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[HunterGeo]

 


So, after the never-ending problems my DNS-345 has thrown at me (as documented in various posts in this forum), I find myself once again at the mercy of this most frustrating of devices.

I had two volumes (both consisting of two 3TB HDDs, each in RAID1).
One called "Volume_1" and the other "Volume_2".


I was working away happily. Then Volume_1 suddenly disconnected. I checked the web admin control panel and found that Volume_1 had completely disappeared from the 'Hard Drive Configuration' page of the 'Disk Management' section.

I tried rebooting the DNS - several times - but without success. I ran a SMART test on all four drives and they are all OK. Ergo, one must conclude that the DNS-345 is stuffing up - again.

I most certainly cannot recommend D-Link NAS devices.

I am now putting the hard drives from the DNS-345 into my PC so that I can still access the data. The DNS-345 itself will be in the rubbish bin later tonight.

[ivan]

As you say, your problems appear to be never ending.

One of my technicians mentioned that it might be a hardware problem with your unit when I told them about your problems.

We have seen some very strange and apparently unrelated problems caused by such things as dry solder joints, capacitors with internal problems, resistors that are temperature sensitive when they shouldn't be and so on.  We even had one in which the SATA data socket had a pin that had been damaged in manufacture and would only make contact if you twisted the drive.

[JavaLawyer]

As you say, your problems appear to be never ending.

One of my technicians mentioned that it might be a hardware problem with your unit when I told them about your problems.

We have seen some very strange and apparently unrelated problems caused by such things as dry solder joints, capacitors with internal problems, resistors that are temperature sensitive when they shouldn't be and so on.  We even had one in which the SATA data socket had a pin that had been damaged in manufacture and would only make contact if you twisted the drive.

Did you observe these issues on the DNS-345 or the DNS-320 (or both)? I only ask this question because most of your posts are relate to the DNS-320.

[HunterGeo]

One of my technicians mentioned that it might be a hardware problem with your unit when I told them about your problems.

I wonder if it is possible for me to send the DNS-345 in for replacement somewhere?
My local tech support don't really want to know or help me - the only useful help I've ever received is from this forum (thanks!).

At the end of the day, I still need a way of storing all of my data (preferably on a network device such as a NAS). If the issues I am having are unusual, I am willing to give another unit a shot if it's at no extra cost to me.

Did you observe these issues on the DNS-345 or the DNS-320 (or both)? I only ask this question because most of your posts are relate to the DNS-320.

Not sure if that question was directed at myself or Ivan, but I've only ever had a -345.

[JavaLawyer]

Not sure if that question was directed at myself or Ivan, but I've only ever had a -345.

The question was directed to Ivan -- I had quoted his prior post above the question.

[ivan]

To answer your question Java, at the moment our 345 is working fine so no need to take it apart and check.  We did a complete overhaul on one of our 323s when it would drop off the network for no reason - resoldering the rj45 ethernet socket fixed that.  We have also had a couple of clients with 320s that have had hardware problems but without looking up the records I can't say exactly what they were.

We are a business that repairs and maintains computer equipment mainly in the CAD/CAM arena and my observations on the problems that HunterGeo is having are based on my over 30 years experience as well as that of a couple of my well qualified technicians.

In general the D-Link equipment is extremely good value for money which is why we recommend it to our clients.  Yes we have seen some problems but all were fixable without a lot of effort.  The reliability of electronic equipment has gone up a long way since I first started in the business but you still get the odd one that passes QC and gets into the field, works for a short time then starts being a lemon, in fact you will always get them.  It is usually caused by a number of components that are marginal on their specs being used together when the odd one would not matter.

As for HunterGeo's problems, it would be interesting to see the results of a full physical examination and testing of the unit because, as far as I can see, they are not normal.  The 5 DNS-345s, ours plus 4 with a client, we have deployed are working 'as advertised' although the multimedia sections are not used in the industrial situation.   

