Buffalo Forums

Hi,

I've had my Linkstation for quite a few years, just decided to replace the older 3TB with a 6TB NAS HDD...

I now have 3 issues:

1) LinkStation constantly making noise
2) Slow transfer speeds
3) USB not working

For issue #1 - I have seen this Buffalo QA - http://en.faq.buffalo-global.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/14236 - and that hasn't helped, as 1) DNLA is currently off, and 2) before when DLNA was on, this wasn't happening.

For issue #2 - I'm not entirely sure what my previous speeds were (certainly not the advertised ~80MB/s) but it was definitely faster than the 11MB/s I'm getting now! This happens whether I copy from my PC's Gen 4 m.2 SSD or an external USB HDD connected to my PC.

For issue #3 - Due to issue #2, I decided to repopulate the new drive with my ~3TB of data using the external USB HDD I have backed up to. Still, the LS is not recognising external USB devices at all (yes, I had toggled the setting on in admin options).

Any help on any of the above appreciated, thanks!

Regarding issue 2, what's your network topology like, are you clients wired or wireless?

Thanks for replying.

The PC I'm copying files from is directly connected to my Plusnet Hub 2 router, which is then wired up to the Linkstation, so all on Ethernet cables. I'd have to double check the cat rating but I'm pretty sure I don't own any cables other than 5e or better.

Assuming it's all meant to be gigabit connections? What does the interface of the PC NIC state? And the router? 11MB/s would suggest you're connecting at 10/100Mb not gigabit, could be a cable issue, could be a modem issue, could be a NAS issue.

Connect the NAS to the PC directly with a known good gigabit cable, then do a direct transfer and see how you get on. The network cards in threse units rarely fail so I'd say more than likely it's a cable or router issue.

"Connect the NAS to the PC directly with a known good gigabit cable" - Trying this my speed went up to ~37 MB/s!

So, I replaced the longer cable running from my PC to the router and I'm now getting improved speeds of ~35 MB/s! I'm a little embarrassed to find that the cable was at fault, to be honest, but thank you nevertheless.

I'm still some way off the supposed ~80MB/s capability of this NAS but a bit happier now I can copy files over my network quicker than before

I then decided to retry connecting my external USB HDD to the front port of the LS, and it is now showing up! I think I had another derp moment... I had the USB Device Server option toggled 'on' in the options. It's only copying files directly to the NAS fluctuating between ~10 and 15MB/s which seems slow, but at least I don't need to leave my PC on just to repopulate the NAS now!

Therefore, I'll mark;

Issue #2 = Resolved
Issue #3 = Resolved

I still have no idea about Issue #1 though, and tbh it's a real concern due to the constant noise, extra energy use and wear and tear on the HDD...

What's the specific model number of the NAS and what firmware version is installed?

Model: LS421DEBD2

Firmware: Version 1.86-0.02

Spinning mechnaical HDDs make noise, since there is no HDD spin down function on this unit then there's not a lot you can do about it.

The best thing you can do if you are concerned about wear and tear is to set a sleep timer for the unit.

"Spinning mechanical HDDs make noise" Thanks for the reply again, this is something I'm well aware of but it doesn't make any sense!

Previously (with a 3TB HDD), when not actually in use and the NAS was idle, there would be a very low humming noise that was only audible if I was close to it.

Now (with a 6TB HDD - exactly the same make & model just larger capacity) and whether it's supposedly 'in use' or not, it is constantly whirring away and the fan seems to be going full pelt! It's noticeably louder to the point that I may ditch the Buffalo enclosure as I'm getting fed up with trying to fix the issue...

Bigger capacity in the same model drive probably means more platters using more motor power to spin them which then means more noise and heat..... which means the NAS runs the fan faster to deal with the heat. That all sounds like normal behavior to me.

Thanks, I appreciate your opinion on this, I'd not considered that a larger capacity HDD would increase noise.

The problem is, it's noticeably so much louder and it's in my lounge...

I now have another issue, with all my messing about I think I've got corrupted firmware! @davo I see in your sig it says you may be able to help with this?

[edit] Trying to start from scratch with the new 6TB HDD installed and I get 7 short flashes of Red LED (according to the manual, this indicates corrupt firmware)

However, when I reinsert the original 3TB HDD I was looking to replace, the NAS still operates as normal!

How did you get the firmware on the 6tb the first time?

I just used the instructions to initialise the disk using the button on the front.

Anyway for my latest issue, I ran through all the steps here - https://anp.synology.me/ls420d/ - and reinstalled the firmware (using the latest version from https://www.buffalotech.com/support/downloads/linkstation-420) but now I have a new error code:

E22 Unable to mount drive x

It also shows as unformatted in Nas Navigator and when I try and format via NAS settings, it fails!

This is driving me nuts now but appreciate any help.

Quote from: JaiBones on May 01, 2023, 09:29:44 AM
I just used the instructions to initialise the disk using the button on the front.

Anyway for my latest issue, I ran through all the steps here - https://anp.synology.me/ls420d/ - and reinstalled the firmware (using the latest version from https://www.buffalotech.com/support/downloads/linkstation-420) but now I have a new error code:

E22 Unable to mount drive x

It also shows as unformatted in Nas Navigator and when I try and format via NAS settings, it fails!

This is driving me nuts now but appreciate any help.

If the disk cannot be formatted and it is seated correctly then it would appear to be faulty.

I was starting to suspect the same...

...but I have a spare, old PC with Ubuntu installed and so I popped the 6tb HDD in that to check for errors - no errors flagged up, and I could mount & access the 6TB HDD without issue!

All issues now seem to be resolved. I managed to get the 6TB operational again, by deleting all the partitions on a Linux system and then restarting the initialisation process by using the function button on the front of NAS.
At first, I had a solid red light (eek) but I simply powered the NAS down, rebooted, and the initialisation finally worked and I had a fresh, working 6TB HDD ready to set up again.

So;

Issue #1 = Resolved - larger capacity HDDs are noticeably louder
Issue #2 = Resolved - replaced the Ethernet cable
Issue #3 = Resolved - I had USB Device toggled on

Thanks to davo & 1000001101000 for trying to help, I know I've tinkered waaaay too much for all this but I learned a bit along the way, lol!