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Products => Storage => : tjulo December 19, 2008, 09:40:41 PM

: Terastation Live E04 problem
: tjulo December 19, 2008, 09:40:41 PM
   

Hi,

 

I have a E04 error code and my Terastation Live will not boot. I tried the procedure of removing all the drives one by one and rebooting the TS but I always get the same E04 error. 

 

 


and NOTHING Happens. I have no firewalls on the PC and the TS and PC are connected to the same hub.
I read somewhere that the TS will take IP 192.168.11.150 when in Emergency Mode, and when I ping this IP from the PC I get no response.
 
It seems that not even the EM mode is working. What can I do to fix this I have 1TB of data in the TS, which I cannot get to...

Can I re-flash the TS from a USB pen drive? 
 
Please help
TJ 

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: tjulo December 19, 2008, 10:15:35 PM
   

Removing all the disks and booting in EM mode I was able to install the firmware on the TS and find it with the NAS Navigator.

 

Re-inserting all the disks I get the same error as before and the TS does not boot. What can I do next?

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: tjulo December 20, 2008, 12:01:15 AM
   

Removing the first disk the TS says System Now Booting for over 2 hours now and Leds 2, 3 and 4 just blink green. What's the TS doing?

 

 

No network access, not found with Nas Navigator...

Still no access to my data.

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: Paul December 20, 2008, 12:31:35 PM
Try flashing the firmware on each drive, then use the TFTP boot to restore the boot files.
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: tjulo December 20, 2008, 04:18:25 PM
   

How do I flash the firmware on the drives, without network access to the TS? Should I plug the disks into a linux box and mount the partitions?

 

THANKS! 

TJ 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: Paul December 22, 2008, 09:55:14 AM
I would do it all from a direct connection to the unit.  The TFTP was designed to fix this issue.  If it is not working then I would call you local support and set up an RMA.  If data is a concern you can do an advanced replacement and put your old drives into the new unit.  This may be a result of hardware failure.
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: tjulo December 22, 2008, 07:57:29 PM
   

I found this post that solved my problem without data loss. Like it says in the post Buffalo should redesign the partitions on disks and stop telling customers to format their disks like so many posts in this forum.

 

<snip>

Message Edited by Colin137 on 06-23-2009 03:03 PM
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: Paul December 23, 2008, 08:47:07 AM

This fix replaces the boot files, as does the TFTP fix we offer, however enabling ssh and telnet on the unit voids the warranty. 

 

TFTP directions

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem and E06
: LouJanelle May 16, 2009, 08:15:54 PM
   

TeraStation (HS-DH1.0tGL/R5) will not boot error E04

 

Procedure to correct:

·        Remove drive 1 and reboot.  Shut down.

·        Remove drive 2 and reboot.  Shut down.

·        Remove drive 3 and reboot.  Shut down.

·        Remove drive 4 and reboot.  Shut down.

·        With all drives in place, reboot.

 

TeraStation now shows an error E06

 

Procedure to correct:

·        Download and extract the most recent firmware update (VERSION=2.14-1.02) to your PC (Dell 400SC / Windows XP Pro / Service Pack 3).

·        Modify the LSupdater.ini file:

o       [Flags]

o       VersionCheck = 0

o       [SpecialFlags]

o       Debug = 1

·        Save changes and run TSUPDATER.exe

·        Right-click on the program’s task bar and check the following boxes in Debug Mode

o       Do not check version

o       Deleter user-config (admin account will be reset to admin / password)

o       Force Update

 

After the program runs and does its thing it will restart the TeraStation and “all will be well”.

 

If I down my TeraStation and reboot, I get the system error E04 and have to start the whole process all over again!  I am not sure what the two system errors are trying to tell me.

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: dirtprof June 21, 2009, 08:41:55 PM
   

I am getting E04 messages as well, and I have tried everything on this thread to no avail.  I put all four disks on my Linux box and used mdadm to reassemble the RAID5 (disk 4 was faulty), everything looked good.  But after I put the drives back in the Terastation Live, I'm still getting the same error E04, even after repeating the various firmware flash strategies.  Is there some way to use my linux box to put the firmware on the drives?

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: dirtprof June 22, 2009, 02:08:35 AM
   

OK, I have some progress to report.  By following the directions in <snip>, I found the following:

 

1.  /dev/sdd6 (the raid5 portion on disk4) is flagged as faulty.  I used mdadm as suggested in the link to reassemble and repair the array.

2.  The file /etc/melco/diskinfo was incorrect.

array1=off (should be array1=raid5)
array2=off
disk1=normal (should be disk1=array1)
disk2=array1
disk3=array1
disk4=array1
usb_disk1=
usb_disk2=
usb_disk3=
usb_disk4=

NB: Based on the output of cat /proc/mdstat, I believe that disk1 in /etc/melco/diskinfo actually corresponds to /dev/sdd6
3.  When I reboot, all the above changes disappear, as if something during bootup wrote over them.

