Subscribe Feed (RSS)Replacing the Hard Disks in an Iomega StorCenter ix2
March 5th, 2009 by Paul Sterley | Filed under Hardware.
I have determined that it is possible to replace the hard disks in an Iomega StorCenter ix2 (and have the thing work afterward). You don’t have to send it in for service or throw it away. However, it is not super-easy to do it, and I would not recommend it to anyone who is not comfortable working with the innards of computers.
If you’re not good with hardware, STOP! and take it to an authorized service center.
Note: Follow these instructions EXACTLY. People have tried to take shortcuts by restoring only one partition instead of the entire disk, and it doesn’t work, and they end up asking for help in the comments section. Use the Acronis software, which has an option to restore the entire disk. Keep the partition sizes as close to the originals as possible (even if it does not use up the entire disk capacity). Then, once you have restored the disk, go in with a partition editor and wipe out the large partition. Do this on both disks.
Update: More than one person has indicated that the Windows version of Acronis True Image did not work, but the bootable CD did work. YMMV, but if you try it under Windows and it doesn’t work, use the boot CD instead.
Here is the procedure to replace the hard disks:
1. Remove the existing disks from the unit. That means removing a lot of screws and connectors, and carefully squeezing the disks out. Removing the power and SATA connectors is helpful, but not necessary.
2. Make a disk image of a good disk from the StorCenter, if either of its disks are still good. I used Acronis True Image Home version 11 to back up and restore the disk image.
3. Use disk imaging software to put the images on your new disks. You might only need the image to be on one disk, but I didn’t bother figuring out if that is true, or which one it should be on. You can restore to larger disks, upgrading the capacity of your StorCenter. Be sure to restore the entire disk, with all partitions, I tried restoring just the OS partition, but it would not boot.
4. Use partition editing software (Windows disk manager?) to remove the large partition from each disk, leaving the small (OS) one. The StorCenter will rebuild this on its own.
5. Reassemble the StorCenter, boot it, and check the status on the Disks section of the UI. First it will initialize the data partition, which only takes a few minutes. Then it will reconstruct the data set, which takes much longer – but the drive will be fully functional (albeit slow) while this is happening.
Note: It seems that sometimes it is necessary to delete the large partition after restoring the entire disk image, and sometimes it is not. Try it both ways.
After plugging the disks back into the StorCenter, the blue light should flash for a few minutes (less than 5), then turn red. A few seconds after it turns red, you should be able to log into its web interface and go to Settings -> Disks, where it will tell you it wants to overwrite the disks. From that point forward, you can use the UI to change the protection plan and it will use all of the available space, if you have restored to larger disks than you started with.
The username/password for the Storcenter login is admin/(blank). The password for its Linux OS is root/soho.
Make sure you fix the e-mail setting. It will not prompt you, and it is set to user@domain.com in the image.
In fact, you’ll probably want to run through the quick setup wizard to set everything the way you want it. To do this, click the Settings tab, Device button, and click the Setup link next to Device Setup.
I have run through this procedure with different disk sizes, and with firmware versions 1.1.17.34772 and 2.0.15.43099.
Of course, I am certain that doing this voids any sort of warranty – but if your warranty was still good, you wouldn’t be doing this, would you?
Here is a PDF file containing instructions from Iomega: Replacing_the_StorCenter_ix2_Hard_Drive
Update:
The Acronis images are available here:
NOTE: If you download and use these images, remember to fix the e-mail address that notifications are sent to as soon as you can get into the web interface. It’s nice to see so many people using these images to fix their stuff, but really, you should be getting these notifications, not me. Also, it might help with troubleshooting, if you’re having any trouble getting it working.
- StorCenter ix2 image w/firmware version 1.1.17.34772 and 1 TB disks (2 TB capacity with RAID 0)
- StorCenter ix2 image w/firmware version 1.1.17.34772 and 500 GB disks (1 TB capacity with RAID 0)
- StorCenter ix2 image w/firmware version 2.0.15.43099 and 1 TB disks (2 TB capacity with RAID 0)
Additional:
Here is a thread regarding disk replacement in the ix2-200, which a user posted here in the comments. It requires familiarity with Linux.
Tags: Iomega, NAS, StorCenter
Before reading this post, I have tried to replace
a bad drive in my storecenter ix2.
I used the same procedure, made an image of the good drive with acronis 11 home also tried acronis
true image workstation and 2009 home. I am very familiar with acronis and have been using it for years.
While running the image I received the message
that you are imaging a Linux os and if it is bootable you may need to install Linux boot files.
If it is not bootable click ok to continue.
I continued and the drive copied successfully.
I removed the large partition and left the 996meg
in place.
I reinstalled the drives and powered up the storecenter.
I get the flashing blue light for about 20 seconds, then it looks like the drives are being accessed for about 10 seconds only to go back to a
flashing blue light.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
When I went through this, I did not see any warning message about the Linux OS boot files from Acronis True Image Home version 11.
