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[cstickman]

So I too come to this board because of the flashing blue light.  One question though does the fan start at boot-up?  So here is the back story on the unit.  I purchased the unit used for $50.00 and it was being sold as is.  So I took my chance thinking hey if it works that is a great deal.  Well it worked for maybe a day and then the blue flashing light of death (Reminds me of the blue screen of death, Windows 1995).  So I came here and read what people have done.  So here is what I have done:

1. replaced hard drive with a known working one - no change
2. replaced the power supply with a new one - no change
3. Put the unit in the refrigerator - worked, until I loaded my own software and rebooted - back to blue blinking light
4. Replaced the fan with one recommended on this board.  I changed the wires as I read it came backwards - worked for one boot up
5. Tried a hard reset - no change

So with my original question at the top does the fan start right away?  I have not seen the fan go on once.  So maybe change the connector on the board with a new one?  I still have to try changing the battery since I have the unit apart now.  I also read about maybe a bad thermal sensor?  Can I locate this on the board and replace it or is it built into the board and cannot be replaced?  One thing I did notice that it had the most current firmware on it.  The few times I could access it, it was one of the first things I checked.  I believe v1.06 was the firmware.  So does anyone else have any other suggestions?  I am in about 80 bucks into this unit and was hoping something would work out.  Thanks in advance!!

[korabt]

I have exactly the same trouble as You. It first happened after firmware upgrade, then I kept the NAS away for almost a year and now I tried to revive it. So far i has booted once, nothing from then. Light always blinking, no disc spin. I think it might be trouble with the firmware or more likely - with the temperature sensor. Hopefully I'll make it work again for just one time and reflash the firmware. Pls keep me posted if any solution works for You.

[FurryNutz]

Be sure to measure the power plug tip for voltage and amp seen on sticker. They should be near matching. See it were these adapters fail.

Can you access the UI at all if you have 1 drive installed and try maybe doing a factory reset, manually re-load FW using IE11 or FF and see if the unit can stabilize?

[ivan]

A couple of points.
1) Unless the latest firmware has been modified there is no way that the board temperature sensor can switch off the unit -  it only supplies information to the fan controller.
2) the drives themselves have temperature sensors and that temperature is available in the SMART data.  Drives generally start having problems if their temperature rises above 50^o C for long periods of time.

What most people here are describing, if the power supply provides 12v@3A under load, is a component on the board (possibly the SoC) that has been over stressed by a voltage spike and is now very sensitive to external temperature.  The units with out drives will quite happily run in a 70^o C environment, with drives that has to be a temperature that keeps the drives below the 50^o C danger temperature.

When measuring the voltage from the power supply it is essential that it is done so UNDER LOAD.  A faulty power supply can quire easily supply 12v at no load but end yo supplying only 5v or 6v under load and these units require a minimum of 11.5v to work correctly.

Another thing, it is almost impossible to diagnose component failure by way of a forum post.  I could tell you to get a can of freeze spray then strip the unit of its case, power it up and then start spraying individual components to find out is one is temperature sensitive.  The problem is that even if you did find a dud component could you replace it even if you could get the correct replacement?
   

[korabt]

Ok, It's freezing outside wich gives me a great advantage. Everytime i want my DNS 320L to boot up, I just have to put it outside for few minutes. It boots every time when the board is cooled (freezed). I've been able to upgrade new firmware (previous faliure must have been total coinsidence and must have happened before trying to reflash the firmware). Even my setting were still written to the board. So far I tried to reset to default etc. but nothing hepled so far. Everytime I reboot the board (one 2,5 disc attached) while it is at room temperature, it does not boot at all. FYI I also tried a power supply from my DNS 327 wich works like a charm and I have succesfully tried the DNS 320L adapter witch the 327L. Power adapter failure is now out of the quiestion I think. It's the board...
Firmware flash x checked
Power adapter x checked
Factory reset  x checked
I will keep You posted...

[FurryNutz]

I recommend users that notice that there DNS is warmer or having heat issues, install one of these under the DNS for additional air cooling:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Onn-Laptop-Cooling-Pad/47891427

I keep on of these under my main host router running ALL the time. Works well and inexpensive cooling solution.

[korabt]

What does additional aircooling have to do with almost dead board? It won't solve the issue....

[FurryNutz]

Future use suggestion.

