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

luckyboy · 2009-09-22 21:33:41

Hi all,

I know that "how to mount HDD using Ext2 IFS in windows" was described several times on this site, however nothing seems to be working for me and thats why I would like to ask you for help...

My situation:
I have DNS 323 with a pair of Samsungs F2 (1500 MB) in RAID1, firmware 1.08beta.
I wanted to try if it is possible to read the data from the disc just for case that DNS 323 is dead. So I installed Ext2 IFS 1.11a (Im using Vista) and connected one of the drives to my laptop USB (using SATA to USB converter). 3 new discs appeared however I could not access 2 of them (said they are not formatted) and the 3rd one containsed only a folder called BACKUP (empty). This only accessible drive had some 512 MB. And thats it. I could not see any of my files on any of the discs.

I have also tried booting from Ubuntu LiveCD - this time I could see only that 512MB disc with the empty BACKUP folder.

I tried the second disc from the RAID1 array as well. Same result.

When inserted back into DNS 323 - all is working as usually.

Could you please help me guys?

Thank you,

Kind Regards,
Lukas

Last edited by luckyboy (2009-09-23 08:41:55)

fordem · 2009-09-23 01:46:41

I don't know if any of the posts you saw mentioned problems using with the ext2ifs driver with Vista, but I believe I've seen a few that did - I haven't personally tried it with Vista, but I know it works with XP Pro.

luckyboy · 2009-09-23 08:34:42

Hi again fordem :-)
Seems you are interested in all discussions regarding DNS 323. Which is great and really thanks for your tips. I will try WinXP Pro and will get back. However Im affraid this will not help because I have tried Ubuntu LiveCD as well (build 8.03 I think, Im not a linux user but I dont think it was because of the version...)

fordem · 2009-09-23 14:09:36

I could be wrong - like you I'm not a linux user - with Ubuntu you would have to issue specific commands to create a mount point and then mount the disk partition as a volume before it becomes visible, Windows is a little more user friendly in this regard, although you could also have similar problems depending on the specific configuration of your system - there's an ext2ifs control panel applet that is used for this, but I don't think that is your problem because you say you can see all three partitions.

luckyboy · 2009-09-23 19:58:18

No luck with WinXP.

Same result as in Vista. See the screenshot below. Drive X: has 1,4 TB which should be the right one but when I try to access this one Im asked to format this drive first.
Any ideas?

Mijzelf · 2009-09-23 21:41:52

Well, since it's a part of a raidarray, I suppose you'll have to build the array. In Ubuntu open the 502MB partition, then open a terminal and type: mount
This should show all mounted partitions. The 502MB partition is one of them, is called /dev/sdx2, where x is some other letter, and is ext2/3.
Then type

Code:

sudo mdadm --assemble --run /dev/md0 /dev/sdx3

Now you've got a 1 disk raid1 array. (I hope)
Mount it:

Code:

sudo mkdir /mnt/raid1
sudo mount -o ro /dev/md0 /mnt/raid1

The array should be mounted on /mnt/raid1 (readonly, else you'll have to sync again).
You can check that with

Code:

ls /mnt/raid1

or use the Ubuntu gui.

Last edited by Mijzelf (2009-09-23 21:42:26)

fordem · 2009-09-24 02:28:37

No - it's not the RAID array - I have pulled a single drive from a RAID1 array, hooked it up to a USB-SATA-IDE interface, plugged that into my XP Pro desktop and retreived data from it with NO difficulty on more than one occasion. I've done it with every firmware release since 1.02b.

Now - I've just tried this - and I'm getting exactly what you're getting, which points to one of two things - either the 1.08 beta format broke something or XP Pro SP3 broke something, becuase it worked prior to both.

What firmware are you running and what SP level is your XP system at?

fordem · 2009-09-24 03:23:08

This may relate to the 1.08 beta firmware - I just reflashed the older 1.07, reformatted my disks and can again get access to the data on one drive removed from a RAID1 array using ext2ifs and XP Pro, SP3.

I don't remember if I was running ext2 or ext3 file system with the 1.08 beta, but the ext2ifs file system driver is supposedly capable of reading/writing an ext3 disk - subject to certain limitations - see the FAQ at www.fs-driver-org for the details. Also pay attention to that 128 byte inode limitation - it may or may not be related.

Edit...

Consider it confirmed - a fw 1.08b5 disk formatted ext2 is not accessible using Windows and the ext2ifs driver - I guess this means that even though D-Link had not indicated this, there has been a change in the disk format - perhaps to accomodate larger physical drives??

Last edited by fordem (2009-09-24 03:54:43)

luckyboy · 2009-09-24 08:51:34

Thanks Mijzelf for your tip. I will try as well but Im affraid that fordem is right because Im running 1.08beta in DNS 323.
Tired to mount on Vista and XP Pro SP3... no success.