I also used two identical disks (not the disks it came with, I bought two Western Digital 500GB disks). If you’re replacing one disk, perhaps the disk geometry is different enough between them to cause a problem?
Also, if you are doing this with an ix2, it’s probably still under warranty, as the ix2 has not yet been on the market for a year – so I would suggest getting a warranty replacement.
If this is out of warranty, it’s probably not the ix2 model. If it has IDE disks instead of SATA, it’s not the ix2. I only tested this procedure with the ix2.
the drive is still under warranty and I will send
it back. I just wanted to see if it could be repaired for future reference.
The drives are identical. I pulled one out of a second ix2 I have that is running o.k.
I’m not sure what to tell you then. The lights kept flashing, but did the web interface ever become accessible? After restoring mine, I did have to go into the interface and rebuild the storage.
Also, you said you took an image of a good drive – but did you take that image of the remaining good drive after the failure occurred, or did you take that image of a drive that had been in a system that had not yet failed?
My image was from a fully working system, not the remaining drive from a system with one failed disk. That might make a difference.
The image I took was from a fully working drive,
and no I cannot access the interface.
I need a steady light in order to do that.
I think the disk image is missing the linux boot
files because I put the imaged drive back into the
fully working drive and it came up fine.
I even took both hard drives out of the working ix2 and put them in the non working unit and it
also came up fine.
These drives are worthless to me if the drives cannot be replaced after the warranty runs out.
Thanks for all your help.
It could be that there is a “master” drive and that you have to get the image off of the correct drive, and perhaps I got lucky with mine.
Anyway, I have proven conclusively that it is possible to replace the hard disks. I replaced both of the Seagate disks that came with it, putting WD disks in their place, and was 100% successful in restoring the device to full functionality. Best of luck in your efforts. Perhaps you’ll try again with more success.
Just to give you an update, I was able to get the drives copied using R-Drive to clone the disks. (sector by sector raw copy)
Takes some time but it works.
My ix2 is up and running good.
Hi!
Does any one have the image of the system linux files for the ix2?
Both of my HDD have broken down! Now i’m missing the system!
Please help me !
send me a message to
metemedo24(at)gmail.com
Thanks,
Rui
Thanks for taking the time to write this great article.
Reading your directions, it appears you are copying data to the primary partition on the drive, and then deleting that partition. This seems counterproductive. What am I missing?
Also, what’s the plan if both disks are bad? I’m assuming the OS is stored on the disks, and not on a ROM.
Thanks!
I just went through the trouble of trying to recover from the Ix2 storcenter. FYI — this will invalidate your warranty but sometimes the data is worth more than the drive itself.
After trying all kinds of crazy ideas of mounting in Ubuntu and using many different recovery tools on my RAID 1 set up, I was extremely successful when I downloaded R-Linux for FREE!! I had to go buy a usb to SATA adapter since I only have a laptop to plug into, but using my windows virtual machine I was able to get the file system mapped within about 4 hours for my 500GB disk’s second partition. It then took a couple of hours to locate which files were important, but I recovered roughly 95% of what was missing. Coughing up the 100s to 1000s of dollars for data recovery just wasn’t in the budget right now. So if you’re simply after the data and not rebuilding (and don’t mind tampering with the Drive enclosure), this option worked very well for their choice of the ext2 and ext 3 file systems. (I tried Disk Doctor, Nucleus Data Recovery, Disk Internals, EXT2FSD, EXT2IFS, and the RAID utilities within Linux with little success on the storage partition).
Both my drives are defect due to power failure. I am lost since Iomega does not warrant power failures. Their support is really disappointing to say the least.
Desperately looking for an image for the storcenter iX2 to get it working again. Can anybody help and make an image and contact me via mail?
Hi,
I managed to get an image from one of the guys here online.
I did manage to upgrade the two drives from 500 to 2 Terabytes each, by using Parallel Fusion to boot a UBUNTU Linux, and do most of the File partitioning.
First, by setting the first 1 partition, sector 1 to 127 (1gig) to Ext2 and sector 128 to end to Ext3.
Again, in Linux, I set the drive be in RAID-1
I used Acronis to restore 1st partition as a drive and not as files
and restored Files from 2nd Partition backup, as files and folders to the 2nd partition on the drive (very important if you upgrading the drive, not to a Partition to Partion Restore).
I then returned the drives to the Ix2storcenter, and let it boot, and have it do the final cloning.
Now I have a Raid-1, 2-Terabytes x 2 = 2 Terabytes NAS
Hope that helps.
Bootsee
Thanks much OP for this tutorial! However Bobs, you really saved my life. I would have never ever been able figure out how to recover my data from my storcenter drives. I backed up all my data to my type 1 raid thinking I was secure with redundant data. when the unit itself failed I was utterly lost. Your post was the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
Hi,
Bootsee, could you provide me that image as well?
I need it baddly….
I had my Iomega configured as a JBOD (not sensitive data) and one drive crashed …. now the blue LED stays blinking ….
