problem accessing my ministation portable storage

[kurong]

   

hi,

 

hope to solve my problem in accessing my newly acquired portable USB 2.0 hard drive.  its barely a week ago in  my position and i can't access it anymore. a message appeared "drive: is not accessible... the request could not  be performed because of an I/O device error".

 

can this still be fix? pls help

 

tnx

 

[kevin]

Can you please provide more info, like (though not limited to) this...

Model Number, Operating System, any trouble shooting steps you may have taken already?

[Sixeyeco]

   

I noticed that I had no access to my LS-CH1.0TL-US so I tried to shut it down to reboot. It wouldn't shut down. I finally unplugged it and restarted it. It flashes an error code that I determined to be e15 (hard drive i/o error).

 

When I press the function button the status light turns to blue and it sounds as if its booting up. But still no joy.

 

Please help me resolve this. I have not backed up this drive and I have many important files on it.

 

OS: Windows XP Home SP3

 

UPDATE (corrected 12-5-09): I read about EM mode and attempted to boot into it. No luck. After holding the function button for six seconds I turned the unit on. After flashing blue, I released the function button and pressed it again, holding for ten seconds. It sounded as if it was booting but then flashed red code e15 (hard drive i/o error).

 

I am eager to learn more about this error but searches on this site have not shed much light. My questions are:

1. Is this indicative of a hard drive failure?
2. If not, is this a firmware issue or another hardware issue?
3. Does buffalo offer a kit with various software/hardware for data recovery on these units?
4. If not, why not? Seems like a disk, cable and connector should do the trick

One thing is for certain, I'll be backing up to, rather than storing on, any future external storage devices.

 

I could really use some replies here folks. I have design files on that unit and my inability to access them is holding up production.

 

I am loathe to open the unit and void the warranty until I have exhausted all other efforts so please give me some ideas.

 

UPDATE: No ideas people? Any input would be appreciated. I have a paperweight on my desk with lots of important stuff inside. Abandon hope and ship it to a data recovery company?

 

UPDATE: 12-10-09 - Ok, 64 people have viewed this topic (at the time if this update). Must be some people interested in the outcome. I know I am. Can anyone help?

 

UPDATE: 12-28-09 - Am I posting this in the wrong area? Why can't I get a reply? Even an educated, informed "You're SOL" would be some help.

 

[Sixeyeco]

   

Bump :robotmad:

[PCPiranha]

Try the TFTP boot procedure.  This unit doesnt have an e15, I am assuming you are looking at the wrong diagnostic codes.  You are most likely getting an E06 error which means that it either cannot load the kernal or it has a bad HDD.  The TFTP procedure will troubleshoot the kernal, but if the HDD is bad the only option is contacting data recovery.

 

I assume it doesnt show up in the NASNAVI?

[Sixeyeco]

   

 

PCPiranha wrote:

Try the TFTP boot procedure.  This unit doesnt have an e15, I am assuming you are looking at the wrong diagnostic codes.  You are most likely getting an E06 error which means that it either cannot load the kernal or it has a bad HDD.  The TFTP procedure will troubleshoot the kernal, but if the HDD is bad the only option is contacting data recovery.

 

I assume it doesnt show up in the NASNAVI?

 

Thank you for your reply. After trying the tftp boot procedure the unit showed up in NASNAVI however it reports that it's in EM Mode and I cannot browse shares. Is there a process I failed to follow to gain access to my oh-so-precious files?

 

[JoshC]

Thats good news that the TFTP served the Blocks of data.  The unit is now showing in EM mode so you should update to  the most recent firmware for the unit.  I apologize for the delayed responses.

[Sixeyeco]

   

Thanks for the reply.

 

I know this thread was started by a person with a different device so I just want to be sure we understanding each other correctly:

 

1. I have the LS-CH1.0TL-US
2. I want to preserve, access and immediately transfer the existing data on the NAS.
3. While in EM mode I am to flash the drive with the most recent firmware update.
4. Then reboot the drive and browse to my shares in NAS Navigator. 

Thanks again for the replies.

 

 

[JoshC]

 That would be correct.

[Sixeyeco]

   

I tried to update the firmware however the utility said:

 

Couldn't confirm that a partition exists on the target. Update will format the target and will update the target.

**All of data will be lost**

Do you want to format and update the target?

 

I said "no" because of the precious data on the drive.

 

Then I edited the config file and re-launched the updater. I entered the debugger where I noticed an option in there to rebuild the partition table. I'm just grasping at straws here but could I...

 

1. Uncheck everything else (see image).
2. Rebuild the partition table.
3. Then try the updater as normal to see if it can then find the partition.

Will rebuilding the partition table cause any loss of data?

 

Your thoughts?

[PCPiranha]

Yes rebuilding the partition table will result in data loss, but it sounds like you have file corruption and the only way to fix it will be formatting and losing the data. 

[Sixeyeco]

   

Well, it was worth a try. I had a glimmer of hope when I saw that NAVIGATOR at least recognized the drive. I'm off to the disk doctor.

 

Thanks for the help!