[ivan]

Ok, It's freezing outside wich gives me a great advantage. Everytime i want my DNS 320L to boot up, I just have to put it outside for few minutes. It boots every time when the board is cooled (freezed). I've been able to upgrade new firmware (previous faliure must have been total coinsidence and must have happened before trying to reflash the firmware). Even my setting were still written to the board. So far I tried to reset to default etc. but nothing hepled so far. Everytime I reboot the board (one 2,5 disc attached) while it is at room temperature, it does not boot at all. FYI I also tried a power supply from my DNS 327 wich works like a charm and I have succesfully tried the DNS 320L adapter witch the 327L. Power adapter failure is now out of the quiestion I think. It's the board...
Firmware flash x checked
Power adapter x checked
Factory reset  x checked
I will keep You posted...

From your description I agree that you do have a faulty component on the unit main board but unless you know your way round electronics at the component level there is very little you can do about it.

Now, to satisfy my curiosity, how long does it run after it boots up from cold?  This might give some indication of which components to look at.

[korabt]

Actually, once it starts, it does not go off at all... I haven't tried it overnight but I might try to give it a go. To be clear, it is just a board with power cable, ethernet cable and 2,5" disc attached.... nothing else. It does not get hot at all but it is still a little bit warm. I suspect a faulty connection somewhere on the board itself. I might try to bake it in the oven for a few minutes.

[cstickman]

So I like the new suggestions and if I could narrow down the component failure on the board I could easily replace it.  I have to put mine in the refrigerator for about twenty minutes before I can boot it up.  Currently I have the board taken apart and it has no enclosure around it.  I did purchase a new battery as another post suggested maybe the battery could be the problem.  The battery was not easy to find as it took me 5 places before I finally could find it.  Anyone else looking for it forget Wal-mart even though the website states they sell it in the stores.  I found it at a Walgreens if anyone is looking for a battery or of course order it online.

Mine will boot up and stay up for a few minutes, but eventually it becomes unresponsive and the power light goes out, but the HDD light stays on when an HDD is attached.  I am leaning more towards a component on the board is failing when heated up.  I am not sure the HDD is causing the problem as I do not have one attached at the moment and still same results.  The power adapter is fine as no change under load or no load.  So I am at a loss, currently the board is in the refrigerator and I am going to try and roll back the firmware if it stays responsive for me to do it.  I am just afraid when it goes to reboot it will stay out.  I could leave it in the refrigerator if needed.  Does not seem like the "right" thing to do, but maybe to get the FW rolled back it might be worth a shot.

Does anyone have a good suggestion of which component on the board I should try replacing first?  I am not familiar with the components on the board, but I am a master at soldering.  I did do a google search and found a website that sells a lot of micro circuit board parts so I am sure we can find the part.  Hopefully with all of us having issues and the great recommendations we can all get our problem solved.

[ivan]

korabt.  Before you do something drastic like baking it (you need a rather special temperature controlled unit to do that and they are rather expensive) get out the high power magnifying glass and inspect every soldered connection.  If it is a dry joint for a component that goes through the board you should see a black ring round the component lead - this indicated a dry joint.  Do the same for the SMT components you can, or at least my people can, see where there may be a problem and a good temperature controlled soldering iron with a fine tip should fix it/them.

Another thing to look out for is a cracked circuit track.  To repair that requires cleaning the insulating coat off the track and then use solder to bridge the crack.

cstickman.  In your case we would use either freezing spray on individual components or the heat sensing camera, sometimes both.  It could also be a faulty electrolytic capacitor which does strange things at room temperature and to test those you need some very expensive equipment (we have seen some that acted as resistors at room temperature and capacitors when very cold).

As I said before it is almost impossible to diagnose and fix electronic problems at this level in a forum.  All I can do is give you pointers as to what to look for but you have to interpret what you are seeing and then try and describe it, not an easy task.

If you stick with it ans succeed in getting you units working you will most probably learned more than you wanted to but you should also feel some pride at doing so, I know I did some 50 odd years ago when I fixed my first radio.

Good luck and ask more questions if you think that might help.
 

[cstickman]

Ivan,

That is a very good suggestion to use an infrared camera.  I will have to ask some friends if they have that type of camera.  I do not have at my disposal unless they have an android app for it, LOL.  I do have some security cameras laying around the house.  I can google and see if any of them are infrared capable.  You seem pretty knowledgeable about this time of stuff do you have a shop or do this in your spare time?  I would not mind sending you the board with the power supply and paying for the repair.  Then maybe you can tell others how to fix it or what was discovered with it.  In the meantime I will research the camera and try to get my hands on some freezing spray.     

[FurryNutz]

One thing I would do as a consumer electronic repair tech, I would first look for any burnt components or circuit traces and bulging capacitors. If nothing was found, then I would clean the board front and back. Then I would take a solder iron and solder and go over either the main effected area or suspect section of the board and re-solder circuit traces and component connections to the traces. In some cases this would help fix some problems. Something to try maybe. Just a suggestion.

[cstickman]

FurryNutz,

What would you recommend to clean the board with?