How can I rebuild with 1 new drive???
I bought a new ix2, with the intent of replacing the 500gb drives with 2TB. I read this thread and many others before coming up with this much more low tech method of replacing the drives. No reason it shouldn’t work with an older unit. My firmware is 2.1.30.8298. I used Seagate drives (same brand as the original 500gb).
Step 1: Insure your drives are blank and set up as Raid 1 (mirrored).
Step 2: Disconnect one drive, boot the unit, it reports a drive failure.
Step 3: Install a new drive (in my case, 2TB) in the now unplugged drive case.
Step 4: Reboot the unit, using software restart on the Dashboard page.
Step 5: Go to Settings, Disks, Manage Disks link.
Step 6: Click “Erase Disks”. If the drives are not blank, erase everything out of shared areas, including empty directories.
Step 7: Use the option “Restore to factory defaults”, checking the box that verifies you’re aware this erases everything.
Step 8: Wait. The initial restore of the 500gb (copying to the 2TB) took 3 hours.
When this process is done, the unit should be done, and restart, taking through initial setup again, renaming the unit and putting in a notify email address. It should report both drives under the “Disks” and report 464gb free.
Next, I restarted with only the 2TB in place. Went back and repeated steps 2-8, again erasing empty directories and restoring to factory defaults. This time instead of 3 hours, it took about 9 hours.
After it was done the 2nd time, it reports both of the new drives in place, and 1.8TB free. My final step was to change Raid 1 to Raid 0, merging the drives into a single 3.6TB volume. I believe the unit is using sequential RAID, not striped. Write speeds are consistent with what a single drive could maintain, about 30mb/sec. I used 5900rpm low power drives.
So while this was very time consuming, the internal OS basically did all the work for me. I typed this from memory, and am not nearly as educated as most of the posters in this forum, I’m sure the process can be improved upon.
Hope this can help!
Hello all,
Great bit of info on the Storcenter, which is horribly lacking in technical documentation.
Sadly, I have fallen victim to the flashing blue light myself. I have one drive wtih a total head crash, and the other has gone flaky and will only boot “part way” and drive access stops suddenly.
I would really like to get a copy of the “good” image of the ext2 partition, and if someone could provide that…I would be eternally grateful.
adaptel22@hotmail dot com – Thanks.
My problem is: I do not have a good image, so I cannot rebuild.
Who can help me??
bno1960@hotmail.com
Would like to add that a single bad disk can be replaced. I imaged a new drive from the other good one and then deleted the large partition and let the device rebuild the dataset. It reported that disk 2 (the new one) had incorrect data once replaced. Let it rebuild it and you should be good to go.
For what it’s worth, I’ll never buy another Iomega product again. It should be easier to replace than it is. Forcing you to send it back to them is ridiculous at best.
I had a single drive in my old 1TB ix2 fail, and simply replaced it with another Seagate 500 GB drive. It was as simple as determining which drive failed, opening the case, unplugging the old and plugging in the new. When I rebooted, the ix2 found the new drive and restored automatically. I think I was back online within 2 hours.
This is no help to someone foolish enough to run RAID 0, or the rare case when both drives die simultaneously (more likely a fault in the main board of the ix2 than actual drive failure), but it does work as intended in the vast majority of cases when one drive dies and the other is still fully functional.
Normally, I would agree with you that in the vast majority of cases, only a single disk fails, and the built-in recovery method is good enough. However, there have been a significant number of double failures, and it’s hard to ignore that. Of the 8 units I recommended that my customers buy, One was DOA. Four of them have had single disk failures. Two have had fan failures, which led to disk failures.
I believe that Iomega normally makes decent products, but I believe that this one is a bad design. Two disks, cramped into that small space together, with that VERY small fan to try and cool those two disks = fan failures and drive failures.
Also, there are reasons where running RAID0 is not foolish. For example, what if you are using the StorCenter as a backup device to store disk-based backups from your file server? The server has disk redundancy. The backup device does not need to have redundancy, but it does need to have a lot of capacity. If you have a failure in your StorCenter, you shrug your shoulders and replace the disk, and start over with your backup chain. If you have a double failure, and it is out of warranty, then you grit your teeth and decide whether to rebuild the device or toss it in the recycle pile.
This has been a really useful thread for me, too. My Ix2 is only 15 months old and been pretty lightly used. It looks like one disk has gone bad.
To bad_ix2, I think I am in your situation.
I have a constant red light on my ix2 and the Windows manager program reports one disk not accessible. This is the message:
“1 disk is missing from your Iomega StorCenter device. Your data is still available, but data may be lost if another disk is removed or fails.”
When I click on “Disk Management” I get this:
Disk Size
Disk 1 0 B
Disk 2 (ST3500820AS) 466 GB
My question is how I identify Disk 1 and Disk 2 if I open the box.
I am just backing up the contents of Disk 2 to a second external hard drive. Seems no reason to me to do a disk image as mentioned above, right?
