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[lauz]

I have one 2TB drive installed in my DNS-325 and it's been working fine for a while.  I want to install a second (identical) drive.  I've read a few posts here, but I'm still not sure exactly what happens when I try to do this.  I think I'll be able to add a second drive as another standard volume, which I'm thinking is what I should do.  How exactly do I do this?  Physically, I know I need to turn off the DNS-325, open it, install the drive and turn it back on (duh).  After that though, I'm assuming I log into the NAS, then it will provide me with a few options, one of which is to add the drive as a standard volume - is that correct?

I'm assuming this can all be done without affecting the data on my first drive - correct as well?

[JavaLawyer]

Yes, your assumptions are correct. Adding a second HDD should not impact your existing HDD configuration or data.

However, as a best practice, you should always maintain a full backup of any critical data to another physical device prior to performing any major changes to the DNS-325 configuration.

[lauz]

OK, finally got around to trying this.  Turned off my PC, turned off and unplugged DNS-325, inserted new HDD, plugged all back in and started everything up.  Logged in to the DNS-325 and was presented with Disk Management as expected.  Button stating "Format the new drive as Standard type" was staring me in the face - all good. 

Clicked it, then "Welcome to Hard Drive Configuration Wizard" pops up.  Step 1 essentially tells you that you are going to format the new drive and old drive won't be touched - all good.  Clicking next gets you to Step 2 where you start the formatting process.  It seems like it starts up as it says Initializing with a 0% and a progress bar, but for some reason doesn't ever get past 0% - about 75 seconds later a pop up comes up saying "User timeout. Please login again".  I then immediately get an email from the NAS saying "System Has Rebooted From A Power Failure".  I've gone back in and checked the timeout settings - which stated 15 minutes - I changed them to 90 minutes, no help.  I am logging in as admin, but I tried to set up a user and do it that way, but I didn't get the Disk Management option that way.  I know that I've had trouble logging in to the NAS with IE10 in the past, so I tried it using the IE8 and IE9 browser modes, no help, even tried Google Chrome - same thing.

If you have any ideas, please help.

[JavaLawyer]

What firmware version are you using?

[lauz]

I was using 1.03.  I checked the most current one on DLink website yesterday and it said 1.03 as well - I updated it anyway - it didn't help. 

[cable2]

Hi,
You might try shutting down the 325 and then remove the original drive.  Place your new drive in the right side slot (viewed from front) and then try to initialize and format the new drive as a standard drive.  If successful, just replace the new drive in the left slot and reinstall the original drive in the right slot.  Not sure this will work, but worth a try.  Good luck

[lauz]

I am concerned about trying this. 

If I take out my original drive and re-insert it, I am afraid that the DNS-325 will want to re-format the drive before it accepts it.

Can you please confirm the answers to these questions...

1 - If I remove my original drive from the Left slot and re-install it into the Left slot, will the DNS-325 require me to reformat the drive?

2 - If I remove my original drive from the Left slot and install it in the Right slot, will the DNS-325 require me to reformat the drive?

3 - If the answers to #1 an #2 are both no, it shouldn't matter which slot I put the original drive back into, but will the DNS-325 recognize the data on the original drive after removing and reinstalling?

4 - I understand that there is always a risk of losing data when working with Hard Drives, however I have installed and removed several hard drives over the years and I am comfortable that I am taking proper precautions with respect to electricity, static and dust, and always handle them very carefully.  I am willing to accept the normal amount of risk in working with hard drives, however I want to be sure that the DNS-325 will accept the hard drive and read it properly if I remove/replace any of these drives.  Is there anything I am missing that I should know about to ensure I won't have a problem when I do this?

[cable2]

1. It should not.
2. It should not.
3. Try it your way.  I assumed that you have data on Volume_1, that you wanted to remain that way. 
4. There are risks in everything.  To the best of my knowledge and in my experience there is little risk if you follow my previous directions.  There are 2 major risks in what I have suggested.  Formost, defective hardware, NAS or hd's.  Next risk, operator error. 
Note: The reason for removing the orginal and putting the new drive in the right slot is a procedure that has worked in similar situations to yours where the new drive was not recognized correctly when added directly to the left hand slot. 
Good luck

[lauz]

Success!  Thank you guys for your help.

FYI - here's what I did...

- installed new drive into PC, tried to format - everything was ok, so I actually backed up my old drive onto the new drive while it was in my PC.
- turned off PC and NAS
- pulled old drive out of Left slot in DNS-325 and installed in Right slot - turned all back on, tested and everything was ok.
- turned everything back off
- removed new drive from PC and installed in Left slot in NAS
- turned everything back on - funny, now on the NAS, the Left HDD indicator light was red as opposed to white/grey/light blue or whatever that normal colour is.
- logged into NAS and went through normal process to set up new HDD as Standard - it formatted the drive wiping out my backup, but this was ok given I'd already confirmed that the old drive was still accessible and data was still there