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[BillGalbraith]

Oh yes I am sorry skip that step shipping firmware is available only at this time for the DNS-321.

Please try clearing your browser cache and if you are using firefox please try IE if that fails. 

Surprise of all surprises, that did not work. I tried this through two different computers, both running WinXP HE with IE. Calling D-Link technical support did not provide any useful information, and I was unable to get past level 2 support, even though I was told that I needed to talk to a product specialist. I guess they are too busy to talk to someone willing to work with them and work out a problem with their device. I am in the process of returning this item to NewEgg.

I believe that I went WAY out of the way in order to resolve the problem with this unit. 4 phone calls, accounting for more than 90 minutes on the phone, did not produce a useable device. Without resolution, I cannot recommend this device to anyone at this time, and my review will reflect that opinion. I'm kind of disappointed, since this looked to be a nice unit for the home user. Maybe if they get it fixed at some point.....

[BillGalbraith]

Which part of the DNS-323 page "seems" to indicate this?

I was checking to see if I could find any recent updates, and found this page, talking about the 94% problem:
http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=3167&question=DNS-321%20/%20DNS-323%20/%20DNS-343
which leads to this page:
http://www.support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=2430&question=DNS-323%20/%20DSN-321%20/%20DNS-343

There is no update for the firmware yet on the DNS-321

[jswashburn]

Bill. For what it's worth, I don't think D-Link has a bloody clue why this 94% format issue is happening. In fact, I'm having the exact same problem here http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=2126.0 Of course I'm using a DNS-323, but I'm sure the two device share something in common that is causing the issue.

You want to know what's really sad though? I've been given repeat advice on troubleshooting when in fact I've already been down that path as stated previously in my posts. It's like I'm talking to a wall or something.

[BillGalbraith]

Bill. For what it's worth, I don't think D-Link has a bloody clue why this 94% format issue is happening.

Their latest faux pas was that they posted a "new" version of Easy Search for the 321, supposedly version 4.1.0.0. It's the same size as ver 3.8, and reports that it is version 3.8.

I'm returning one of my two DNS-321. I need RAID 1 on this, and the DNS-321 just can't do it. The other one seems to be okay with normal 2-disk operation.

[BillGalbraith]

Well, I'm learning more and more about this product, things that Tech nonSupport doesn't know, or doesn't want to reveal. Their answer to everything is clear out the cache and reformat.

I took two 750 Gig HDs on their approved list (see my initial post for the model numbers) and low-level formatted them (12-14 hours each). Stuck them into to the DNS-321, turned off my pop-up blocker (as suggested in another thread), cleared my cache and attempted another standard format, and it hung at 94% again. What a surprise.

I then attempted the same format from a Linux box running Red Hat (version 4.0, if I remember correctly). I was stunned to see it actually complete something. (In my best Church Lady voice)... So, who can we blame? Who on earth, in heaven, or in Hades can we blame? Could it be.... SATAN?

Okay, some of the other posts that I've read on this and similar D-Link devices indicates that IE 7 might be the problem. Rather than me spending a lot of time trying to do the jobs of the Tech nonSupport people and solve the problem globally, I thought I'd move on. I attempted another format, one with a 100 Gig RAID 1 setup, with the rest of the space on the two hard drives set as standard volumes. It failed once under Linux (at 94%), so Satan isn't completely to blame, but it did pass the second time that I attempted.

After all that I've read on this and similar devices, I decided against running with a RAID 1 setup. I would rather do scheduled backups every day, so that if something is inadvertently deleted, it can be recovered if it is caught before the next scheduled backup. There were just too many people complaining that a RAID disk when down and they lost ALL of their data on both disks, or similar problem.

I still can't recommend this device to anyone, but if you already have one, or HAVE to have one, this information might help you get it working.

Good luck. You are going to need it.

[ECF]

Yes it seems this issue is mainly seen formatting in RAID1. The steps provided have solved this issue in many cases but it is still undetermined why some drive experience this issue. We are currently looking into this incident on some drives.

[jswashburn]

The steps provided have solved this issue in many cases but it is still undetermined why some drive experience this issue. We are currently looking into this incident on some drives.

It's nice to know that D-Link knows of the problem and is actively seeking a resolution to it. 

Just a theory, but could having the DNS-321/3 connected to a Gigabit switch having anything to do with it? Perhaps being connected to a 1gbit network causes the main CPU to work harder or get out of sync with the format process? Anyone that is having this 94% issue using Gigabit too, or also 100Mbit?

Also, has D-Link though about supporting the JFS file system instead of EXT2?

[ECF]

I have not tried that, I suppose you could just lock it to 100Mbps in the web config and try it. I do not have any drives that are experiencing this issue to test it here. So if anyone wants to try it feel free.

As for JFS I do not make those decisions here but I will forward a message to product management.

[BillGalbraith]

Just a theory, but could having the DNS-321/3 connected to a Gigabit switch having anything to do with it? Perhaps being connected to a 1gbit network causes the main CPU to work harder or get out of sync with the format process? Anyone that is having this 94% issue using Gigabit too, or also 100Mbit?

I am using a 100 Mbit network, and I have the problem. I've also had problems formatting to just normal configuration (no RAID), so that theory is shot down. I've had it hang formatting from Windows and LInux, but in most cases, you can just cycle power and either it is format, or it will try again, sometimes getting it on the second attempt. Still, what does it do during the final 6%?

At this point, I see formatting to something other than the standard disk configuration very risky, as the drives may go down, and it might be difficult or impossible to retrieve the data on the disks.

[jswashburn]

I am using a 100 Mbit network, and I have the problem. I've also had problems formatting to just normal configuration (no RAID), so that theory is shot down.</

Ya, same here.

There must be some sort of logical explination for why it doesn't finish the remaining 6%. It's one thing if it hangs randomly or never starts. But it always gets to 94%. Why? What is the common denominator in all of this? Could it be the way it addresses some drives with LBA or CHS?

Here's a simple google search of others having the same problem. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dns-323+94%25&aq=1&oq=

[AWDL]

Oh yes I am sorry skip that step shipping firmware is available only at this time for the DNS-321.

Please try clearing your browser cache and if you are using firefox please try IE if that fails. 

My format was showing 94% completion. I don't think I cleared the cache. I just refreshed the page and it flickered 98% and then 100% very quickly. All is well (980GB later).

[marklyn]

OK, I'm having the same 94% error as other folks and I've tried the suggestions posted.  I've even gone into the tools and tried to 'configure the 2nd drive' option and still got a failure.  This is my 6th attempt.  I've switched drives, cleaned cookies, etc.  These were brand new Seagate 750GB drives.  One formatted ok and the other is not.  I really doubt a new drive is bad, very very rare in my opinion and since this is the 94% format failure lots of other folks are having, I suspect more that the drive is not the problem.

If I can't get this going in the next hour, back to Fry's it goes.  Great idea and I'll buy another NAS but so far I'm very leary about putting my valuable data on something that is very problematic in even getting set up initially.

[ECF]

I was just having this issue with some new drives im testing and it was hanging at 94% in IE on 3 different computers I switched to Firefox and it formatted successful no problem. Make sure you try Firefox if you have this problem.