Seems to me your best bet, if you cannot identify which drive is failed, would be to remove one drive, put it in a workstation. If the drive is not even recognized by the BIOS, then you’ve found it. You can put the other one in and see if it looks any different. You won’t be able to access the file system, but you don’t need to.
If it’s not obvious which one has the problem, then download the diagnostic tools for your drive manufacturer (Seagate and Western Digital both have downloadable diagnostic tools, and I am sure others do as well). If the drive is SMART enabled, it will be very easy to find out if the disk is bad. If not, then you’ll have to run the drive tests to determine which one is bad.
No, it does not sound as if you need to re-image. You just need to replace the bad drive and let it rebuild from the other one.
These are exactly the symptoms I observed, and was very worried the drive may not be able to recover from this, as I also seemed to have trouble rebooting the ix2 while in this state. Thankfully, swapping the bad drive fixed all.
If you contact iomega tech support, they will send you a PDF file which tells you how to identify the bad disk, and has the whole screw-by-screw replacement procedure. For reference, the file is named Replacing_the_StorCenter_ix2_Hard_Drive.pdf.
If you send me the PDF file, I will post it in the article. I’m sending you an e-mail now.
Forgot to answer one question… I did not bother messing with disk images, etc. I have not used UNiX in 15 years / would not know how to do it anyway. I just swapped out the bad drive, booted the device, and watched it rebuild. I think it took about 2 hours to rebuild my array, with about 100 GB of data on it, although I’ve heard of others taking twice that long with more data.
The tech support at iomega seems highly variable. One guy I dealt with was very helpful and knowledgeable. One other wanted to be very helpful, but wasn’t so knowledgeable. A third was neither.
I identified my bad disk by going into the disk manager and noting which disk had failed. In my case it was disk two. Once you get the ix2 apart, you can look on the board (I just about needed a magnifying glass) and you will see SATA1 and SATA2 next to the sata connectors. These correspond to disk one and disk two.
Also, when I just simply replaced my bad disk without putting anything on it, I could not get the ix2 to boot up. I tried several things but what worked for me is what I described above.
One thing I do not understand:
In my case Harddrive failed, but the blue LED keeps flashing. I cannot even log on to the Iomega ..
Strange, isn’t it logical and necessary to be able to logon so you can do something?
What a piece of cr*p….. NEVER AGAIN
What happened here is that iomega banked on the idea that only one hard disk would fail at any given time. If one hard disk fails, you can boot from the other and it tells you what is broken and that you need to send it in for warranty repair. If both disks fail, though, you get no indication of what is wrong. And the unit was designed poorly enough that both disks failing at the same time happened a lot more often than they figured it would.
In my opinion, they failed miserably on these counts:
1. They failed to design the chassis to have good ventilation on its own and disperse the heat from two disks – especially Seagate disks, which are known to generate a lot of heat and fail due to heat.
2. They failed to include a fan that was properly sized and rated for the load. Tiny fans have to spin very fast to push enough air, and as a result they wear out faster. Combine that with the cheapest fan they could find from some outfit in China, and the fan failure counts are going to be high.
3. They used fast, hot-running disks. Why do we need 7200 RPM disks in a device that has only a network interface which cannot possibly match the disk read/write speed?
4. They set a short warranty duration, which shows a disregard for the welfare of their customers. I want to say it was a lack of foresight as well, but maybe they saw this coming and decided to take the reputation hit after giving us the shaft. I’d really like to say that there’s no way they’d do this to us intentionally, but…
What iomega should have done differently:
1. Use a slightly larger chassis with the disks spaced out more, perhaps with a heat shield between them, using a material that sinks heat better and has ventilation holes.
2. Use a larger, higher quality fan.
3. Use low-power, energy efficient (read: low heat) disks.
4. Have a longer warranty duration, or at least admit that they goofed, make it public, and offer some concession to their customers.
…but of course if they had done these things, they would not have made as much money on us trusting fools who have enjoyed good quality iomega products in the past.
It is possible that the extra money they would have had to spend might have been offset by using lower speed disks which generate less heat, and that might have been a good move for them. It is more likely that they were offered a deal to use that specific disk in there, and more efficient disks would also have cost them more.
:-(
My HD’s where formatted as one volume.
One HD failed, but the other one is still OK ..
But stil the blue LED keeps flashing and that’s it … NEVER AGAIN.
I just bought myself a Synology 209 …..
Ah, yes, that is a good point. Since the volume was striped without parity instead of mirrored, then a single disk failure loses the data. Since they did not include a 256 MB memory chip to hold the OS it runs on, then it means a boot failure as well. That probably saved them about a dime per unit.
The DS209 is a good device, from my experience. My experience, however, is limited to one unit, and I have not seen its failure mode.
Thanks a lot all for the informations and the image file provided. They help me recover my Storcenter.
I use Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Server for Linux to restore only one drive with the image provide by Suren.
I restore a whole disk (not volumes or files) and I select restore MBR from archive file.
