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

wrlee · 2008-10-20 22:40:45

I have replaced the two 500 GB drives, configured as separate volumes, with two 1 TB drives configured as RAID 1. In the processes, I updated the firmware from 1.04 to 1.05.

Now from XP, I consistently get errors from NTBackup immediately after calculating the backup size as it begins to back up data. A popup bubble appears from the task bar.

Windows - Delayed Write Failed. Windows was unable to save all the data for the file \Dns-323\Backup\desktop\backupfile.bkf. The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save this fil...

and a dialog from NTBackup appears:

---------------------------
Drive Error
---------------------------
The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
---------------------------

I tried copying some large files and, eventually, I get the following dialog:

---------------------------
Error Copying File or Folder
---------------------------
Cannot copy Windows XP Pro: The specified network name is no longer available.
---------------------------

I have connected the drive directly to the machine's Ethernet port to eliminate the router as a problem. I have turned the Archive Mapping and Oplocks off, but that didn't fix the behavior. Is this a RAID problem or a 1.05 firmware problem? The "reliable" NAS is no longer reliable. Help!

PS -- It occurred to me that, when it was working, it was actually backing up over wifi. This might have throttled the data being pumped to the drives in such a way that I didn't experience these problems before.

Also, I am running the drives at 3 Gbps rather than their default 1.5 Gbps.

Any ideas?

PPS -- I put the original 500GB drives back in and it got past the same part of the backup. So, I think I have eliminated the 1.05 f/w as well as the network connection type as the culprit. I'm assuming it is either the RAID 1 support or the drive jumper setting (from 1.5 to 3 GB).

PPPS -- Okay, I put the 1TB RAID drives back in... but I inserted the jumpers that limit the drive throughput to 1.5Gbps... all seems well now. I guess the DNS-323 does not support 3Gbps drives But at least everything is working now (or so it appears)

Oops... just as I was composing this, the backup gave me the "Delayed Write Failed" reported above. Apparently, I've only delayed the error... not fixed it. ... still looking for suggestions, then. Ugh.

PPPPS -- Crazy... I was messing around with the drives... trying the old and the new. Finally put the new ones back in. They were in the middle of rebuilding, but I thought I'd try a backup anyway. It's been running for over 20 minutes without a hiccup. The only other difference, I think, is that I put the cover back on the housing. (I don't know how secure I feel about this).

Bill...

Last edited by wrlee (2008-10-21 05:41:55)

jesbo · 2008-10-21 05:49:11

You did not provide any details about the 1 TB drives you are using. If by chance they are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, 1 TB disks, labeled made in Thailand and having the SD15 firmware.... That could be your problem.

I am running a pair of WD Caviar Black 1 TB drives in RAID-1, and the DNS-232 is absolutely solid as a rock. I do backups to it of 30 to 100 Gigabytes over the 1 Gig ethernet... No problems at all.

Oh... the Caviar Black will run at either 3Gbps or 1.5Gbps. I did not have to change any jumpers (as you need to do with the Seagate Barracuda's)

Last edited by jesbo (2008-10-21 05:51:54)

wrlee · 2008-10-21 06:35:20

jesbo wrote:
You did not provide any details about the 1 TB drives you are using. If by chance they are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, 1 TB disks, labeled made in Thailand and having the SD15 firmware.... That could be your problem.

I am running a pair of WD Caviar Black 1 TB drives in RAID-1, and the DNS-232 is absolutely solid as a rock. I do backups to it of 30 to 100 Gigabytes over the 1 Gig ethernet... No problems at all.

Oh... the Caviar Black will run at either 3Gbps or 1.5Gbps. I did not have to change any jumpers (as you need to do with the Seagate Barracuda's)

Hmmm... I'll have to check tomorrow afternoon, after the backup completes (fingers crossed), but they are the Barracuda TB Drives that are listed with the part number the "supported" list. Thanks for the reference. As I understand it, those drives may report temperature incorrectly. I do not think that is the problem... I am not getting any notifications of temperatures being exceeded.

Bill...

fordem · 2008-10-21 15:07:33

wrlee wrote:
Windows - Delayed Write Failed. Windows was unable to save all the data for the file \Dns-323\Backup\desktop\backupfile.bkf. The data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. Please try to save this fil...
and a dialog from NTBackup appears:
---------------------------
Drive Error
---------------------------
The device reported an error on a request to write data to media.
Error reported: Unknown error.
There may be a hardware or media problem.
Please check the system event log for relevant failures.
---------------------------
I tried copying some large files and, eventually, I get the following dialog:
---------------------------
Error Copying File or Folder
---------------------------
Cannot copy Windows XP Pro: The specified network name is no longer available.
---------------------------
I have connected the drive directly to the machine's Ethernet port to eliminate the router as a problem. I have turned the Archive Mapping and Oplocks off, but that didn't fix the behavior. Is this a RAID problem or a 1.05 firmware problem? The "reliable" NAS is no longer reliable. Help!