4.  Reflashing the firmware yields e04 yet again, and (I believe) /dev/sdd6 is corrupted again.

 

My working hypothesis is that there is a bug (feature?) that causes all changes to /etc/melco/diskinfo (and possibly elsewhere) to be overwritten during emergency bootup.  Thus the raid5 array is not created properly, and /dev/sdd6 is treated as a "normal" disk during firmware flashing, corrupting it.  So somehow I need to find a way to make these changes persist through emergency reboot (since, except for immediate post-flash, it's the only kind of boot my Terastation Live can do).

Message Edited by Colin137 on 06-23-2009 03:03 PM
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: dirtprof June 23, 2009, 05:48:38 AM
   

SUCCESS!!!  In addition to the above, I did a couple of other things while connected via telnet (see earlier link).

 

1. # mount /dev/md0 /boot

2. # mount /dev/md1 /rootfs

3. # mount /dev/md2 /mnt/array1

4. delete all files in /boot EXCEPT initrd.buffalo and uImage.buffalo

5. update firmware

 

And all appears well.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: dirtprof June 23, 2009, 01:11:12 PM
   

So, to summarize the steps that I needed to do in order to recover my Terastation Live with all data intact:

 

1.  Emergency boot

2.  Gain telnet access using ACP_Commander (voids warranty, but mine is well out of warranty and there was no other choice).

3.  Re-assemble all arrays as follows:

 # mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 /dev/sdd1

 # mdadm --assemble /dev/md1 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdc2 /dev/sdd2

 # mdadm --assemble /dev/md2 /dev/sda6 /dev/sdb6 /dev/sdc6 /dev/sdd6

4.  If any devices are bad, you'll see the message that the array was assembled with three out of four drives.  If this occurs, add that drive back in as follows

 # mdadm -a /dev/mdX /dev/sdyZ 

where X, y, and Z depend on which disk is bad in which array. It may take some time to re-add the faulty device to the array.  You can check progress using

 # cat /proc/mdstat

5.  Once all 3 arrays are re-assembled, you need to mount them as follows:

# mount /dev/md0 /boot

# mount /dev/md1 /rootfs

# mount /dev/md2 /mnt/array1

6.  Use vi to edit /etc/melco/diskinfo (see my earlier post) to ensure correct info

7.  Ensure that /boot contains only initrd.buffalo and uImage.buffalo

8.  Use a windows PC to flash firmware (I never got the tftp method to work--no files were ever pulled over, even though the PC was connected directly to the Terastation and no firewalls or antivirus software were running).

9.  Done!

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: Colin137 June 23, 2009, 03:02:41 PM

dirtprof,

 

I'm glad you were able to recover from the errors you were having. Unfortunately, I will have to remove the link from your posts per our forum guidelines. Please do not post the link again.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: dirtprof June 23, 2009, 07:32:17 PM
   

It's interesting that violating guidelines succeed where technical problems fail in eliciting official responses.  Even so, here is the only reference to posting links in the Forums' Terms of Service:

 

"You agree not to do any of the following actions while using Buffalo Technology discussion forums:
<snip>

(2) transmit via Buffalo Technology discussion forums any information, data, text, files, links, software, chat, communication or other materials ["Content"] that Buffalo Technology considers to be unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or otherwise objectionable;"

 

That was what I agreed to in order to join the forums.  The forum guidelines are almost identical to the TOS, but do have one other item tacked onto the list of forbidden actions:

 

"(9) suggest or show how to make alterations or changes to firmware or hardware of Buffalo Technology products, use of DD-WRT, Tomato, or non-Buffalo-approved firmware (violates and terminates USA warranty of wireless products.), or provide links to non-Buffalo-approved firmware or hardware how-to articles."

 

That was such an afterthought that nobody even bothered to copy it over to the Terms of Service!

 

But even that's a stretch.  I'm not suggesting alterations or changes to firmware; I'm suggesting restoration of firmware.  Gaining telnet access to the file system is absolutely required to recover the Terastation in situations like mine.  No other solutions posted on these boards worked despite following all instructions explicitly through multiple attempts.  What is truly "harmful" is telling people their only recourse is to RMA their systems or redo partitions, losing data in the process.  It is the opposite of "harmful" to document a way--so far as I know, the only way--that users can recover their systems and their data if they, too, suffer the consequences of a power outage and wind up with damaged file systems and arrays like I did.