Then I deleted the second partition (the big one).
On the second drive, I deleted all the partitions.
Then I reassemble my Storcenter, and let the drive reconstruct all. I have access to the web console to follow the process and the red led was blinking during the process.
Hope this help.
Glad it worked out for you. Turns out the image has one of my alerting e-mail addresses set for delivery of error messages, so please remember to change the address alerts are sent to.
My ix2 dropped off the system yesterday. I checked it and the blue light was flashing slow and I could tell the drives were not spinning. I contacted Iomega and they told me the unit was out of warranty and I would have to pay for help.
My ix2 (2×500) is set up as RAID 1, so I have duplicate data. I removed both drives from the unit and Management Console in my Windows XP machine saw both of them, but I cannot access any of the three partitions on the drive.
I have Runtime RAID Recovery, but it does not work on RAID 1. I also guess these being UNIX drives might have something to do with this.
I am not at all happy with the Iomega NAS. The entire time I had it it ran very warm to the touch and I worried about the unit. Then it just quit.
Thanks for any help.
I just realized I never answered this question. I am not copying data to an existing partition, then deleting that partition. I am copying the entire disk image – partitions, boot sector, mbr, etc to a new disk, then deleting the partitions I don’t want. I tried just restoring the partitions I wanted, plus the boot sector/mbr, but that didn’t work. Restoring the entire disk, then wiping out the data partitioin and letting the StorCenter rebuild it does work. So that is what my instructions say to do. This allows for the StorCenter to use the remaining available space on the disk, which means it works for restoring to a larger disk and increasing the capacity of your StorCenter.
The username/password for the Storcenter login is admin/(blank). The password for its Linux OS is root/soho.
Make sure you fix the e-mail setting. It will not prompt you, and it is set to user@domain.com in the image.
In fact, you’ll probably want to run through the quick setup wizard to set everything the way you want it. To do this, click the Settings tab, Device button, and click the Setup link next to Device Setup.
Can anyone tell me how important it is to have the files / folders from the Ext3 partition restored? I got the StorCenter.tib image and restored it as a drive to Ext2, but I do not have any of the original files that were on the Ext3 partition as both of my drives completely fried.. any help you can provide is appreciated.
How important it is depends on whether you want your data back or not. It sounds like you’ve already lost it. If all you want is to have your StorCenter working again, with a default configuration, then follow the steps listed, and it will be good to go. I don’t remember whether EXT3 is the small or the large (data) partition. If it is the large one, then the instructions say to delete it entirely, after restoring the whole disk (including both partitions).
I have an ix2-200 that the unit seems to have failed. The HD’s still function, if I put one in a computer as an additional drive it shows up as a drive with a 1.95gb partition and a 927.57 partition under disk management but no drive letter. How to I get to see the data to recover it? Any help would be appreciated.
I have 2 new disks, and I am unable to revive my ix2 with the directions and image provided. I have tried every combination I can think of, and am having no luck at all, so I am starting to think that I have a different firmware version. My board is on the latest version 2.0.15.43099 (it took a trip back to Santa’s workshop last year to get that working). What version of firmware was the the image made with?
Also – when I do the re-image as discussed, will it go to red light fairly quickly, or can I expect flashing blue for a long time?
Thanks in advance fo rthe help.
The image was done with this firmware: Current Device Software Version: 1.1.17.34772 2008-09-06 00:18
Well, that is certainly bad news for me. Is there anyone lurking on this board running 2.0.15.43099 that would be willing to create an Acronis image for me? I would be forever grateful.
Hi,
I tried to recover my Storcenter ix2 with the Acronis Image at the top. I deleted als partitions from a new harddisk. After taht I recoverd the 735,2 MB ext2 partition as “active an primary” and the 4,2 Gb partition an primary. At the end the storcenter does not boot at any channel. What`s wrong in my configuration?
Thanks in advance
Thomas
Thomas –
I found that if I recovered a single partition, it would not boot. Acronis True Image has an option to restore the entire disk. You need to do that. Leave the partition sizes as close to the originals as you possibly can, EVEN IF it is not using the entire disk capacity. Once you are done restoring the image, then go back and delete the large partition. Do this on BOTH DISKS. Then plug them in and see what you get.
Thanks Paul for your help,
I restored the image on both harddisks and deleted the large partition, as you told me.
The Storcenter is blinking blue for about 30 seconds, than the blue light flashes like an operation system is starting for about 30 seconds ans in the end, the blue light is flashing as before. No harddisk access can be heared.
Why do I have to delete the large partition?
Is the Storcenter also starting with one harddisk at Sata port 1?
Thanks
Thomas
The reason for deleting the large partition is because the StorCenter doesn’t recognize it properly. I don’t remember exactly what it does, but that is what happened to me. Deleting the large one resulted in the StorCenter seeing something it then knew how to deal with, and it created a new one for itself automatically. Feel free to try it both ways – you’ve got nothing to lose.
