FAQ (2 of 5): Force Firmware update procedure (please read this)

Dustrega · 12-05-2008

Updating Firmware from EM Mode

NOTE: Please be sure that you don't extract the firmware files on to your NAS and run the updater as that would invariably brick your unit. Also, make sure that you have your Anti-Virus/Firewall completely disabled during this procedure. Security software can sometimes interfere with an update and can cause the update fail to fail, or worse, it can brick the NAS.

BEFORE UPDATING:

Make sure that your computer/server is on the same subnet as the NAS.

Example:

IP Address of NAS: 192.168.11.150

IP Address of computer/server: 192.168.11.xxx (where xxx is anyvalue between 0 and 255 but NOT 150)

Updating firmware is done in 1 of 2 ways:

A normal update in EM just requires that you run the correct firmware after extracting the files on to your computer, or
A force update (steps outlined below) where certain flags will need to be set in the initialization file as well as the updater itself.

Performing a "Force Firmware" Update

There are two ways to update firmware so I'll start with the newer versions first and work back to the older ones.

Performing a firmware update with tsupdater or lsupdater:

Download the firmware for your respective unit. If you are unsure of your model then double check by posting on our forum.
Extract the files on to your desktop.
Open up the tsupdater.ini or lsupdater.ini file (You may not see the "ini" file extension. It's file type is "Configuration File".) The icon you see will look like one of the following. (XP Icon) (Vista Icon )

You should see text closely resembling the following:


[Application]
Title = BUFFALOLS-WTGL/R1-V3 Updater Ver.3.09
WaitReboot = 480
WaitFormat = 500
[Target]
ProductID = 0x00003004>
Name = LS-WTGL/R1-V3
[Flags]
VersionCheck = 1

You'll want to change the "VersionCheck = 1" value to 0 and then hit Enter a couple of times to go to new lines and add in the following:
```
[SpecialFlags]
Debug = 1
		
```
Once these changes are made you'll want to save the ini file
Open the tsupdater or lsupdater file with the following icon next to it (some variations may occur):
The firmware application window will open. Right click on the title bar of the firmware update window and choose Debug (D). The resulting window will pop up:

9. Make sure the options in your window are checked exactly as shown above

10. Click OK
11. Click Update

Passwords and Errors

NOTE: If you are performing a firmware update in normal or EM mode you will be asked to enter the admin password. In normal mode the admin password should be what you had set it to, however in EM it should default to 'password' (minus apostrophes of course).

If you experience issues such as "ACP_STATE_FAILURE" you can try running the firmware update in Safe Mode with Networking or on another computer. An "ACP_STATE_FAILURE" usually refers to the unit having a defect on the system board. That in mind I would recommend contacting your regions Technical Support for an RMA as this is usually irreparable. It is rare but sometimes you can manage to pull out of a downward spiral and successfully update the firmware from a different OS. Please bear in mind though that this is usually a sign that the NAS will fail in time. If you do manage to recover I would strongly recommend backing up your data to an alternate source as quickly as possible.

Further Information on ACP_STATE_FAILURE (Thank you kevin):

ACP_STATE_FAILURE is an error suggesting that there is not enough rough room (on the flash chip or FW partitions) to update FW. Though, ACP_STATE_PID_FAILURE I believe is failure of the chip and does need to be replaced.

Try Force Updating FW (with unit booted into EM, if that doesn't work then try it normal) in safe mode and its best to re-download (to make sureyou have a good image of it) to another computer. You should have the NAS plugged directly into your computer at first, but I have also seenchanging the connection work. Then also at Step 8, Uncheck UPDATE BOOT and check Delete user config. If you're willing to lose data, also try rebuilding the partition table.

Force firmware Update on Older Units:

NOTE:Units such as the TeraStation I and LinkStation Gigabit are among the older NAS devices in this category. Since these devices are discontinued there isn't a TFTP solution that we offer, so if this procedure fails and you need your data I would suggest contacting a 3^rd party data recovery professional.

Download the appropriate firmware for your NAS from our website
Extract the files on to your desktop
Right click on the NASupdater application and go to Send To->Desktop (Create Shortcut)
Right click on the newly created shortcut and choose Properties
In the target line you will see:
```
"C:/[Path to your Desktop]/[Your NAS firmware folder]/NASupdater.exe"
```
Click on the Compatibility tab in the window and choose to "Run this program in compatibility mode with Windows 2000"
Cross your fingers and run the shortcut

FINAL NOTE: Upon completing a firmware update you'll want to restore the device to it's factory defaults to remove any footprints from the previous firmware (same version or no).

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Please be sure to read the Guidelines before posting as well as the FAQs [1,2,3 and 4] along with the General FAQ. Your question may already be answered.

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