Direct copy function does not work

[cuctot]

Hi all,  I need your help to move my existing files to new NAS.
My setup: I have 02* 3TB WD Red, 1 full of movies, music and pics. I just bought an LS-QVL 4 bays. I used my first empty drive to successfully setup Normal mode and updated firmware to 1.69. Now is the tricky part.
I just want to copy my second HDD to NAS before put it in. I bought Orico USB dock and connected it to NAS. Then nothing happened to Function led as in Manual.  I could see it in Web\Storage with no volume info. I could setup USB server. But I could not use Direct Copy.
Copy over network is not an option because I do not have Gigabit switch and my PC does not have Gigabit NIC. I calculated that 3TB would take 4 full days to move over my existing Fast Ethernet.
Please help

[cuctot]

Nobody got the answer still?
I just guess the Orico box is incompatible or LS-QVL does not accept 3TB USB HDD, which is strange because I heard someone has been OK with 4TB HDD box. Any suggestion is welcomed. Thanks a lot.

[joma90]

So in experience its a shoot and miss at times with other manufacture products due to them having customer drivers added in the pcb on the external hard drive. Make sure that your external HDD has no format and then use the LinkStation to format it.

[cuctot]

Thank you. The problem is my HDD in USB box is full of data, so I cannot format it. Anyway I have another option. I bought a gigabit switch because my pc and the NAS already have gigabit NIC. Thanks to the gigabit system, I can copy to NAS at around 26MBps and finish the move after 2 days. And now I have other issue: I don't know how to add my second drive to the LS-QVL. When I put the 2nd drive into it and restart,  the NAS blue Power LED kip blinking indefinitely. I could not find any guidance to do this. Any suggestion is welcomed.
BTW, what is the disk format LS-QVL uses in Normal Mode? Do I have to format the disk before inserting?

[joma90]

So you need to make sure that any drive you add to the Linkstation is not formatted. Like if it was a brand new drive. Once the drive has no format (unallocated), you can insert the drive in the the LinkStation when the LinkStation is OFF, not on. Then power up the linkstation and format the new disk.

[cuctot]

Thank you Joma90. I guess it is the answer. I had to replace my 1st drive with the new drive and do the setup with one drive from start. Then I put 1st drive back to 1st tray, and new drive to 2nd ray and voila, the NAS recognized the new drive, but it processed to format the new drive, again! It seems stupid, but it works for now.
But sorry for my stupidity, since my HDD is already formatted, how can I turn it back to the un-formatted condition, except for the silly way I have done?

[joma90]

You need to use a hdd dock or connect the drive to your computer inside with a sata data cable/sata power cable, and they use windows to format it. I recommend using a HDD Dock or hdd enclosure. This why you dont mess up your pc if you dont now what you are doing.

HDD Dock google results
https://www.google.com/search?q=HDD+Dock&rlz=1C1WPZA_enUS604US604&oq=HDD+Dock&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.6866j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

HDD Enclosure google results
https://www.google.com/search?q=hdd+enclosure&rlz=1C1WPZA_enUS604US604&oq=hdd+enclou&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.6152j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

[cuctot]

Thank you very much. I guess I can make it next time with my current Orico.
Another question if you know it: how to move files directly between drives in my LS-QVL. I heard of an application called Midnight Commander. But it seems quite difficult to install. Is there any other option?
Thank you.

[joma90]

Just making sure i understand what you just asked. You have 2 drives in the linkstation or more. and you want to move files between drives within the linkstation? Drag and drop with windows? open one folder  and then open the other folder and drag and drop between the 2 folders. If im wrong let me know.

[cuctot]

You got it right Joma90. I need to move files between drives in my only LS-QVL. Of course I can do it the way you recommend. It's just too slow because the files from one drive will go through my computer before reaching the other drive. I need a way to move the files DIRECTLY from one drive to the other within the NAS. There is an app called Midnight Commander (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Midnight_Commander) that can do it, but I found it too difficult to install. I am asking for a more user friendly solution. Anyone help?

[joma90]

Have you tried setting both folders as a back up and then create a backup job to move the data for you?  I believe you can do that with this unit. Just make sure you choose the right source because if you don't there's a chance you can erase the data 

[cuctot]

Yes, I have tried it but that way I don't know anything about the progress. I am still looking for some way more intuitive. Hope you guys know some better tools than Midnight Commander. Thank you

[joma90]

Step up email so you get a message if it fails or completes. Then you can look at the logs to see all that was xfer and deleted. If not the then do midnight commander. hack the unit. ssh and do linux commands for copying over. cp is the command but you need to make sure you know what you are doing. Other then that i highly doubt any one would truly invest in this because it seems pointless to watch the results.... when you can do the backup job and have a log created to see what was xfer and deleted. This is merely my option. If anything you can always just install Debian in the linkstation as a OS as well and you will then see the results.