I’m not sure what to tell you about your current symptoms. Many people have reported success with this procedure, but some others, with newer models, have not been successful. I wish I could help futher, but I cannot.
How long have you waited while this is going on? Maybe you just need to wait longer while it rebuilds.
Have you checked your DHCP server to see if the Storcenter obtained an IP address? If so, have you tried to log into it with a web browser to see if you can access the admin interface? If you can get into the interface, you can probably use its control panel to wipe the disks.
Thomas,
Do you know what firmware version you are running? I was unable to get the image to work, and I believe it was due to the mismatched firmware.
I am re-newing my request – are there any good samaritans out there running the newest firmware that would be willing to copy their image for us? I have 2 brand new 1.5TB drives that are sitting idle because I trashed my old images.
Thanks in advance for your generosity.
-Greg
Dear Paul,
Excuse me for my poor english but, you know, I’m a frenchy ! I have also a problem with my storcenter but both disks are down !!! I tried to restore the image on one then two disks but the flahing blue ligth never stops ! I can’t access the storcenter with localhost:8888 and the storcenter never ask an adress to my router… What to do ? help me or tell me if I had to throw the storcenter to the trash ?
Note: It seems that sometimes it is necessary to delete the large partition after restoring the entire disk image, and sometimes it is not. Try it both ways.
After plugging the disks back into the StorCenter, the blue light should flash for a few minutes (less than 5), then turn red. A few seconds after it turns red, you should be able to log into its web interface and go to Settings -> Disks, where it will tell you it wants to overwrite the disks. From that point forward, you can use the UI to change the protection plan and it will use all of the available space, if you have restored to larger disks than you started with.
I have run through this procedure with different disk sizes, and with firmware versions 1.1.17.34772 and 2.0.15.43099.
Hi having tried everything and thx everybody for getting me this far.
i used the image of Suren with Acronis true image.
also selected mbr and partition E (ext 2)
put it in to make sure got the red light after a bout 2 min.
turned the drive down (with the button on the disk)
and put in the second disk (blank)
next i boot it again and it tells me that there is Data on 1 disk on the device has existing data that will need to be overwritten to re-enable storage.
when i click on the tab to overwrite authorization en need to check a box
i check it and apply, and it tells me
You have authorized 1 drive to be overwritten.
But then nothing!
I tried to erase the disks but it took about 2 days (2tb disk)
but that did work either (told me to remove so did a reboot) but still problems.
What am i doing wrong.
with kind regards
Martijn
After you approve it, if you go back to Settings -> Disks, it should have a percentage complete. It takes time. You can also go back and change the data protection type and that will re-start the process. Striping without parity for full capacity with no redundancy goes a lot faster if that’s what you’re concerned about, but mirroring is safer, especially considering failure rates in this model – but all of this is really getting off topic, since you got into the interface and were able to work with the disks.
Bobs… just wanted to say THANK YOU!
I was struggling with all kinds of proggies to get my data back; no such luck! You’re tip (R-Linux) was indeed the lifesaver!
1.backup Acronis trueimage
2. restore to new drive with Acronis true image (this will be EXT3 and not NTSF)
3. make drive accessible with R-Linux under windows
4. copy your data to new location
Now step2 for me…. upgrading the unit to 2x2Tb :)))
Scoobs
I finally got my ix2 to work, or how I got past the blue light special.
After a few weeks of trial and error, I was able to go from nothing to two 1.5TB drives in mirrored mode.
Important lessons:
Image your drives from an Acronis Recovery Disk, not from the Acronis app inside windows.
The firmware is in the software, not the hardware. I had better luck restoring version 1.1, then upgrading to 2.0.
Don’t drink and (format your hard) drive.
I started with one good 500M blank hard drive, one failed 500M hard drive and 2 new 1.5TB hard drives. I tried restoring the 2.0 version multiple times, but had no luck. This is the process that finally worked for me (This process is fundamentally the same as Frawg’s, but mine starts with blank disks) :
1) Restore the 1.1 version to the 500M hard drive using the recovery CD. Recover the MBR and both partitions. Click OK when asked to erase data on the target drive. Using Microsoft’s Disk Manager, make sure your new disk is blank and unallocated.
2) Install your 500M disk as disk 1 and your new disk as disk 2. Start your ix2. This should get you to a red light. If not, repeat step 1 over and over and over…
3) Once you log into you ix2, you will be informed that there is a problem with your disk 2. Follow the prompts along to recover the disk. Once the process starts, it will take around 10 hours for a 1.5TB disk. As long as you are getting a percentage complete, it is working. If you don’t see a percentage complete, then there is a problem. BTW – this is the problem I ran into when I recovered 2.0 to the 1.5TB disk. It would show that there was a problem with the disks, but it would never start the erase or recover process.
4) Once complete, I switched from mirrored mode to no data protection to make sure the ix2 was seeing the full 1.5TB. This added a few hours, but I wanted to be sure. Once again, the ix2 gave me a % complete.
