Linkstation Mini LS-WSX1.0TL/R1 - Error E.13 > Rebuild Array

[RayBumpkin]

Hi,

My mini is reporting the following error:

Product name: LS-WSX1.0TL/R1
E13:Error has occurred at RAID array 1.

The console reports this as an error in disk 2 (RAID 1). The disks are both the original 500GB (WD500BEVT) drives with 216GB used out of 451GB.

I followed other links in this forum and have started to rebuild the array. However that appears to be stuck @ 40% or maybe I'm just being impatient. NAS Navigator is also reporting "I01: Checking System Area..."

Q1. How long would it normally take to rebuild the array?

Q2. If it is really stuck, what should I do next? The console isn't letting me do anything except watch.

Q3. Physically which is disk 1 and which is disk 2? The disk at the top is beside the LAN / USB / Power connectors - is that disk 1?

Thanks,
Ray.

[RayBumpkin]

OK. I'm in a position to answer my own questions having tried this-and-that.

Q1. How long would it normally take to rebuild the array?

There are two stages to building the array: the first is "checking the system area" and the second is "rebuilding" where the file system is being rebuilt.

Initiate the full process on the Console using System >> Storage >> Raid Array >> Array1 >> Rebuild Array

Checking the system area = 3 or 4 minutes.

• This shows on the console as a simple percentage.
• The LinkStation is unusable during this period; you cannot access your data.
• The console returns to the start page (Shared Folders) after completion.

Rebuilding = 1546 minutes (~26 hours)

• This time is for my size of drives with my volume of data. I guess this will be different depending on other factors
• This is shown in the console as a time and progress within System >> Storage >> Raid Array
• The LinkStation can be accessed as normal during this period; you can access your data.

Q2. If it is really stuck, what should I do next? The console isn't letting me do anything except watch.
This was taking a long time during "checking the system area". After about 90 minutes, it completed and started the "rebuilding" phase, which took over 24 hours to get to 45%. The "time left" was very erratic.

This is the point I decided to replace the drive (see below).

Q3. Physically which is disk 1 and which is disk 2? The disk at the top is beside the LAN / USB / Power connectors - is that disk 1?
Disk 1 is on the side with the function button.
Disk 2 is on the side where the LAN / USB / Power.

Replacing the drive
The LinkStation Mini isn't designed for end users to replace the disk, however it is possible.

This link - http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Disassemble_the_LS_MINI - provides good instruction for getting into the casing and accessing the drives.

I was able to reuse the same disk. I put it into a USB caddy and connected it to my computer. I deleted all partitions, formatted it and checked to see if there were any significant errors. Thankfully there were none.

I read somewhere that it is best that the drive is 'as new' when putting it back into the LinkStation, so I deleted the partition.

I hope the original problem doesn't rear its head again but I have another disk waiting if it does.

Ray.

[RayBumpkin]

I hope the original problem doesn't rear its head again but I have another disk waiting if it does.

Sadly it did just after the rebuilding completed; so in went the other disk. This time the rebuilding took about 5 and a half hours. I periodically watched the time remaining and it more-or-less gave a consistent end time.

I've put the old disk back into the USB caddy, reformatted and run more tests. Again no errors are reported, which is strange; maybe there's something that XFS can't handle but NTFS can. Seems unlikely though.