DSM-G600, DNS-3xx and NSA-220 Hack Forum

mossman! · 2011-09-13 20:51:55

Hi there, I have a 323 with 2x WD20EARS 4k drives, understanding (now) the 4k issue. Question, since 1.10 is still beta and appears to have some stability issues etc, can the unit be flashed with 1.10, format the drives, then flashed back to 1.09 and function? Or does the firmware do more for identification and data write etc then just the formatting aspect.

Thanks.

FunFiler · 2011-09-13 22:58:14

This works fine. Myself and many other have done exactly that.

mossman! · 2011-09-14 16:48:57

Hi FunFiler

At the same time I wrote this post I contacted D-Link Support... after having several D-Link products and issues along the way with e-mails sent to their support (gluten for punishment...), this is actually the first time that they wrote back... here is their comment:

"Upgrading to 1.10 and downgrading back to 1.09 will not resolve issue with the 4K sectors. The firmware will still need to process and write the data to the disks, and the 1.09 will still write to the drive like it is using a standard sector. We haven't been informed of a release date for the DNS-323 firmware."

So the information is competing... I did flash to 1.10 and am in the process of formatting and copying data, but looks like I will need to stay at 1.10 and lose printer support and stability etc for now. Too bad that they can't just get through the 1.10 firmware - even though it is an older product it is still shipping thru the regular channels and retailers.

Thanks for the assistance.

FunFiler · 2011-09-14 19:38:00

It is my understanding that it really only matters during the format process. I could of course be wrong, but I think at one point I verified the 4K was intact under 1.09. Just because support says something, doesn't mean its true. Just because I say something doesn't make it true either

mossman! · 2011-09-14 19:49:33

My thoughts are with you... in terms of the support maybe wrong. Likely got a T1 fellow regurgitating KB and FAQ info rather than practical.

So what is the easiest way to verify the structure? Can I pull the drive and boot up with a Linux Live! and look at the drive? Would you see the sector size per file? Be interesting as I see that there are a lot of people with the 4k issue. For the most part everything was working good and the data was intact (copied it back to my Win7 system and verified), the transfer rate was starting to go down significantly - down from 13-15 mb/s to 3-4, and streaming video started to stop and studder to my media box. Seems to be easier to do the firmware up and down rather than replace with alt-f or fun_p.

Another point to it, is the guy that formatted the drive manually in 1.09... would that not be the same as going 1.09 to 1.10 - format - return?

Bit disappointed in D-Link (again), seems to be that way recently with product - either good hardware and poor software, or good software and poor hardware. Leaving a firmware in beta for months on end... I have a few products like that now.

Thanks for the help btw...

FunFiler · 2011-09-14 21:38:56

According to this thread http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=14484.0 the key to 4K is when you run FDisk. Downgrading the firmware (and NOT repartitioning and/or formatting) shouldn't affect this then. There is info there on verifying the 4K alignment. Also, this was put out before the v1.10 beta so therefore it IS possible to run 4K with older FW versions. IIRC it also is really only a problem for RAID.

When I bought my 3rd DNS323 I also got 2TB WD-EAR drives so started immediately with v1.10b7 for formatting, then downgraded to v1.09. Subsequent to that, I reformatted my other 2 units the same way although they are not true 4K HDDs. All run 24/7 but the one with the WD-EAR drives is in constant use and has been running for months without a reboot (over 170 days up time), without any noticable performance issues or errors. I also set the LLC on all the drives to 5 minutes as the LLC count was high.

Many things can affect transfer speed though.

Since I only use the very basics in the firmware, I don't personally care at this point if they release a new FW version or not. FFP provides me with everything I need and I've replaced the resource intense programs from DLink with much better options found through this site. For me, it does the job I need it to do and the price point was great. 9TB of network storage will suffice for a while.

mossman! · 2011-09-14 22:44:28

Thanks for the quick feedback, am going to do the revert after format and go from there. Your assistance has been great.

Thanks.

jebise · 2011-09-15 03:46:25

Based on this http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic … #msg125542 thread if true says my drives are formatted to 4k. I wanted to keep 1.10b7 coz i don't use many of the default firmware feature but use fun_plug but transmission kept locking up my NAS and with 1.09 its been up for 3 days without issue.

1.) SSH into NAS
2.) type fdisk -ul
3.) look at start values and divide by 8
4.) if whole number = 4K formatted.

Hoping this is true as i'm on 1.09 now.

fordem · 2011-09-15 15:18:28

Out of curiosity more than anything else - why go to the trouble of reverting to 1.09 - what are you gaining?

FunFiler · 2011-09-15 15:27:36

"trouble"? It takes 30 seconds

Personally, I don't like to run Beta's unless absolutely necessary. This Beta has numerous reported bugs and I know I can run 1.08 / 1.09 for months at a time. Since I don't need 1.10 for anything other than 4K support that was my reasoning to revert.

jebise · 2011-09-16 03:02:10

i had issues with transmission locking up the NAS. I reset to factory prior to upgrading to 1.10 and then did the same thing downgrading to 1.09. The beta was fine when transmission was not running. That my reason for downgrading, i'm just waiting for ALT-F to be released and flash that.

DSM-G600, DNS-3xx and NSA-220 Hack Forum

Announcement

#1 2011-09-13 20:51:55

Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#2 2011-09-13 22:58:14

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#3 2011-09-14 16:48:57

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#4 2011-09-14 19:38:00

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#5 2011-09-14 19:49:33

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#6 2011-09-14 21:38:56

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#7 2011-09-14 22:44:28

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#8 2011-09-15 03:46:25

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#9 2011-09-15 15:18:28

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#10 2011-09-15 15:27:36

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

#11 2011-09-16 03:02:10

Re: Format 4k Drive with 1.10 and revert

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