5) At this point, I removed the 500M drive and installed my second new drive as Drive 1. In retrospect, I wish I had moved the formatted 1.5 to Drive 1 and installed the blank disk in Drive 2. That may have saved me some time.
6) Again start your ix2 and wait for the red light. Once there, it will again indicate there is a problem with your hard drives. Follow the prompts to fix the problem. (time – a few minutes)
7) My system still indicated there was a problem, so I erased the hard drives. This process took nearly 24 hours, but the ix2 gave a % complete, and once it was complete, the system was up and running.
8 ) Convert back to mirrored mode – time 8 hours.
9) Optional – upgrade to latest firmware. I would actually recommend against this step, but I have gotta_have_the_latest_version_itis and I can’t help myself…
Big thanks to Paul for managing this forum. There is far more info here than will ever be found on Iomega’s “support” site.
Hi everyone,
thanks for this discussion, I tried a couple of the posted solutions but had to come up with my own.
I got a ix2 (no -200) with 2x1TB and firmware 2.0.15.43099. My goal was to upgrade it with 2x2TB (samsung HD203WI) for mirroring.
I could not upgrade to firmare 2.1.38.22294 which is for the ix2-200. Is anyone using a differenet firmware on the ix2 (not -200)?
1) I could change the disk and still be able to boot the box by this procedure (thanks to Frawg).
a) Unplug one disk, boot, shutdown.
b) Insert first replacement hard disk, boot, wait until the first partition gets synced. The storecenter magically creates a first partition (cylinder 1-127, ~1GB) which is mirrored with the first partition of the second disk.
c) Unplug second original, boot, shutdown.
d) Insert second replacement, boot and have the first partition synced again.
However, whatever I tried in the webinterface, I could not enable storage of the data area (erasing, formatting, setting raid level all resulted just in error messages that data storage is disabled), even when I partitioned the disks in my regular PC.
2) After googling a bit, I found out that you can enable remote access in
http://youriomegaipaddress/support.html
Once enabled, you can login with
ssh root@youriomegaipaddress (default password is soho)
and then modify the partitions with fdisk on /dev/sda and /dev/sdb (create a second partition with regular linux ID 83).
Then create a new raid volume
mdadm –create /dev/md1 –level=raid1 –raid-devices=2 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2
(if you want mirroring, otherwise try linear or raid0, I am not sure) and format it with ext3
mkfs.ext3 /dev/md1
You can check the status of syncing the disks with
cat /dev/mdstat
(in my case it took 2 days)…
If everything is finished and the box is rebooted, everything should be fine (at least it was in my case).
But there is a nasty bug: if you reformat the disks (or maybe just reset to factory defaults), the raid volume is lost and you have to start all over again (from point 2).
So you don’t need special software or install the drives in a different computer. All you need is a browser and ssh (and a lot of patience).
Disclaimer: If my explanations were to cryptical, find a local linux guru.
Lol @ me, while everybody here is trying to upgrade (or replace failed drives), i want to do the opposite. I would like to remove the 2x500GB hdds and repalce with a single 80GB drive.
No real problems with that, but i would like to have image backup of the system drive for when it does fail (cos only one drive = no redundancy). I have the drive ready, has only the one partition (~996mb) and boots fine in the iomega. But when i make an image of it (using the Acronis on HirensBoot 10.x) and apply that image to another drive the iomega will not load properly, just sits there blinking its little blue light (cloning drive works fine tho).
So my question is: What am i doing wrong with Acronis? Some posts have aluded to restoring in partistion mode vs disk mode (or something like that)
Also, does anyone’s iomega ix2 spin the hdds down? mine just runs non-stop (part of the reason i want to remove them). maybe there is a linux tute out there for it?
One guy found that using the Acronis software under Windows didn’t work, but booting from the Acronis recovery CD did work. That’s the method I have always used.
@Petey4tw:
before I started to replace the drives, I made a clone/backup of the first partition with dd. It worked if I only plugged in one drive, and have a second empty drive synced by the ix2.
ususally you would set the spin down time with
hdparm -S [multiples of 5s/30s] /dev/sda
but it doesn’t work with my samsung drives (or maybe the ix2 doesn’t support it).
Hi, both original HD’s on my ix2 were failing and I purchased 2 new Samsung 1TB HD’s to replace them.
I had downloaded both Acronis images (Thanks! Suran) and tried to restore it onto one of my 1TB HD. I kept getting an error message saying that “It’s not a valid Acronis image(s) or it’s corrupted.”
I used Acronis boot disk (either with version 9 and version 10 Home with the same error message.)
Note that I had re-downloaded both images 2-3 times with same results. Could anyone give me any advice please. THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!
Both of those images were created with the Acronis True Image 11 Home boot CD. So you probably need a newer version.
My StorCenter ix2 (1TB) shows steady flashing blue led.
Hard drives seem to run and the problem, according to some “official” information found on the Net, should lie in the disk(s) being almost full. It seems that once the free disk space falls under 5% the unit is no more able to initialize correctly and stalls forever.
