how do I recover a HD-H250LAN?!? Can't use the GUI to determine firmware required....

[johnradams]

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.

 

 

[davo]

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.

[johnradams]

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 :-)