• February 26, 2025, 11:37:29 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

This Forum Beta is ONLY for registered owners of D-Link products in the USA for which we have created boards at this time.

Author Topic: Preformated drives  (Read 4201 times)

Stepan

  • Level 1 Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Preformated drives
« on: September 30, 2009, 02:52:41 PM »
Can you use preformated drives in DSN-323?  I have 1G hard drives with all of my files, and I don't want to reformatted it.
Logged

hilaireg

  • Level 3 Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 348
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2009, 03:42:27 PM »
Unless your HDD is preformatted with an EXT2/EXT3 file system, I'm afraid you will need to copy the files to the DNS post-DNS formatting and RAID'ing.

If it is EXT2/EXT3; I highly recommend a backup and then initially inserting only the one HDD - one with the data on it (which has been backed up).  If the DNS recognizes the EXT2/EXT3 partition at this point, remove all partitions (file systems) of the 2nd HDD and insert it into the available bay.  You should be prompted at that point to format the newly insert HDD and given the option to make it RAID1.

Not many folks have had success with this so once again ... I stess, BACKUP backup BACKUP backup BACKUP backup BACKUP your data. ;)

Cheers,
Logged

Stepan

  • Level 1 Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2009, 04:58:02 PM »
Thank you for the information.   Backup is one of the reasons I am getting DNS.   

So if DNS-323 fails and it is not the hard drives, can I read the hard drives in a Vista computer to get at the data?  Or I will only be able to read the drive in a DNS?
Logged

hilaireg

  • Level 3 Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 348
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2009, 05:04:56 PM »
Hi Stephan,

It's a common theme on this forum for folks to assume that RAID is a reliable form of backup.  Unfortunately, RAID solutions are not the same as backups. 

A RAID solution provides real-time disk redundancy; so as to reduce the possibility of complete loss of data before a backup has been done.  It does not protect your data from accidental erasure, failed RAID sub-system, or other catastrophic event.

IMHO, you should ensure that you have a backup of your data ... at all times.

In the event of a DNS-323 catastrophic failure, you may be able to remove the HDD and gain access to its contents using EXT2IFS (http://www.fs-driver.org) or similar utility - assuming of course, that the HDD volume was not damaged at the moment of the catastrophic failure.

HTH,
« Last Edit: September 30, 2009, 05:06:58 PM by hilaireg »
Logged

Stepan

  • Level 1 Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2009, 08:22:57 PM »
This is very good information.  I will be using DNS as a backup for 3 computers on my home network and as storage for my MP3 music, so that I don't have to keep my main computer on all the time.   Before I will put anything on it, I will try this utility to see if I can read the drives on my computer after they are formatted in the DNS.   I have learned my lesson in the past and had to keep hard drive on ice to get the data of it.  Lucky for me it worked.

Stepan.

Logged

gunrunnerjohn

  • Level 11 Member
  • *
  • Posts: 2717
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2009, 06:15:30 AM »
Well, that "storage" of your music should be backed up somewhere if you plan on keeping it. :)
Logged
Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Remember: Data you don't have two copies of is data you don't care about!
PS: RAID of any level is NOT a second copy.

Stepan

  • Level 1 Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: Preformated drives
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2009, 11:00:22 AM »
EXT2IFS did not work.  I am running Windows 7.  I got it to install under Vista Compatibility mode.  It did not see the drive. 

I found another program Ext2Fsd-0.48.  It worked perfectly.  I can see the drive and read and write to it.


Stepan.
Logged