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[averla]

DNS-323; was running 1.08; 1.09 no help.
Drives: 2 Seagate ST3500630AS 500GB; running as RAID 1 pair.

Reported to support that Disk check tool ran 1 time (no errors) after installing 1.08.  Then was greyed out. Never resolved that problem.  Now it seems that this apparently was an indication that disks were not recognized.

Continued to use the unit for 4months, as I had for previous couple of years.
Shut the system down for 3 weeks for a vacation.
Upon retuning and powering up, disks are absolutely not recognized and are not available for reading or writing.
Support (2d level) says the drives are most likely at fault, with high probability.  Huh? Both at the same time? No warning of trouble?

I put the drives in an external enclosure (singly, no RAID 1), and found that they are recognized, and that data is on them.  Cannot actually read the format on my MacBook Pro Bootcamp Win XP (SP3).

I copied the data to a new external 1TB drive before the failure. So that is covered.  The Seagates have several years left on their guarantee.  So they're covered.  But Dlink says they have no policy for repair or replacement for units out of guarantee.  So do I have a $200 paper weight? 

Sure, I could reformat the disks and see if the DNS would recognize them, but so what, if the DNS has a fault in it?  What good is a storage device with a probable disastrous systematic fault.  Certainly not going to get replacement Seagates and put them in the probably faulty DNS.

This is the last hardware Dlink hardware I'll buy.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
averla

[dosborne]

Do you have another HDD that you can try in the DNS323? If not, you can pick up a drive under $50. May be worth it to test the box, or just use one of the existing drives. Format it and see what happens. You can rebuild the mirror if you get things going.

First thing to try of course is a reset to defaults, then reconfigure from scratch (not a saved config file).

[jamieburchell]

It would be worth running manufactures diagnostics on both drives (within your enclosure) so that you can eliminate any drive issues.

[averla]

I have the new SATA 1TB drive that I copied the DNS to before the failure, but I'm not about to use that one for experimenting.

The only innovative suggestion from support was a hard reset, and creation of a new user account with a unique name. No help.

[averla]

Actually running the Seagate utility was also a suggestion from Dlink support.  And I did it.  And both drives passed.

What they didn't want to talk about was why--for four months--the DNS disk checking tool didn't recognize the drives; while the unit unit otherwise continued to operate normally.

[gunrunnerjohn]

Take your new paperweight and use it for it's intended purpose and consider something like this Synology DS210j, it's $199.99 with free shipping here: http://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStation-Diskless-Attached-DS210j/dp/B002XQ3C0E

[dosborne]

Take your new paperweight and use it for it's intended purpose and consider something like this Synology DS210j, it's $199.99 with free shipping here: http://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStation-Diskless-Attached-DS210j/dp/B002XQ3C0E

You are entitled to your opinion, but your constant pushing of Synology and constat trashing of dlink sure seems like trolling to me.

[gunrunnerjohn]

And you're entitled to your opinion as well.   However, given that the two a similarly priced, there is no comparison in the capabilities, that's just plain facts.

[jamieburchell]

It could indicate that file system corruption occurred which would explain why both drives were affected (RAID1) and why both drives passed the health tests.

Consider formatting the drives in the NAS with the EXT3 filesystem, available in 1.08 firmware. EXT3 offers a reliability and integrity enhancement over EXT2 with the use of a journal system.

If you need to, you can access the contents of your NAS drive(s) by using a Linux filesystem driver for Windows.

http://www.ext2fsd.com

[gunrunnerjohn]

I second the recommendation for EXT3, I use it on both the DNS-321 and DNS-323.  It's a bit slower than EXT2, but IMO the extra reliability is worth it.

[averla]

jamieburchell's comments are instructive.

How often does one expect file system corruption in a RAID1 setup like this? 
[I rarely see any corrupt files around here, and there are 3 systems working every day most of the day.]
[Never see lightning strikes, nor mains anomalies around here; systems are on UPS anyway.]
[Surely seems connected to powering down/powering up.]
[I checked the DNS' battery yesterday--3.03 volts, after 2+ years.]
[Is there a reasonable way to rebuild the file system, if I confirm the data files are present?]

I hear some support for confirming that I have a good copy of this data [by accessing it with Linux drivers from this PC, and comparing with my non-RAID1 copy]; then reformatting to EXT3 and giving it another chance.  I assume EXT3 is also available in V. 1.09?

I'll consider this approach.  Perhaps with an initial period of updating another backup; and including periodic powering down/power up.

gunrunnerjohn, can that unit you like be set up as a time machine for the MacBooks?

[gunrunnerjohn]

I ran the DNS-323 in RAID-0 with a pair of 500GB WD drives for a year, which should have been less robust than RAID-1.  I never had any issues with filesystem integrity, then I converted it to RAID-1 when I got larger drives, a pair of Seagate 1.5TB drives. 

Since I got my Synology, I have been running both the DNS-321 and DNS-323 with a single 1.5TB drive using EXT3, so far they've worked fine with that configuration.  I have a pair of Seagate 1.5TB drives in the Synology running EXT3 and RAID-1.

As far as reliability, I can't say I'm unhappy with the D-Link NAS boxes, the DNS-323 is almost three years old, and it's never failed me.  The DNS-321 is about a year and a half, so far so good with that one as well.

I don't use Time Machine, but according to Synology, it's supported: http://www.synology.com/us/solutions/backup/time_machine/time_machine.php

[tfiveash]

You are entitled to your opinion, but your constant pushing of Synology and constat trashing of dlink sure seems like trolling to me.

Have you used a Synology product? Like Gunrunnerjohn I have used both products and there is no comparison.  The key thing is all the features of Synology products work and you don't have to wait a year in hopes of getting new firmware.  How important is your data and do you totally trust a product that has so many issues?

No I do not work for or have any conncetions with Synology but I have fought problems with DNS-323  and I just don't trust it.  Sure you back it up at night but what happens if it stops seeing your file that you have spent all day editing.

If you have a problem with Synology then how about a Qnap.  They make good products to.

It seems a shame that D-Link has chosen not to support their products.

Terry

[jamieburchell]

How often does one expect file system corruption in a RAID1 setup like this?  
[I rarely see any corrupt files around here, and there are 3 systems working every day most of the day.]
[Never see lightning strikes, nor mains anomalies around here; systems are on UPS anyway.]
[Surely seems connected to powering down/powering up.]

I personally have never experienced the issue you are describing.

[I checked the DNS' battery yesterday--3.03 volts, after 2+ years.]

This is unlikely to affect the data on your drives. The firmware is stored in EEPROM and the disk structure/information on the drives themselves. I think the battery is only for the clock, but it might be keeping the configuration in volatile memory.

[Is there a reasonable way to rebuild the file system, if I confirm the data files are present?]
I hear some support for confirming that I have a good copy of this data [by accessing it with Linux drivers from this PC, and comparing with my non-RAID1 copy]; then reformatting to EXT3 and giving it another chance.  I assume EXT3 is also available in V. 1.09?

Your safest and easiest bet is to format the drives as RAID 1 and choose EXT3, then copy your backed up data back.
You can try to read/recover the files from your NAS drives by using the Linux file system driver.
EXT3 is available in 1.09.

[jamieburchell]

Have you used a Synology product?

I know this wasn't aimed at me, but, yes. I have. I recommended one to my Dad. He is happy with his, it sits there doing its job.

On the other hand, my DNS-323 sits there, doing its job and I've never had an issue with it.

So I guess, if you aren't happy - then buy something else and consider that perhaps not everyone has issues with it?