This is a NAS with one hard disk. The disk is failing.
If I install a new blank disk, how do I put the OS onto it? So far as I
can tell, the OS is stored on the hard disk and the ROM simply serves to
boot that disk.
The Buffalo website is only useful where the box has several disks in a
RAID configuration, so I imagine the OS and RAID controller is all in ROM.
OP here. My original post was to help a friend with a faulty LS210D. I
have a LS-X1.0TL-EU bought in 2012 which died in about 2015. So I
thought I would investigate it.
I've written detailed notes on a Buffalo forum, see:
<https://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php?topic=45497.0>
A brief summary:
The LS-X1.0TL-EU with a dead disk on power up shows a blue flashing
light. When I removed the disk and powered up, the same flashing light.
I have a spare good disk, actually recovered from a hardware RAID.
Buffalo suggest a new disk should be initialised with MBR, at 1,000
Mbyte size, formatted as ext3.
But I tried the secondhand disk recovered from the RAID without
initialising it, so I've no idea what was on it.
If the LS-X1.0TL-EU contains a good but empty disk, on power up it will
look for a TFTP server at 192.168.11.1. It tries to get two files:
uImage.buffalo and initrd.buffalo which can be obtained from:
<https://www.buffalotech.com/products/linkstation-live-ls-x>
This gives you a .ZIP file. Extracting its contents gives a suite of
files, including some .IMG files which require further extraction with
one of the passwords shown at:
<https://buffalonas.miraheze.org/wiki/Extract_Boot_Files_from_Stock_Firmware>
Once the TFTP server has delivered these files, the LS-X1.0TL-EU runs
the new firmware. So do not power off. Connect it to the LAN (so it
gets an IP address via DHCP). You can now run Buffalo's NAS Navigator
(from the ZIP file) which will find the device and tell you things about
it. It will show it is in "Emergency Mode".
You can now run Buffalo's "LSUpdater" in debug mode. It shows:
Device is present.
Click Update - progress:
Partition not detected - drive will be reformatted.
Continue ...
Formatting - transferring - writing (several times).
Rebooting ...
Flashing - timeout 20 mins - Update failed.
So I power off the NAS.
There's no indication as to why the update failed.
So I repeat the process starting with connecting to the TFTPserver. As
before the files uImage.buffalo and initrd.buffalo are transferred. But
then blue light shows - 2 long 5 short flashes + disk noises for 10
minutes - then reboot noise - then continuous flashes.
Stop TFTP server, connect NAS to LAN.
+ 2 minutes solid blue light
+ 2 minutes ping of IP issued by DHCP server responds
NAS Navigator shows LS-XL3EF
Browser at IP address shows expected page - in Japanese!
My friend with the faulty LS210D went through a similar procdure, but
his LSUpdater reported "Update Failed" and he hasn't been able to get
any further.
There are several configuration files in the ZIP file which appear to
specify which firmware the LSUpdater should use, depending on the model
number and date stamp on the files. The Buffalo website offers no help
with this, but perhaps somebody out there has the answers.
--
Graham J