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[swamphox]

I have 3 DLink DNS 323 units and I inadvertently shut the power off via the power strip the other day and one of the units did not come back. These are not used for automated backup so it should not have been writing to the unit. The only thing it will do is shine the two amber lights. Things I have done so far. When I powered the unit on initially the 2 amber lights came on. I removed the drives and transferred them to another 323. HDDs are fine. After drives were removed the amber lights stayed on. I have removed the battery, nothing, reset, nothing. I have tried holding down power button for different series of seconds and I get nothing. Changed power supplies, nothing. Fan does not tun on. I would be more inclined to think that the drivers were harmed because of the power shut off but since the everything else is fine, I am baffled.

[ivan]

Let me check a few things.
1) On power up the unit apparently started but stalled showing the drive fault (amber) LEDs

2) You then powered off and removed the drives and tested them in another unit and proved they were usable by reading data from them.

3) You then powered the unit on without the drives and the fault LEDs lit even with a different power supply.

4) You then opened the box and visually checked the main board and daughter boards but saw no apparent problem.

5) You replaced the CMOS battery 'just in case'.

I also assume you pressed the reset button for a 'reset to factory defaults' but the fault LEDs did not change.

You did check the network LEDs as well and did you try to see if you could find the unit on the network as this will help pinpoint possible firmware problems.

If that is correct then I have to ask if you noticed if any of the capacitors (aluminium cylinders mainly on the battery side) appeared deformed in any way - usually the top being domed, no longer flat.

There are two possibilities here, the firmware may have been partly scrambled for some reason or there may be a fault with the hardware.

The first should be solvable by reinstalling the firmware, the second requires some expertise in dealing with electronic hardware repair.

[swamphox]

Hello and thanks. Most of what you stated is true.

I did not replace the battery with a new one I just removed it and then replaced the same one to see if that would reset anything.

I tried the reset button, nothing. Blue LEDs never light up. Unit does not show up like it used to on the network.

None of the caps are domed.

Is there a way to push new firmware onto this thing? If so, how.


Thanks again!

[ivan]

OK.  First thing, take the battery out again and check its voltage - it may be low because of age.

The next thing is a question.  How good ate you at working on circuit boards  - soldering etc. - and do you have access to a linux computer?

That question is because there is JTAG access - the two rows of 5 gold plated holes to the left of the processor - which to use would require soldering a 10 pin header in place and making the necessary lead and adapter to use.  It would then require you to run the necessary software to reflash the firmware - not something I would recommend for a novice.

If you have the necessary skill and experience it MAY be possible to revive you unit.  I say may because there might be a failed component/chip on the board that is the problem and finding that requires some expensive specialist equipment.

It can be done - we have done it for other nas with the same processor as the DNS-323, but then we are setup to do such things for a living.

Other than that it might be easier to get a replacement from somewhere like ebay.

If you want to try I will help where possible.

[swamphox]

I will check voltage on battery. I could do the solder work but I will probably get someone else to do it. I know a local guy that repairs motherboards. I don't have the time. I thought that since it was working fine one day and just because of the power being turned off out of the norm it would not be a major issue... I am not sure if this makes any difference but the unit would not turn off via the power button, that is why I cut power on the strip to it.

Anyway, I appreciate the help and should I try to do this down the road I will seek you out for further instructions.

Thanks

[remi99]

Had the same symptoms, are hard drives spoolin up on startup?. Power supply is dual voltage (5 and 12V), 5 to power up DNS and 12 for HD. If your 12 is gone you will get two amber lights showing HD falioure.