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[bsculley]

I just attempted to upgrade from  firmware v1.03 to v1.04 which I downloaded from here:
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=DNS-343&tab=3.firmware

The web page displayed the "updating" progress bar which got to the end and then everything hung up.  The website would not respond and the drive was not available. 

I waited two hours and finally tried restarting the unit.  Now the OLED alternates between "System Restart!" and "System is booting..." but nothing else happens.

Any way to recover from this?

Thanks

[JaLooNz]

Have you tried power cycling it and flashing the firmware once again?

[JavaLawyer]

As suggested, flashing the firmware will reset the factory default firmware and erase all of your settings.  This procedure will not impact your data.

[bsculley]

Thanks for the reply.  I have cycled the power several times with no change in results (System Restart/System Booting messages). 

How can I reflash the the firmware or reset factory defaults when the on-board web interface is not responding?

Thanks,
Bob

[JavaLawyer]

The rear of the DNS-343 contains a "Reset" button.  Press and hold this button for > 5 seconds to reset the unit to the factory defaults.  Again, this should have no impact on your data or hard drives.

[bsculley]

Thanks for the tip.  (Pretty big duh factor on this end)

Unfortunately, the reset button appears to have no effect.  I even tried cycling the power and powering up with the button depressed, but still get the same sequence of messages and no web interface.

Any more ideas?

Bob

[JavaLawyer]

Here's a thread that addresses your symptoms. Doesn't look encouraging.
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=11215.msg66575#msg66575

[D-Link Multimedia]

Pull all disks (just unseat them from the sata connectors and restart the box and see if it comes up. If it doesn't come up with the disks unseated more or less the boxes flash failed and you have a brick. Are you still within warranty?

[bsculley]

No, sadly it doesn't boot without the disks either, and it's out of warranty (Dec '09).  Is there a depot repair/exchange option?

Bob

[JavaLawyer]

No, sadly it doesn't boot without the disks either, and it's out of warranty (Dec '09).  Is there a depot repair/exchange option?

Not through D-Link.

[bsculley]

I have to say that an expensive product like this that can be bricked by executing vendor supplied software and following recommended procedures seems poorly designed and not worth the money.

The fact that there is no repair or exchange service outside warranty adds insult to the injury.

This will be my last D-Link product.

Bob

[JavaLawyer]

I have to say that an expensive product like this that can be bricked by executing vendor supplied software and following recommended procedures seems poorly designed and not worth the money.

The fact that there is no repair or exchange service outside warranty adds insult to the injury.

This will be my last D-Link product.

Bob

I understand your discontent. Speaking for myself, it would be much easier to accept a bricked unit if the issue were something more substantial (and unrecoverable) than a simple failed firmware upload.

[skrupka]

I've been reading this forum for the DNS-343 for a couple of years now, i never had any issue with my unit but i'm sure it's only because i filled it up and keep it off most of the time.   I'm not upgrading to v1.4 for fear of bricking it unless d-link refunds the money spent on the unit.


 

[JavaLawyer]

I've been reading this forum for the DNS-343 for a couple of years now, i never had any issue with my unit but i'm sure it's only because i filled it up and keep it off most of the time.   I'm not upgrading to v1.4 for fear of bricking it unless d-link refunds the money spent on the unit.

The problem discussed here isn't necessarily due to firmware v1.04, but could be attributed to an interrupted firmware upload/update or a firmware file corrupted during download, to name a few possibilities.

[bsculley]

While I don't disagree in principal, I will submit that:

1. The firmware file was extracted from a zip, which usually doesn't work if the zip is corrupted
2. The upload took place over a wired network that was working fine both before and after the incident.
3. The device could/should have transfered the  entire file to device before the flashing process commenced. (Eliminates problems due to network failure)
4. The device could/should have verified the checksum or done some other validation on the firmware file.
5. There could/should be a button (or something) on the device that would restore it to some base (functional) state even in the event of a bad flash.

I work routinely with expensive devices that frequently need to be reflashed and I have never experenced this type of unrecoverable failure.  All except the last of my suggestions are a matter of programming and shouldn't be difficult or overly expensive to implement.

Bob