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[yourfriendjp]

Hi all. This is my first post. I tried to search for this problem in the forums so I'm not repeating a previously answered problem. I couldn't find anything... so, here goes nothing

I have a DNS-323 which will not boot with both drives installed. It will boot successfully with either hard drive in either slot ONE AT A TIME, but the moment I attempt both drives at the same time the boot fails and the unit shuts down. It shuts down just after both drives begin to start spinning. When they start spinning they make a simultaneous "whiring" noise and just after this noise there is a second "whiring" for a split second and then all lights go off and it's down for the count.

The two drives I'm using are two Maxtor 500GB drives. They used to work with this unit and were both accessible as separate volumes with no problems. When I boot them each, one at a time, all of the data is accessible, I can transfer and the disc check comes back successful.

For the purposes of troubleshooting, I got a brand new Seagate drive (Barracuda 2TB), installed it in slot 1 with slot 2 empty, booted the DNS-323 and formatted the Seagate drive. Everything was successful. I shut the machine down, installed one of the Maxtor drives in the empty slot and pressed the power button. Same exact result. Blinking - whirring - failure.

I'm completely lost. Have any of you ever heard of this before?

[ivan]

It sounds as if the power brick is on the way out - only supplying enough power to spin up one drive and the unit is shutting down due to low voltage.  There is also the possibility the power plug is not making good contact causing the same problem.  I could go on with such things as a dry joint power socket to main board, and so on.

[dosborne]

To me, it doesn't sound like a power issue, but a SATA failure.

The one combination I don't see that you tried is am old drive in slot 1 and the new drive in slot 2.

Is it under warranty? An RMA may be in order.

[yourfriendjp]

The one combination I don't see that you tried is am old drive in slot 1 and the new drive in slot 2.

Is it under warranty? An RMA may be in order.

For the purposes of troubleshooting, I got a brand new Seagate drive (Barracuda 2TB), installed it in slot 1 with slot 2 empty, booted the DNS-323 and formatted the Seagate drive. Everything was successful. I shut the machine down, installed one of the [original] Maxtor drives in the empty slot and pressed the power button. Same exact result. Blinking - whirring - failure.

Wait, you mean that it may boot if I switch the new drive from slot 1 to slot 2 and put the old original Maxtor drive in slot 1? Hm.

I'm sure it's not under warranty anymore... i bought this thing like 5 years ago.

[yourfriendjp]

It sounds as if the power brick is on the way out - only supplying enough power to spin up one drive and the unit is shutting down due to low voltage.  There is also the possibility the power plug is not making good contact causing the same problem.  I could go on with such things as a dry joint power socket to main board, and so on.

This sounds plausible. What's the best way to test for this theory? Can I get a new power brick for these things on the cheap? Can a battery's store or an electronics store test my power supply to let me know how it's performing?

[ivan]

Not sure where you'd get a power brick on the cheap - most cheap ones are single voltage and the DNS-323 requires 12v @ 3A and 5v @ 3A.  Mine runs directly off a low voltage UPS I built.

As for testing, anyone with a volt meter can measure the voltage but off load voltage means nothing it must be measured under load - not an easy task without the right equipment.

I'm not sure about the SATA failure theory unless one of your old drives has died.  If a single drive will work in either slot then there is no problem with the unit itself recognising drives so the SATA sub system should be OK.  If that works and both of your old drives are OK then the only thing left is low power causing the NAS to shut down.