Setting up Linkstation ProDuo LS-W1.0TGL by a total novice

[Bren106]

I'm taking my very first steps into NAS storage, and yes I know I'm doing it with very old equipment - but finances don't allow outlay.
I have a Pro Duo with 2x500Gb drives fitted (my disks because the LS had no disks in when I got it) I have them formatted with NTFS, as I have read that is correct. All I am getting from the LS is the error code showing Hard drives not recognised (6 flashes) after starting it with the procedure to put it in EM. (I know the disks are good btw)
The NAS navigator software is installed on the PC, but obviously won't find the unit, 

What I cannot find out anywhere is the i.p address of the LS, or if it defaults to a preset address when put into EM. Until I find this I am unable to connect it the computer directly to re-install the firmware which I have eventually located.

I am hoping someone can help wipe the smug look off my brother's face when he repeatedly advises me to throw it in the bin and buy the same as him, whilst ignoring that I am of very limited means compared to him.

[davo]

You need the recovery files for the Linkstation to load the operating system onto the disks.

[Bren106]

I have what I am pretty sure is the correct recovery files, and firmware update, but until I can actually see the thing in a browser I am at a loss as to how to proceed. I cannot find the i.p address of the LS, so connecting it directly is just staring into a black hole.

[davo]

If you cannot see it in the NAS Navigator then you're not using the correct recovery files.

[1000001101000]

NTFS won't work for this device, it will only boot from an ext2/ext3 partition.

The process listed in this post should work for your device:
https://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php?topic=25358.msg90493#msg90493

In this case you can use the uImage.buffalo file from the firmware as-is (it isn't zipped), the initrd.buffalo file will have to be extracted from initrd.img as described in the link.

Good luck!

[Bren106]

I sort of gleaned that from the user manual, where it tells you about formatting disks that are physically in the LS. However, I have read somewhere else that a simple quick NTFS format is sufficient.
I had previously formatted the disks with both NTFS and FAT. Fortunately I have a Linux pc as well as a Windoze (which I am actually using to answer this) so I'll pull the disks out of the LS again and do the necessary.

Am I correct in assuming that as long as the disks are not recognised by the LS it is essentially a brick that my router won't see as a device, and that once the disks are formatted correctly it will show?

[1000001101000]

The boot process for these devices requires that inird.buffalo and uImage.buffalo be located in an ext2/ext3 filesystem found in partition 1. I'd guess for that older model it has to be an MBR partition table though most devices can handle either MBR or GPT.

It also works if that first partition is part of MD raid device with metadata version 0.90 or earlier (this is firmware installer sets things up on multi-disk devices).

For recovery purposes I usually just make a partition on disk 1 that's 1GB, format it ext3, then load the files on it. for the other disks I just make sure they're blank and put them in. The firmware install process will re-partition/reformat them all as needed (provided you enable that in debug mode).

As far as how it shows up on the network.. If it fails to find suitable boot files most models will connect to the network with 192.168.11.*** address and wait for boot files to be loaded via TFTP. Depending on how your network is configured and what tools you;re looking you may or may not see it at that point.

 

[Bren106]

 Once I have the disks correctly formatted I will see how I go with this, and figure out my next steps. Whilst I am confident delving around in a Windows installation I have absolutely no experience with raid and this is all totally new to me. But you should never stop learning, so even if the end result is a doorstop something will be gained from it.

[Bren106]

Two disks formatted EXT3, both disks are good I know, and still getting the 6 flashes (hard drives not recognised) when I start it by holding the function button to put it into emergency mode. Another thing I notice is that it will not switch off. Moving the switch to the off position has no effect at all. The only way to power it down is by pulling the plug physically out of the unit.

Back to the drawing board, or a search around for more reading. 

[1000001101000]

I tried this out on mine last night and also ran into issues, I did a little research and came up with somethings that should help.

1. make sure you've got the right firmware LS-WTGLv1(1 usb port) and LS-WTGLv3 (2 usb ports) have different firmware, you need to use the correct one.
2. I had better luck with using a 256 MB EXT2 partition, for some reason my 1G partitions didn't seem to work.

After I got the correct firmware and adjusted my partition i was able to get it to boot into EM mode and LSUpdater was able to see it. I still wasn't able to get it to load the firmware though, it seemed like it wouldn't re-partition/reformat the disk even using the debug options (I'm curious if you'll get the same result).

I did some digging and found an old guide which describes how to load the firmware on this device from start to finish.
https://web.archive.org/web/20180208100951/http://buffalo.nas-central.org:80/wiki/Category:LS-WTGL/R1/Restoring_from_empty_disks

I started following it last night and got LSUpdater to begin actually installing the firmware but ran into an issue which I think was a result of my trying to use a drive that was too small (16GB). I'll try again tonight if I have time.

There's also a Debian Installer image for this device which you might want to consider:
http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stretch/main/installer-armel/current/images/orion5x/network-console/buffalo/ls-wtgl/

Let me know how it goes.

[Bren106]

The boot process for these devices requires that inird.buffalo and uImage.buffalo be located in an ext2/ext3 filesystem found in partition 1. I'd guess for that older model it has to be an MBR partition table though most devices can handle either MBR or GPT.

It also works if that first partition is part of MD raid device with metadata version 0.90 or earlier (this is firmware installer sets things up on multi-disk devices).

For recovery purposes I usually just make a partition on disk 1 that's 1GB, format it ext3, then load the files on it. for the other disks I just make sure they're blank and put them in. The firmware install process will re-partition/reformat them all as needed (provided you enable that in debug mode).

Having just re-read this it struck that (and tell me if I'm wrong) you are telling me to pre load the files on to disk 1. This is a step I haven't seen mentioned anywhere before now, but I can see and agree with the logic of doing that.

[Bren106]

I just noticed your latest post (reply No 9). That is a pretty comprehensive set of instructions/steps in the first link. Much of it goes into territory I know little about at present. But what's the worst that can happen ..... I'll be at the same place I started.

The LS was still giving the 6 flash disks not recognised code with a format of EXT3, I've just redone them as EXT2, but don't really see as to how that should make a difference.

I'm using two 500Gb disks in it at present. That won't be the size I will hopefully have in the working LS, but I haven't got two available drives of the size I intend to use in the working device (2Tb) .

[1000001101000]

the u-boot command that the device uses to load the kernel is called "ext2load". I switched to EXT2 in my testing just to be sure this older version of u-boot wasn't having a problem with EXT3 for some reason. Switching to 256mb rather than 1gb for the first partition seemed to be what made it start working for me (that and using the correct firmware for my device).

**note I'm still loading the files directly to the disk, that link is loading them via TFTP

For your initial testing I'd recommend just using the one 500GB disk and then expand from there once you've verified the procedure.

Let me know how it goes.

[Bren106]

Irrespective of everything that you have all been good enough to help with I cannot get past being unable to see the LS with my pc when directly connected. Yes, I have all firewall and AV deactivated. The disks are formatted EXT2 and I can get solid green lights on the front of the unit. The possibility is always there that I am doing something fundamentally stupid and continually repeating it. Nas navigator won't find it if I scan, but I don't expect it to until the firmware/software is on the drives in the LS. Connecting it to my home router and viewing the router on screen I can see the various devices connected, but that doesn't even show as an unidentified device.

[1000001101000]

Green lights is progress. it means the device booted, probably into EM mode like we want. It should show up with LSUpdater.exe.

In fact, once it gets that far it should be able to get an IP address from your router, you shouldn't need to connect it directly to your PC to see it.