PS -- It occurred to me that, when it was working, it was actually backing up over wifi. This might have throttled the data being pumped to the drives in such a way that I didn't experience these problems before.

Bill...

The messages are typical of those I have seen when transferring large data volumes over wireless networks with high levels of transmit/receive errors.

wrlee · 2008-10-22 20:45:35

jesbo wrote:
You did not provide any details about the 1 TB drives you are using. If by chance they are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, 1 TB disks, labeled made in Thailand and having the SD15 firmware....

I checked... the drives do have the SD15 firmware, but are made in China. So... hmmm... is it something I need to worry about? :-P

Bill...

wrlee · 2008-10-22 20:52:33

fordem wrote:
The messages are typical of those I have seen when transferring large data volumes over wireless networks with high levels of transmit/receive errors.

When having these problems, I was not running wireless (one of my theories was that my prior wireless usage worked because its throughput was limiting the data speed to the device). It certainly did appear to be problems with large file transfers (that is why I tried the bulk file copy).

Anyway, odd that the problem seems to have stabilized. Could it have been the simple fact that I did not have the front panel on the housing? Currently, I have the 1.5Gbps jumper installed. If things seem okay, I will try it again at 3Gbps.

Bill...

jesbo · 2008-10-22 22:30:06

wrlee wrote:
jesbo wrote:
You did not provide any details about the 1 TB drives you are using. If by chance they are the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, 1 TB disks, labeled made in Thailand and having the SD15 firmware....
I checked... the drives do have the SD15 firmware, but are made in China. So... hmmm... is it something I need to worry about? :-P

Bill...

Bill,

I'm not trying to freak you out, but I'm sure you'd rather know what you are potentially up against now as opposed to later after losing valuable data.

If you go to Newegg.com and look at the 1TB Barracuda 7200.11 OEM disk reviews ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe … 6822148274 ) you will see a very high percentage of DOA's and early failures - a large number of them SD15's out of Thailand and possibly China (Taiwan). Pay particular attention to the "Average, Poor, and Very Poor" reviews which account for 35% of all reviews. In all 3 categories, there are posts of many failures and RMA's before working drives were obtained. And many are fearful that the now-working drives will fail prematurely. Some have posted followup reviews after giving initial high rating, only to have their drive(s) fail in subsequent weeks/months.

I ordered 2 of these OEM drives for my DNS-323 and before ever installing them in a DNS, I installed them in a spare Windows "test" machine so I could do thorough testing of the drives. My results... Of the initial 2 drives I received (both SD15) - One simply failed to spin up on initial install. The other spun up but immediately failed Seagate's drive diagnostics test... numerous bad sectors. I had to map out the bad sectors to get the drive to even format in Windows XP. Afterwards, I ran some continuous read/write tests and within 24 hours the drive started showing new write errors. A retest with the Seagate diagnostics showed more sectors going bad.

You might consider installing your disks in a Windows XP system long enough to run the Seatools diagnostics to get a good health-check on the disks and go from there. Seagate does have a 5-yr warranty on the disks, and if they turn out to be marginal/bad you may have to contact them (assuming you cannot RMA them to your place of purchase).

Needless to say, I RMAed both disks (as many others who had SD15's did) - because Newegg could not guarantee me a Seagate replacement that was NOT an SD15. Newegg refunded me (and covered all return shipping costs), no questions asked.

I then switched to WD Caviar Black drives (a little more expensive, but more reliable, IMHO). No problems since.

I truly would not trust any important data to a Seagate 1 TB disk labeled SD15 under any circumstances. There is some evidence that the SD04's are much more reliable out-of-the-box so to speak.

Last edited by jesbo (2008-10-23 06:13:00)

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

Announcement

#1 2008-10-20 22:40:45

1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

#2 2008-10-21 05:49:11

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

#3 2008-10-21 06:35:20

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

jesbo wrote:

#4 2008-10-21 15:07:33

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

wrlee wrote:

#5 2008-10-22 20:45:35

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

jesbo wrote:

#6 2008-10-22 20:52:33

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

fordem wrote:

#7 2008-10-22 22:30:06

Re: 1.05 & RAID 1: drive write errors esp w/NTBackup and large file copies

wrlee wrote:

jesbo wrote:

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