Disks are running on ext2 FS.

This seems to be a really bad bad situation. I can switch back to 1.07 however I was not able to format the disks (hanged on 94%). 1.08beta formated my disks quite well but I can not mount them without DNS 323...

All DNS firmwares are full of bugs and now the discs cant be even mounted outside DNS? Does not sound good to me:-(

mig · 2009-09-24 10:04:16

Thanks for confirming this Fordem,

I consider the ability to access my data (disks) from a device other than the DNS-323,
absolutely a mandatory requirement. I'd be really angry to find myself in luckyboy's position
if I needed to get data off the disks from a failed DNS-323.

I wonder how well a FW v1.07 formatted disk would operate in a DNS-323 running FW v1.08(beta) ?

Last edited by mig (2009-09-24 10:04:28)

fordem · 2009-09-24 15:07:51

mig wrote:
Thanks for confirming this Fordem,

I consider the ability to access my data (disks) from a device other than the DNS-323,
absolutely a mandatory requirement. I'd be really angry to find myself in luckyboy's position
if I needed to get data off the disks from a failed DNS-323.

I wonder how well a FW v1.07 formatted disk would operate in a DNS-323 running FW v1.08(beta) ?

1.07 disks formatted disks work quite well in the 1.08 betas - at least the lower capacity ones that I have tried do - in the early days after the beta was released I did not reformat as I had live data on it and it would have been inconvenient.

Why was I running beta firmware with live data - well, it would have been inconvenient to lose it, not disasterous.

luckyboy · 2009-09-24 20:05:48

Mijzelf wrote:
Well, since it's a part of a raidarray, I suppose you'll have to build the array. In Ubuntu open the 502MB partition, then open a terminal and type: mount
This should show all mounted partitions. The 502MB partition is one of them, is called /dev/sdx2, where x is some other letter, and is ext2/3.
Then type
Code:
sudo mdadm --assemble --run /dev/md0 /dev/sdx3
Now you've got a 1 disk raid1 array. (I hope)
Mount it:
Code:
sudo mkdir /mnt/raid1
sudo mount -o ro /dev/md0 /mnt/raid1
The array should be mounted on /mnt/raid1 (readonly, else you'll have to sync again).
You can check that with
Code:
ls /mnt/raid1
or use the Ubuntu gui.

Tried this but no luck so far...

"mount" command showed me /dev/sdb4
however "sudo mdadm --assemble --run /dev/md0 /dev/sdb4" command did not work and I got this message:

mdadm: can not open device /dev/sdb4: Device or resource busy
mdadm: /dev/sdb4 has no superblock - assembly aborted

Please note that Im a real lama regarding Linux:-)

Any sucess in mounting disk formatted with 1.08b firmware?

Mijzelf · 2009-09-24 20:20:27

Can you post the output of
'sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb' ? It should print the partition table of device sdb. The occurence of /dev/sdb4 doesn't fit with the image you posted (and which I cannot see anymore).

luckyboy · 2009-09-24 21:43:06

Yepeeeeeeeeee! Mijzelfs tip is working now!

This is the output of the 'sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb' command:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb

Disk /dev/sdb: 1500.3 GB, 1500301910016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 182401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xcff2bb08

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 66 530113+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb2 131 182236 1462766445 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 67 130 514080 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So my previous commands were wrong. Now I have used this:

sudo mdadm --assemble --run /dev/md0 /dev/sdb2 (because /dev/sdb2 is the largest drive that should contain the data)
sudo mkdir /mnt/raid1
sudo mount -o ro /dev/md0 /mnt/raid1

and voila - I am able to access my files!

It is not working under Windows but Ubuntu LiveCD will save my ass if DNS323 fails!

Im just wondering - if I get rid of RAID1 and reformat both disk into separate volumes... What is the command to mount the disk then?
I guess I will skip the mdadm command, then what? Is this going to work?:

sudo mkdir /mnt/usb
sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/usb

Thank you so much!!!!!

Mijzelf · 2009-09-25 10:36:14

luckyboy wrote:
Im just wondering - if I get rid of RAID1 and reformat both disk into separate volumes... What is the command to mount the disk then?
I guess I will skip the mdadm command, then what? Is this going to work?:

sudo mkdir /mnt/usb
sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/usb

It should. In that case the Windows ext2 reader should work too, by the way.

When you should reformat your disk raid0 you can connect both disks and use
sudo mdadm --assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdc2

This opens the question why the windows driver worked on older firmware raid arrays. Maybe it used a non-standard raiddriver? And if so, is the array changed when upgrading?

luckyboy · 2009-09-25 11:44:17

Thank you!

