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[iana]

Hi

I have just purchased a DNS-345 along with 4 new WD 3TB HDD's.

I am trying to setup the NAS but I cannot even finish the initial setup. The HDD's are not shown when I get to the step in the setup where you can setup RAID etc.

I have logged a call with D-Link but they need a higher level technician to call me back (next week).

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be grateful for any advice.

Just to let you know:
- I have tried 1 HDD, 4HDD in the NAS
- I have removed and reinstalled the HDD's to ensure they are seated correctly
- I have rebooted the NAS and tried again (no luck)
- I have tried the same thing on an XP machine and a Windows 7 machine (same problem on both).

Note: when I use the 'Next' button on the NAS, it shows the IP address, temp information, etc but for each of the 4 drives it shows "0% Crashed". As they are new HDD and they have not yet been formatted maybe this is the problem?

Thanks!

[JavaLawyer]

Try mounting one of the HDDs in a Windows PC and remove any existing partitions. This procedure will remove the remnents of any formatting started by the DNS-345 during the failed attempt. The DNS-345 uses the Linux filesystem to format, so the HDD will be unreadable in Windows, and removing the existing partions in Windows will cleanse the HDD of any data that may be confusing the DNS-345.

Next, while the DNS-345 is powered down, mount the single HDD in the first (top) slot , and start-up the NAS. You should be prompted to format the HDD as a "Standard Volume".

Please post back and let us know how things turn out.

[JavaLawyer]

You may also want to reset the DNS-345 to the factory default settings. While the DNS-345 is powered-up, press and hold the reset button on the rear of the unit for > 8 seconds. Also look for and apply any firmware updates.

[iana]

Hi JavaLawyer

Thanks for your quick response. I did as you suggested - loaded one of the HDD's into a PC and removed partitions, then put it into the DNS-345.

No luck unfortunately. The units powers up, shows the Welcome screen and then shows the drive icon (in the top slot). When I scroll thru the menu I still get the "Volume_1: Crashed Used: 0%" message, for all four drive slots (even though there is only one drive in the top slot).

Also tried rebooting. Again, no luck.

Thanks anyway - appreciate your help.

[iana]

I should also mention that as far as I can tell I am using the latest firmware (ver 1.00)

[JavaLawyer]

In the web UI, did you go to Disk Management > Hard Drive Configuration and try formatting the HDD?

[iana]

JavaLawyer, I could kiss you!

This seems to have resolved the issue - I am now able to see the HDD and I am in the process of formatting.

Thanks again or all your help!

[JavaLawyer]

I'm glad everything worked out for you!  
(I presumed you already walked through the HDD setup process)

[iana]

I spoke too soon 

I am trying to format the HDD's and they just seem to get stuck at some point and dont progress.

Currently Volume_1 is stuck on 4%, last time it was 12%.

Getting too late here but any suggestions welcome!

[JavaLawyer]

What country did you purchase your DNS-345? Depending on the country of origin, there may be a firmware update impacting higher capacity (>2TB) HDDs. I'm guessing the HDD capacity (3TB) is the issue.

Again, this is just a guess, but some of the other new ShareCenter models had issues with 3TB HDDs under the out-of-the-box firmware.

[iana]

I bought them in Australia. fw 1.00 hw A2

[JavaLawyer]

Since I personally don't have access to a DNS-345 (it's not yet released in the U.S.), the best I could do is walk you through the troubleshooting steps (and issues I've observed) with the new DNS-320 and DNS-325, which have a similar user interface and operate similarly, and the legacy 4-bay DNS-343 (predecessor to the DNS-345).

The Australia FTP site contains updated firmware (v1.00b08) for the DNS-345: http://files.dlink.com.au/Products/DNS-345/REV_A/Firmware/. The new firmware does not contain a README file, so unfortunately, we don't know what fixes were included in this latest version. If you choose to install this latest firmware upgrade, download and unzip the file, then upload via the web interface: Management > System Management > Firmware Upgrade

If you have a lower capacity HDD available, you may want to try installing that HDD as a test to rule out the higher capacity HDD as the culprit. There are also HDDs that may not be fully compatible with the DNS-345.  The below is a link of DNS-345 compatible HDDs published on the D-Link Germany site. Not all regional D-Link sites publish such lists (Australia doesn't seem to have one), but this list should give you an idea of which HDDs were tested. Just because your HDD isn't on the list, doesn't necessarily mean that it's not compatible, it just means that D-Link didn't fully test your HDD make/model: ftp://ftp.dlink.de/dns/dns-345/documentation/DNS-345_HD_Compatibility_List_20111004.pdf.

[max85]

I have had a similar problem with my DNS-345 too, it crashed during formating the 4 drives (2To not 3To). http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=47053.0

If you wait during 20-30min when your are formating your drive, do you see a drive with the light off ? Maybe it could be very long ...

[iana]

Hello Again
Firstly thanks for all your help.

I have had some success but I'm not completely there...

What I did was scout around for any newer versions of firmware that were available (not just Australia but worldwide). I found an EU version that was dated only a month or so ago and was named version 1.1.

I installed that firmware and TWO drives. Both have succesfully formatted and are running as RAID 1.0. I have been able to transfer files form a PC to this new drive.

What is not tested is whether it will bomb if I instal another two drives(ie four in total). Is it possible to simply add the additional two drives without affecting the current RAID 1 setup?

[JavaLawyer]

I had a strong suspicion that the firmware was the culprit. The DNS-320 and DNS-325 were released around the same time as the DNS-345, and both NAS required firmware updates to fully support 3TB HDDs.  

One issue of concern is the fact that you upgraded your firmware with the EU version, which was designed for hardware manufactured in that region. Please see the following thread: DNS-345 - Firmware Do's and Don'ts.

I'll leave it up to you whether you want to downgrade to the latest AU firmware or stick with the EU version. I don't have enough information to determine if the firmware you selected is fully compatible with your hardware or wil be stable long term.  From what I know about firmware updates on the ShareCenter series, changing the firmware version should not impact any previously formatted HDDs.

There should be a method to add additional HDDs, but unfortunately I don't have access to the firmware or a firmware emulator for the DNS-345 to offer the proper procedure. Based on my reading of the manual, the "Hard Drive Configuration Wizard" should provide you with the option of formatting just the new HDDs versus all installed HDDs. This is something you'll have to test on your own.