LinkStations and TeraStations are both just Linux based computers using software RAID under a very locked down interface. Typically when one stops functioning, the drives themselves remain intact; it’s the appliance itself that has failed, not the storage inside.
Both Buffalo units use standard mdadm arrays with XFS or ext file systems. Once we’ve taken images of all the individual disks involved, we’ll know exactly how to rebuild the array. It’s really the appliance manufacturer’s recovery tools that make these types of jobs difficult, not the underlying file system.
A flash of error and refusal by your LinkStation or TeraStation to share files in many cases means your unit has entered EM (emergency mode). This mode occurs when the unit cannot mount either its system partition or its array; as such, this mode indicates there may be a problem with the unit but does not indicate destruction of the data on the array.
What can go wrong is exactly what your NAS in EM mode will let you do. On some of Buffalo’s NAS products, using the NAS Navigator to reset the firmware causes the NAS to build back its system partition and initialise all of its data arrays at the same time. Usually when people lose their Buffalo NAS data they lose it shortly after trying to fix it this way.
The primary reasons for these frequent problems are a loss of power while writing data to an array causing the array’s meta-data to be out-of-sync; a firmware upgrade was initiated but never completed on the system. Also, an individual drive failed in a RAID 1 or RAID 5 configuration and remained un-noticed until another drive in the configuration also failed. Many users install their Buffalo systems and then leave them running with little to no attention for many years which leaves a faulty array exposed for an extended period of time prior to being discovered.
Both of the USB-external Buffalo units (the MiniStation line and the DriveStation line) work exactly like any other USB-external: the bridge board fails at least as often as the disk; so, if it fails, send both the drive and the box to us instead of opening it up.
We remove disks from their bays and label them by bay. We will then make a read-only image copy of each disk. Next, we’ll assemble the mdadm array using those images by determining its parameters through various methods instead of relying on the possibly stale superblock values. Then, once we have all the parts together again, we can rebuild the XFS or ext file system based upon what was originally built into the volume. Since Buffalo stores its data on standard Linux-based storage systems, recovering a device with failed hardware is typically less complex than the interface would suggest: it’s simply removing the appliance from the mix.
Please remove the internal disks if possible. Label each disk with its bay # before you remove the disks and ship them to us. Also, let us know what model your unit is, the RAID level (if applicable), and did you ever see “EM mode” or do a firmware restore; this will greatly affect our approach. We charge from £500 +VAT to recover your data off of your NAS/RAID system after we complete a free 48 hour diagnostic and provide a written quotation. A single external Buffalo drive is recovered from £300 +VAT.
“Emergency mode”: this will either mean that your system failed to mount its system partition (this is where all configuration files live), or failed to mount an array (where all the storage lives) and it won’t serve any shares. This seems far worse than it usually is: in many cases the physical hard drives are still fine. Your issue is going to be the firmware restore that it pushes you to do. Several of these devices have reset the data array when restoring firmware.
Yes, in most cases. TeraStations use standard open source RAID software with XFS or ext file systems. Once each disk is imaged read-only the array can then be assembled off of the device and the file system rebuilt. Dead devices generally provide less trouble than they indicate from their closed interfaces.
Not if the data matters. Some versions of Buffalo restore process format the system partition and also re-initialise the data array so that you’re left with a NAS device that works but has no data on it. Take out the hard drives instead.
Treat it as if you would treat any other type of USB external device. Check out another cable and port, and listen to it. If there’s no noise and/or detection then most likely there is an issue with the bridge board on the box (drive) and everything else is fine. We prefer that units be sent in whole rather than opened up prior to shipping.
The price of our services varies depending on whether we’re doing a recovery on a single external drive versus a multi-disk unit. In general we charge from £300 +VAT for recovery of a single external drive, and from £500 +VAT for a multi-disk unit. Once we’ve completed a free 48 hour diagnosis we’ll provide a fixed written quote to you at no cost or obligation.