I will probably try to create 2 separate ext2 volumes now. I will format them in 1.08b because 1.07 is hanging all the time on 94% when formating.
Then I will try to mount them both under windows and linux and will post if it is working or not.

What I understood from fordem is that if Raid1 is created under 1.07 and then FW is switched to 1.08b it should still be mountable under windows so the array should probably not change. However I can not confirm because 1.07 will never let me sucesfully format my disks.

EDIT: Even single volume formatted in 1.08b cannot be mounted in Windows.
Mounting works only in Linux for me...

Last edited by luckyboy (2009-09-25 19:53:17)

asaegerman · 2009-10-08 00:44:51

Here are the results of my tests:

I have formatted my RAID1 set of 1T discs with DNS323 fw 1.05. I have upgraded to fw 1.07.

I try to read the discs in Windows XT SP3 with ext2ifs driver version 1.11a (read only). I see three partitions: 1 linux swap, 2 ext2 resp 500 MB and 1 TB. I assign driveletter U: to the 1TB partition and T: to the 500 MB partition.

I do NOT see the two drives T: and U: in Windows Explorer. However in a DOS window I can read the U: and T: drives and cd to any directory and read any file and copy to any other drive. That's the good news.

When in the DOS box I issue the command "explorer.exe T:" , Windows Explorer shows me the directories and files on the disc! But when I explore up to the My Computer folder, the drive T: does not show up.

In Linux (OpenSUSE 10.2) I am able to mount the 500 MB partition (dev/sda4), NOT the real data 1 TB partition (error: "/dev/sda2 already mounted or /mnt/sata busy")

Bottom line: in case of a dead DNS323 I can recover the data on the disc thru windows. That's the good news.

Any idea what is happening in Windows Explorer and Linux?

oxygen · 2009-10-08 12:31:39

asaegerman wrote:
In Linux (OpenSUSE 10.2) I am able to mount the 500 MB partition (dev/sda4), NOT the real data 1 TB partition (error: "/dev/sda2 already mounted or /mnt/sata busy")

As the message said, it's proably already (automatically) mounted. just look up where with " mount ".

Mijzelf · 2009-10-08 13:02:45

asaegerman wrote:
When in the DOS box I issue the command "explorer.exe T:" , Windows Explorer shows me the directories and files on the disc! But when I explore up to the My Computer folder, the drive T: does not show up.

Have a look at your registry. Does the value HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDrive exist, and is it unequal to zero? Then some drive letters are hidden.

asaegerman · 2009-10-09 00:18:16

No, only the key ...Policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutoRun does exist

asaegerman · 2009-10-09 00:21:25

"As the message said, it's proably already (automatically) mounted. just look up where with " mount "."

nothing was mounted on the mount point

df did not give any result for /dev/sda2

Primo Levis · 2011-04-24 02:21:18

Hello. Please help!

I am having the exact problem mounting a drive in windows as described
None of the linux reading drivers work under xp for me. (1.5 tb drive. Partition with data comes up as unformatted)
I have never used linux in my life and I have just downloaded ubuntu live cd 10.10
I was wondering if someone would be so kind as to give me a clearer (newb speek) breakdown of what the procedure is to access and copy files off the dns raid1 drive.

I have just had a 1tb hard drive failure and need to access my backup files off the DNS323 quickly. The sheer amount data is way too slow over the network is going to take 5 days to copy to my new drive. It will be quicker (I hope!) if I mount it and copy via USB.
I have removed one drive from the DNS323 and experimenting with it (does it matter which drive I pull btw?)

best regards

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

Announcement

#1 2009-09-22 21:33:41

Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#2 2009-09-23 01:46:41

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#3 2009-09-23 08:34:42

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#4 2009-09-23 14:09:36

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#5 2009-09-23 19:58:18

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#6 2009-09-23 21:41:52

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

Code:

Code:

Code:

#7 2009-09-24 02:28:37

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#8 2009-09-24 03:23:08

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#9 2009-09-24 08:51:34

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#10 2009-09-24 10:04:16

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#11 2009-09-24 15:07:51

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

mig wrote:

#12 2009-09-24 20:05:48

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

Mijzelf wrote:

Code:

Code:

Code:

#13 2009-09-24 20:20:27

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#14 2009-09-24 21:43:06

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#15 2009-09-25 10:36:14

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

luckyboy wrote:

#16 2009-09-25 11:44:17

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#17 2009-10-08 00:44:51

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#18 2009-10-08 12:31:39

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

asaegerman wrote:

#19 2009-10-08 13:02:45

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

asaegerman wrote:

#20 2009-10-09 00:18:16

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#21 2009-10-09 00:21:25

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

#22 2011-04-24 02:21:18

Re: Mounting disk in Windows using Ext2 IFS

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