Are LS-W1.0TGL/R1 HDDs compatible with LS-WXL/R1?

[Remy]

   

I recently bricked my LinkStation Pro Duo LS-W1.0TGL/R1 (see http://forums.buffalotech.com/t5/Storage/LS-W1-0TGL-R1-FW-3-10-update-failed-can-no-longer-access/td-p/29474">this discussion).  If I buy a new LS-W1.0TGL/R1 and configure it for RAID 1, can I then insert my HDDs from the dead LinkStation without having them be formatted, losing the data?  Maybe if I just insert one HDD and let it create its own mirror on the second HDD, that would leave me with one HDD from the old LinkStation should something go wrong.

 

Since Buffalo does not appear to sell the LS-W1.0TGL/R1 anymore, if I buy a LS-WXL/R1 instead, is the formatting of the LS-W1.0TGL/R1 HDDs compatible with the LS-WXL/R1 so I can just slip them in and use as-is?

[davo]

   

Everything the unit needs to boot is on the original drives, if you move them to a different casing then you are just moving the problem to a different device.

 

 

Try to TFTP the unit and see if that resolves the issue, its your only hope basically!

[Remy]

   

davo wrote:

Everything the unit needs to boot is on the original drives, if you move them to a different casing then you are just moving the problem to a different device.

 

 

Try to TFTP the unit and see if that resolves the issue, its your only hope basically!

 

So, firmware updates are stored on the HDDs, not in some flash memory on the casing?  If that is true, then can I hook up the HDDs to a PC (I have a SATA-to-USB adapter), wipe out the incorrect firmware, copy the correct firmware, and power up successfully again?

 

If you read the discussion I linked to, using TFTP is no longer an option.  I already went that approach the first time around, and the LinkStation is no longer starting up correctly, and thus is not being given the chance to connect to TFTP anymore.  That is why I thought the firmware was installed within the casing, because the HDDs are not being powered up at all.  If the firmware were being loaded from the HDDs, then I would expect the LinkStation to at least power up the HDDs to read the firmware before failing.

[Remy]

   Well, scratch the PC option. I tried plugging in both HDDs into my laptop running Knoppix via a SATA-to-USB adapter but it would not recognize when either HDD was attached. It recognized when I plugged in other USB devices, though.

[Remy]

   

Spoke too soon.  My SATA-to-USB adapter has an extra USB port for supplying extra power.  As soon as I plugged that in, the HDDs started appearing.  I then ran UFS Explorer and it says "No valid file systems" for the 3rd partition and "Unable to read root folder" for the 4th partition.  Probably beause I only have 1 HDD plugged in at a time.  But it is a start.

[Remy]

   

Looks like UFS Explorer is able to access my data files.  Now it's just a matter of letting it run for awhile to back up everything.  Oddly, the XFS file system on the data partition starts at an offset rought 1 GB from the begin of the partition.  Makes me wonder if when I accidentally flashed the 1.x firmware on top of the 3.x firmware, if the partitions got resized but the raw data was not moved?  Would it be possible to somehow use the 3.x firmware files to re-image the correct partition info so the data is accessible again?