[JavaLawyer]

Ivan, Thanks for sharing your experiences and insight with the ShareCenter product line. You've affirmed some of what I've already suspected and added a great deal more than I would have surmised. On a positive note, I'm glad to hear (from a fellow consumer) that the long term trending patterns are on a positive slope as far as reliability and QA/QC are concerned. It's rare that you read about the "positive" experiences on a community forum like this as consumers are more apt to post when things go wrong, artificially skewing the overall perception of the product line.

To answer your question Java, at the moment our 345 is working fine so no need to take it apart and check.  We did a complete overhaul on one of our 323s when it would drop off the network for no reason - resoldering the rj45 ethernet socket fixed that.  We have also had a couple of clients with 320s that have had hardware problems but without looking up the records I can't say exactly what they were.

We are a business that repairs and maintains computer equipment mainly in the CAD/CAM arena and my observations on the problems that HunterGeo is having are based on my over 30 years experience as well as that of a couple of my well qualified technicians.

In general the D-Link equipment is extremely good value for money which is why we recommend it to our clients.  Yes we have seen some problems but all were fixable without a lot of effort.  The reliability of electronic equipment has gone up a long way since I first started in the business but you still get the odd one that passes QC and gets into the field, works for a short time then starts being a lemon, in fact you will always get them.  It is usually caused by a number of components that are marginal on their specs being used together when the odd one would not matter.

As for HunterGeo's problems, it would be interesting to see the results of a full physical examination and testing of the unit because, as far as I can see, they are not normal.  The 5 DNS-345s, ours plus 4 with a client, we have deployed are working 'as advertised' although the multimedia sections are not used in the industrial situation.  

[HunterGeo]

As for HunterGeo's problems, it would be interesting to see the results of a full physical examination and testing of the unit because, as far as I can see, they are not normal.  The 5 DNS-345s, ours plus 4 with a client, we have deployed are working 'as advertised' although the multimedia sections are not used in the industrial situation.   

What sort of costs are we talking about, Ivan, if I send it your way?

[ivan]

Hi HunterGeo.

Before I give any type of estimate you should know that we are situated in the south of France not far from the Spanish border so shipping costs would have to be considered if you are not in the EU and even then it can be quite expensive.

[HunterGeo]

Ah, sounds like it will cost more than buying a new unit. Thanks anyway.

[an3k]

Ah, sounds like it will cost more than buying a new unit. Thanks anyway.

When did you bought your device? Can't you send it in to D-Link for a replacement? I think they offer a warranty in the US Australia too, right?

[HunterGeo]

I tried, an3k. As I wrote earlier, though, Australian tech support aren't supportive at all and don't believe that I can be having these problems, and refused to refund or exchange it.

It is still under warranty, but warranties are only good when a company is willing to honour them. My conclusion, therefore, is that DLink is a company to avoid.

[HunterGeo]

Well, I'll be damned. D-Link Australia finally accepted my request to send the thing back to them.

In the mean time, though, I have two drives that are still in the DNS-345 that I need to get working in my Linux machine. I previously pulled one drive out (from Volume_1, as detailed in my OP), chown'd and chmod'd it in Linux, and then all was fine.

However, to chown and chmod it, you have to be able to at least access the partition. So I did this again for one of the other drives, but am now finding that the partition isn't visible (and, hence, I can't chmod and chown the files).

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[JavaLawyer]

Well, I'll be damned. D-Link Australia finally accepted my request to send the thing back to them.

I'm surprised the RMA took this long (since January???), you should have let me know.
At least in the U.S., the RMA process is a simple phone call with a follow-up automated email from D-Link with a link to an online form that prints the shipping labels.

    

[HunterGeo]

since January?

Try June of last year.
Anyway, as for my current problem: I just dumped a spare 3TB HDD into my external enclosure, and copied the files off the NAS drive into that the external drive. Then I pulled the drives from the NAS and formatted them. Problem solved.