Linkstation not waking up

[TimB48]

   I have had a linkstation dou 1TB for some time now. I have just added another PC to my network. I can see and share the drive from this PC but the linkstation will not wake up when I start this PC up. It wakes quite happily from the older PC. I have tried installing the software on the new PC but it just comes back with a message saying the drive is already configured. There is probably an obvious and easy solution so if someone could point me in the direction of it, I would be grateful

[Paul]

Does the link station you have contain a switch in the back auto/manual?

 

If so put it to manual

[TimB48]

   Yes the drive does have a switch but changing it to on, only leaves it on all the time. I would prefer to use auto as this will turn the drive off when not in use. My understanding was that the drive wakes up in response to network activity but this does not happen from my new PC. The drive will only wake up when my old PC is switched on which it may not always be. As this is a 'network device' surely you should get the same response from any PC on the network or be able to install the Buffalo software on any PC so that it can trigger a wake up.

[jaystak]

   

I have the exact same problem. On my old laptop (running Windows XP), I had my Buffalo HD on Automatic. Whenever I switched on the computer, the HD would switch on, and whenever I shut down the computer the HD would also shut down. I recently bought a new laptop (Vista Home Premium) but now when I boot the computer I get an error message saying that the USB device was not recognized. If I manually switch off the Buffalo HD and switch it on again, it will be recognized no problem. So every time I boot the computer, I have to manually switch off then on again the Buffalo HD.

 

Why isn't it being recognized automatically on boot? Are there new drivers that Vista needs to wake it up on boot?

[aquamoth]

   

I have the same problem with my computers, forcing me to go to manual mode.

I have two identical laptops, both with the same version of Vista. When I first got the linkstation, I installed it using the first laptop. Waking up works like a charm from that one. I then installed the nasnavigator to my second laptop. The program works fine, but it doesn't wake up the linkstation, nor does it keep it awake. :(

I have now bought a third laptop, also with Vista. With my fingers crossed I installed nasnavigator on it - but no such luck. It behaves just like laptop #2.

 

Is there some kind of "pairing" going on that was just setup on the first installation, or is there just some port-blocking going on that I need to fix? Any constructive comments would be much appreciated - especially from buffalo...

[Paul]

Make sure you have a copy of the Nas Navigator running in the sys tray.  This program is what controls the Wake function.

[jaystak]

   

I installed NasNavigator but it doesn't make a difference. It doesn't even recognize the external drive. Is there a known issue with Vista not waking up external hard drives?

 

It's strange because if I just turn it off and on again, Vista sees it.

[Colin137]

Try disabling firewalls.

[jaystak]

   No, it's not that Vista never detects the drive. If it was a firewall problem, it wouldn't see it at all. The problem is that on boot up, it never detects the external HD. The power of the external HD is automatically turned on but Vista cannot "see" it. If I manually switch off the external HD, then switch on again, suddenly Vista can see it. Also, if I happen to have another USB memory stick in the computer on boot up, Vista sees both the memory stick AND the external HD. Very strange behavior.

[Colin137]

The service that works with the Auto power feature is call "NAS PM Service". Check Run (windows key+R), services.msc. Look in there for "NAS PM Service" and make sure it's started, automatic. It could also still be a firewall issue, since the NASNavigator uses different techniques to detect the Linkstation than the NAS PM Service uses to keep it awake; check your firewall to make sure there's an exception set up for NAS PM Service.

[jaystak]

   I don't have the NAS PM Service on my computer. How do I get it?

[alanshu]

   

Make sure "NAS PM service" is correctly and started.  I have 2 off WINXP SP3 pc, both can active and deactive the LS-CHL seprately. 

 

This service shall be from the installation of the "Navigator".  

[jaystak]

   I installed the NAS Navigator program I found here ( http://www.buffalotech.com/support/downloads/linkstation/ ). It doesn't find the external HD. I checked Services after the installation and there is NO service called NAS PM. There is no service with NAS at all! I can't start a Service that doesn't exist. This is an issue with Vista. I never had problems with XP waking up the same drive. But why doesn't Vista recognize wake my HD up??

[Colin137]

You need the NASNavigator version 2. Download it here:

 

http://www.buffalotech.com/support/getfile/?NASNAVI-211_win.zip

[jaystak]

   I installed that software as you recommended. And I made sure the NAS PM Service was running and set to Automatic. Upon reboot, I got the same message as usual, "USB Device not recognized". As usual, I manually switch off the external HD and switch it on again and now it is recognized by Windows. NAS NAvigator still doesn't seem to recognize it. This HD must be an old Buffalo unit which is no longer compatible with NAS Navigator. I am certain there is a Vista issue here too.