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[djp1]

I know Windows 7 is not listed as a supported operating system, but I see that a lot of people are using it with the DNS-321. Is there anything special you had to do to do this? Or did you use the right-out-of-the-box d-link software, including the Easy Search Utility?

I'm using Win7 Home Premium and here's my problem: It never gets me to the point where I am asked to configure and format my drives. Instead, it brings me directly to the screeen where I can access the "setup," "advanced," "tools" and "status" options. According to the manual, I should go to "hard disk configuration" first, but it doesn't do that. My two drives are brand new. The drives do not show up in the Easy Search Utility (though the DNS-321 does show up). When I click the "configuration" button it brings me to the screen I mentioned earlier and does not give me the option to configure or format the drives.
All status lights on the DNS are blue, for the network connection and for the two drives.
Is there some kind of workaround that will let me use the device with Win7?

I'm trying technical support. So far they have suggested bypassing the router to try to gain access to the drives. But by doing it that way, I can't even gain access to the DNS. In other words, typing the DNS address as the URL in my browser does not bring me to the admin login. In fact, it makes no connection at all.

[jamieburchell]

You do not need to install any software on your computers, as such the NAS will work with any operating system.

As for configuring, enter the IP address of the NAS in a web browser and login to the configuration screen. There's a "Wizard" button I think that you can follow, or configure manually.

[djp1]

Thanks for the reply, but here's the problem. I can get to the software provided by dlink just fine (by using the IP address of the NAS, as you say).
The problem is that when I do, it doesn't go to that section of the software that lets me configure my drives. According to the manual, it's supposed to do that first. Instead, it goes directly to the wizard part of the software (which cannot be used to configure drives). And as far as I know, there is no way for me to force the software to go to the drive-configuration option. There is no link to it anywhere.

[djp1]

I found the solution.
The two drives I put in the DNS-321 were new and unformatted. So I took them out of the DNS and hooked them directly to my computer using SATA cables and formatted them. Put them back in the DNS after that and everything works fine. (Of course, I had to format the drives again in the DNS-321, but that's what I was expecting.)

[jamieburchell]

Strange. The NAS should format new and unformatted drives, that has been my experience. I'm not sure why you were unable to get to the part of the web interface to manually format them (TOOLS > RAID).

[djp1]

Strange. The NAS should format new and unformatted drives, that has been my experience. I'm not sure why you were unable to get to the part of the web interface to manually format them (TOOLS > RAID).

Yeah, I don't know either. Unless the process of taking the drives out and putting them back in did something. But I don't think so, because when I was having this problem I tried pushing the drives all the way in to make sure everything was connected.
BTW: In my original post I said the drive status lights were blue. They were, but they were pale blue. Once I formatted the drives outside the DNS and put them back in, the blue drive lights were noticeably brighter. At no point, however, did I ever have amber lights for the drives.

[jamieburchell]

If they were "pale blue" it's likely they weren't lit and the light you saw was from the central LED. Sounds like they weren't connected. As far as I know the LEDs can only be blue/amber (or purple if both lit).

[djp1]

Good point. It was probably just a halo effect.