LS-WVL/E Firmware Update Not Working (no drives installed) Is my unit working?

[Bob_in_AZ]

I bought a used LS-WVL/E that was supposed to be factory refurbished.  Let me say up front here that my goal is to verify that it is working properly before I proceed to invest in purchasing drives to go into it, so at the moment, there is no storage installed.

I am able to see it in NasNavigator from my Mac.  It displays as LS-WVL-EMF86 and I get a message that the firmware must be updated.  The manual agrees:

If a shared folder does not open even though NAS Navigator 2 recognizes the LinkStation
If power outage occurred or the AC adapter is unplugged while the LinkStation is ON, the LinkStation's
firmware may be corrupted and shared folders may not open (You can search for folders on
NAS Navigator2 but they do not open).
Note: – In such a case, the LinkStation name displayed on NAS Navigator2 or the Web Admin
interface on the LinkStation is displayed as LS-XHL-EM abc(abc stands for last 3 digits
of the MAC address of the LinkStation) or LS-CHL-EM abc, LS-WXL-EM abc, LS-WSXL-EM
abc,. In such a case, download the latest firmware from BUFFALO's website (www.buffalotech.
com) and update it.

The function light is a fast flashing blue.

After downloading the firmware VERSION=1.65-3.40 and starting the updater, it scans and finds the unit.  The firmware box in the updater display is blank.  When I click the update button, I get a pop up message that says:

Preparing Update...
Confirming Firmware Version...
Confirming HDD Partition...

It then pops up another dialog box that says:

Alert
No Partition Detected.  It may be necessary to format the target's drive.

There is an OK button, and if you push it, it just returns to the display with the update button.

So, my question is, is there anything further that I can do to verify that this unit works short of buying my drives first?

Thanks for any advice.

[davo]

The unit is working fine. You cannot install firmware or do anything with it without HDDs.

[Bob_in_AZ]

Thank you very much for the reply.