Issues with Buffalo LS220D

[WiseMammoth]

I was able to get my hands on a second-hand Buffalo LS220D for a not-too-bad price. Purchased a new 4th WD hard drive to go with. I ran into errors where I couldn't format the drive when trying to setup, realized that I had to get another drive. I had 3TB hard drive that I had laying around, went through the process of formatting the drive. Finally got the NAS to be recognized by NAS Navigator application. I am planning on removing the 3TB harddrive, copying data from another 4tb harddrive, and replacing the 3tb with 4tb harddrive with the data i want to move over.

Here are my two issues.

Issue 1: In the NAS Navigator 2
I am getting a warning message: "The RAID array is in degraded mode." I tried reformating the drive, but it get the same error. The NAS Navigator seems to recognize the drives. I am not sure this would be an issue, if I am planning on swapping the drive later anyways after I move data to it.

Issue 2: Blinking Lights
The NAS red LED is flashing. The pattern is 1 long - 2 short. According to the manual, tt seems that the error has something to with the cooling system. I am not sure why I am getting this error because when I initially started it up the fan was blowing. Now the fan isn't blowing after I got the drives to work? Could this be related to the other issue above? Is this something I should be concerned about?

[WaveExistence]

Hello,

1: With the Array configured in a RAID 1 mirror, you will continue to get this error until the array is repaired or deleted.

2: The linking lights on the unit will mirror the message code you see in NAS Navigator, 1 long, 2 short, is 12, which light and color will also contribute to what it would be, however you have already mentioned it shows RAID degraded in NAS Navigator which should also say I12 prior to the message.


As a 2nd hand device, Buffalo cannot cover all the variables, BUT, these units where sold with a power adapter which was suited for the drive capacity it initially came in, without knowing the full model as listed on the label on the unit, I cannot confirm if that is 100% the issue. Buffalo sold these units with a max capacity of 12TB or x2 6TB drives and came with a 12v4a adapter.

Outside of that, while its not common, Buffalo has seen DOA drives, even drives listed as new with low/zero power on hours, so if not a power issue or general compatibility issue, you may opt to check the drive health with a SMART checking tool such as Crystal Disk Info by plugging the drive into a Windows computer either directly* or with an adapter.

*If you are not familiar with how a computer operates or have computer building or repair experience this is not recommended as it could lead to data loss or hardware destruction.


The IDEAL situation if you plan on taking advantage of the RAID 1 mirror, is to have at least 1 of the 2 drives you plan to pair, place 1 into the unit with your existing drive (the OS is on the HDD), after backing up your data, delete the array and format both disks (reboot if error fails on format after array deletion), then when both are formatted (an operation that copies the OS to the disk), you should be able to shutdown, put the disk to pair in, turn it back on, format that new drive and then create a new RAID array.


Even if the Buffalo NAS is out of warranty or second hand, Buffalo still provides best effort technical support over eMail for North America customers (requires valid SN on Get Support page), Buffalo recommends you reach out there if this does not work for you.

[WiseMammoth]

Thanks for the reply.
Can I use this particular NAS to have only 1 drive?
If so, could I add RAID later?