speeds as if it were being managed intelligently by firmware.

 

I tried telneting to 192.168.11.150:1234 as noted on another forum.  But I repeat the question: shouldn't the device respond to a ping on 192.168.11.150?

 

thanks

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 22, 2010, 11:00:17 AM

OK; thanks for confirming that I have a LinkStation 2.  Still awaiting advice/insight on what I should expect the device to be doing.

 

I suppose that at this point, if the device won't respond to a ping on 192.168.11.150, then the device has been "rendered a brick by poor design".  If the electronics are functioning properly, which they certainly appear to be, then the inability to recover is, well, most unfortunate.

 

[sarcastic] Thanks for the brick, guys. [/sarcastic]

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 23, 2010, 09:39:53 AM

you have yet to confirm what i asked. When you remove the HDD, power it on, connect it to your network and run the nas navigator, does it detect the unit at all?!

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 23, 2010, 09:52:03 AM

Thanks for following up.   As I stated in my post on 09-21-2010 01:53 PM :

 


I've run the Navigator software, but since the installer (Inst.exe) doesn't work, I have little faith in it. That's why I asked about responding to a ping (try something simple!). I did run the NasNavi2.exe and it failed to find the device; but as noted I was unable to "properly install" the Navigator, so I don't know what should have happened. The version of NasNavi2.exe that I downloaded is dated 5-21-2010 at 2:52 PM; I got it from the standard download place on the Buffalo website.

 

As noted in an earlier post, the device does seem to be operating in a sane manner, as the buttons are responsive, and the fan seems to adjust speeds as if it were being managed intelligently by firmware.

 

I tried telneting to 192.168.11.150:1234 as noted on another forum. But I repeat the question: shouldn't the device respond to a ping on 192.168.11.150?


 

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 23, 2010, 10:22:52 AM

run the nasnavi.exe

why would it respond to a ping on 192.168.11.150? surely your network is using a different subnet hense your DHCP server will give it a different IP address.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 23, 2010, 11:29:59 AM

I understand that after a hard reset, the device sets itself to 192.168.11.150.  As instructed elsewhere, I have the device connected directly to a PC, which has its IP set to 192.168.11.1.   Neither device is connected to my local subnet.

 

I downloaded NasNavigator 2.2.28 from the Buffalo website, and it contains NasNavi2.exe (not just plain NasNavi.exe).

 

I did find this page on the Buffalo site:   http://site2.buffalotech.com/support/downloads-product2.php   which has downloads specific to the HD-H250LAN.  But this page does not list a "NasNavigator" software.

 

So I then went back to the main download page, and found (and downloaded) version 1.00 of the Nas Navigator Utility (dated 12-29-2006).  After running the installer, I am able to run NasNavigator 1.00.

 

NasNavigator 1.00 is not able to "find" the HD-H250LAN which is connected to my computer.  However, I don't have much faith in the NasNav 1.00 utility, as many of the menu options appear to do nothing.  Thus, it seems broken anyway.


Can you please answer these 2 simple questions:

 

1. After a full reset of the HD-H250LAN, does the device assign itself address 192.168.11.150?

2. After said reset, it is normal for the device to respond to pings?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 23, 2010, 01:47:55 PM

 


johnradams wrote:


Can you please answer these 2 simple questions:

 

1. After a full reset of the HD-H250LAN, does the device assign itself address 192.168.11.150?

2. After said reset, it is normal for the device to respond to pings?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 


 

1. yes or it may get a 169.254.x.x address

2. yes but as i said above it may not be on 11.150

 

if the nas navigator cannot see it then there is NOTHING you can do. your sure all your anti virus and firewall software is off?

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 24, 2010, 09:41:30 AM

Thanks for the reply.

 

I used newt (from Komodo Labs ) to scan (using ping) the entire 169.254 Class-B subnet, and never found the device.  Oh, and with no firewall or AV software enabled.

 

So I suppose the HD-H250LAN device is dead.

 

I feel compelled to comment on your reply re the 192.168.11.150 address:  "Yes, or it may get a 169.254.x.x address".  What's up with that?  Predictable behavior in software/firmware is a feature, and a reality.  The fact that guys don't even know what IP address your device will assume after a reset is, well, ridiculous.  Your insistence that debugging can only be performed with NasNavigator is also ridiculous, esp given that its user interface doesn't even seem to work.  How can you expect anyone to have faith in your utilities?  Instead of a debug utility with apparent versionitis problems, next time try something simple.

 

Geez.  I started writing firmware for stuff like this in the early 80s, and it just isn't that hard to provide reasonable diagnostics.

 

Anyway, thanks for the reply.  Hate to throw away something that should still be working.  Oh well.

 

 

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: davo September 24, 2010, 10:00:31 AM

johnradams wrote:

 

The fact that guys don't even know what IP address your device will assume after a reset is, well, ridiculous.  Your insistence that debugging can only be performed with NasNavigator is also ridiculous 

 


My device? Ermmm no actually it's your device. I offer assistance to a smug know it all like yourself and get it thrown back in my face. Actually there are other ways you should be able to get the device working but based on your lack of understanding i seriously doubt your upto the task, yes it would need a new HDD but thats it.

 

But after your response above you can go play on a round about for all i care.

 

You have to realize that the time we take to offer assistance here is free, we are not paid to do this. Make me wonder why we do it with people like yourself.

: Re: how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....
: johnradams September 24, 2010, 10:28:54 AM

Thanks for reading my response, and for replying.  Sorry to show my frustration.  I now understand that you aren't with Buffalo, and are merely offering assistance because you are nice.  I suppose my expectation was that someone from Buffalo actually reads and responds to this forum!

 

Lack of technical documentation on the device does make things difficult.

 

At this point, what I assume is that if the firmware on the device is functioning, then the device should be able to perform at least a few tasks:

1. respond to pings

2. load boot code from the hard drive, if such code is present on the hard drive

 

and maybe even these tasks:

3. format a hard drive

4.. possibly install code onto hard drive using TFTP

 

If the device will at least still perform 1 and 2, then I could take care of tasks 3 and 4 "offline" by attaching a (new, non-hosed) hard drive to a PC and dd'ing an image onto the drive.

 

My impression is that the device is functioning, as I previously noted that the unit does power-up, manipulate the fan speed, flash LEDs in an apparently meaningful fashion, and respond to presses of the power-off button.

 

Maybe I should quit obsessing over the fact that the unit doesn't respond to pings, and instead focus on (a) getting a new hard drive, (b) installing it in a PC, (c) formatting it in whatever fashion that the device requires, (d) loading a bootable image onto the hard drive, and (e) installing the new hard drive into the unit.

 

I have been reluctant to pursue this path until I had more confidence in the device.  I also lack doc on the formatting req'ts, and don't know what bootable image to load, or where to get it.  Sure would be ncie if I could simply TFTP the code to the device :-)

 

I've invested some time into this, but maybe I should "ignore sunk costs" and abandon my efforts.  But it's sometimes hard to give up on what has become a bit of a challenge :-)