 

If Buffalo tech support would actually provide solutions to E04 problems like mine, then guideline #9 would be defensible.  But since many E04 errors have not been addressed successfully in this forum, it is simply not defensible to block user-supplied solutions that actually do work.  Sheesh.

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: Colin137 June 24, 2009, 03:18:03 PM
Installing telnet voids the warranty. As this is a support forum for all end users, we cannot have high level users showing potentially dangerous methods of possible data recovery to the general public. Buffalo's warranty does not apply to data, and the warranty statement goes on to advise that good IT practice includes having regular and multilevel backups of the data. Buffalo cannot provide support for data recovery, because the steps needed for data recovery may vary considerably between cases, and improper steps can decrease the likelyhood of successful recovery.
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: freqout September 28, 2009, 02:11:26 PM
   I found this thread because my TS Live just went E04 on me after a power outage. I will say that I tried backing it up via the internal backup procedure to a USB-attached hard drive. After 4 days of it telling me it was backing up and giving zero details on the status of this backup I gave up on it as a pointless waste of time and too absurdly slow to be practical for actual real-world use. So, given that the backup functionality that comes with it appears to be completely worthless what are we supposed to do?
: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: AlexRiedel September 28, 2009, 05:59:00 PM
   

I have the exact same problem. It seems there is no clear instructions anywhere on how to connect and re-flash this thing.

None of the flash tools can find the drive however which way it is connected. 

What is the official answer to this?

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: freqout September 28, 2009, 08:45:31 PM
   

Well, I got mine to boot off the TFTP bootloader in EM Mode and it's now on the network and resynching the disks so tune in in a day and a half, when that's done, to see if it'll stand on it's own or if I still need to flash the firmware or the like.  I fail to fathom, though, why when it's running it's constantly accessing the drives (even when nobody is accessing it) and what it would be doing when idle that would corrupt the bootup process. I mean, what's an idle machine with a stripped down operating system doing with it's boot partition a week after it's last reboot that it would proceed to crap all over it when a power failure brings it down suddenly. I would think these things would be designed to be a bit more resilient - close those files, use working copies in memory or the like, so as to minimize the chances of problems after a crash. This problem seems very very common, though.

 

As a side note it does look like that backup did run to completion but the machine thinks it's still pending (several weks and several reboots after the fact). Is there a way to (a) tell it that the job is actually done to clear the queue and (b) get it to actually give me real status information on the backups (like percentage complete and estimated time remaining). Just telling me that it's pending is essentially useless - especially when it's failing to even get that part right.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: ManOfTheCrowd March 31, 2012, 09:41:25 PM

Thanks!  I've been trying to bring my Terastation back to life for the past three months and getting nowehre.  You totally saved my bacon.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: LewMid September 05, 2012, 05:33:43 PM

Paul,

How can I get an RMA to return my TS-Pro for service?  I called tech-support about 3 months ago and they told me that Buffalo does not provide repair service for products that are out of warranty.  I'd gladly swap units for a fee.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: davo September 06, 2012, 04:54:12 AM

LewMid wrote:

Paul,

How can I get an RMA to return my TS-Pro for service?  I called tech-support about 3 months ago and they told me that Buffalo does not provide repair service for products that are out of warranty.  I'd gladly swap units for a fee.


No region of Buffalo replace units that are out of warranty, whats the problem with your unit? Model ? and firmware?

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: LewMid September 06, 2012, 10:35:01 AM

My problem is essentially the same as everyone else's.  Error E04.  Standard boot or EM boot mode makes no difference.  The unit starts up, "checking DRAM", then goes into "Error E04 . Cant load krnl", then red light and beeping.

 

I started TFTP and got it listening on 192.168.11.1,   During the "checking dram"  the ethernet connection is active, but as soon as the E04  message appears the ethernet connection is disabled, and TFTP never received a packet.  Thus it is impossible to get the unit to boot from TFTP.

 

TS-Pro,  TS-1.0GL/R5-R   ,   FW  1.04

 

 

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: davo September 06, 2012, 11:07:20 AM

There is no TFTP for that unit as this is contained on seperate flash, remove all the HDDs and reboot the unit and let me know what error appears

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: LewMid September 06, 2012, 12:47:06 PM

Rebooted with all drives removed.  Exaclty the same result.  "Check DRAM", then Error 04 Can't load krnl;", then red light & beeping.

 

Standard Boot or EM boot - no difference.

 

 

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: davo September 06, 2012, 12:55:28 PM

that unit should go straight to EM mode without HDDs, the main board is faulty.

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: LewMid September 06, 2012, 01:08:36 PM

How or where can I get a new one, or a replacement, or get this one repaired????

: Re: Terastation Live E04 problem
: davo September 06, 2012, 03:32:07 PM

eBay