Both the Power and Reset buttons are totally ineffective and the unit can be turned off only by pulling the power plug.
My main concern is about recovering data, which should still be stored in the disks.
Reading all the above very useful messages I think I understood that simply connecting one of the disks to a Windows computer’s internal SATA port does not allow to read data from it, as the file system is not NTFS or FAT (would the drive be readable if connected to a PC with Linux installed?).
What if I connect the disk to a Windows computer’s internal SATA port and then install and use R-Linux under Windows?
Could I recover data that way?
Thanks for any help
Yes, Paul;
It works with Acronis True Image version 11 as well as version 2010. Thank you very much for your quick and helpful response!
Regards,
Johnny
Hi Armando,
the blue flashing light is not good, I got it when the system partition was not working…
I am not sure how to read the data partition in windows, but it linux this should be fairly easy (though I start to sweat everytime I have to do this):
When the disk is plugged into a PC, re-assemble a raid array with only one disk (raid1, this will be degraded since the second disk is missing). Don’t create a raid-array, this will overwrite all information. Then you can simply mount the raid-device with ext3.
mdadm -A /dev/mdx /dev/sdy2
mount /dev/mdx /somewherea
hth,
stefan
hi,
I have restored the image of version 1.1.17.34772 and the version 2.0.15.43099 many times on the seagate default hard drive many times but it doesn’t boot and the blue flashing light is continuos. What’s WRONG ??
I have restored entirely ( both partition and mbr track0 ) disk with acronis true image home 2011 cd recovery.
I also tried to delete the large partition but it doesn’t boot.
How to do my ix2 StorCenter work again ??
thx all
Regards,
Jack
P.S. Sorry for my english but I’m italian :P
Jack –
I feel for you, but if you’ve followed the instructions on this blog and comment thread explicitly, and it’s still not working, there’s probably no more help to be had here. It might be time to cut your losses, buy a better NAS device, and toss the StorCenter out. Think of your hourly rate at your regular job, and multiply the number of hours you’ve spent on this by your hourly rate. If you could have bought another one by now based on your hourly rate, it’s time to give up. Unless you’re bored.
– Paul
Hi All, and thanks for this blog.
Several of these posts helped but I wanted to do an upgrade to WD 2TB Caviar Green drives without using the disk imaging software mentioned above. I had one failed drive going into this project, which I figure is due to the amount of heat generated by the OEM Seagate drives.
Stephan’s post was the closest to helping me but was not detailed enough, had an error in a step and missed other steps. I will not repeat what so many others have said so I will start with the new drives installed and with the web interface working, but still unable to get past the point where the device cannot create the space to store the data.
1) read previous posts to get upgraded drives installed. Doing one at a time and rebooting so that the first partition will duplicate itself.
2. Gain SSH access (also in previous posts) the username is ‘root’ (without quotes) and the password is ‘soho’ + admin password. So if the device was set to factory default just use ‘soho’ but if the admin password is ‘mynasbox’ then use ‘sohomynasbox’ for the password. I like using Putty for the SSH client (available for Linux/Windows and more).
2) Going forward every command will be inside single quotes. Once you have a command prompt, type ‘fdisk -l’ that is lower L not 1. This will list the drives/partitions. You should see something like this:
Disk /dev/sda: 2000.3 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 127 1020096 83 Linux
Disk /dev/sdb: 2000.3 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 127 1020096 83 Linux
If you see a line for /dev/sda2 and /dev/sdb2 you might be able to skip to step 5, however if there is a plus (+) sign on the line after the blocks, you should use fdisk to delete and remake those partitions (try step 5 anyway, but if it doesn’t work use fdisk to delete and remake the second partition on each drive.).
3) Create the data partition on the first drive by typing ‘
fdisk /dev/sda‘ which will start the fdisk command line interface saying (m for help). Enter ‘n’ for NEW, then ‘2′ to create a SECOND partition, then ENTER to accept the default start of the new partition, ENTER again to accept the default end of the new partition (which is the rest of the disk by default), then ‘w’ to write it to disk and exit. If you don’t want to write the changes for some reason, press ‘q’ to quit fdisk.4) Do same for ‘
fdisk /dev/sdb‘5) next we have to format the partitions by typing ‘
mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/sda2‘ the -v is verbose to show you progress.6) Do same for ‘
mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/sdb2‘7) Next we have to build the array. Stephan was close, but had a few typos.
Type ‘
mdadm –-create /dev/md1 –-level=1 –-raid-devices=2 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2‘ (if you copy and paste, make sure the double dashes paste correctly).It will tell you about the two files systems we just made, but say yes to continue, this way is much faster than two days. This command will start building the RAID 1 array. It took several hours, not really sure but around 6-8 hours.
8) To check progress of the array being rebuilt type ‘
mdadm --misc --detail /dev/md1‘ It will take a few hours to finish. You can also run ‘top’ to see how much CPU is being used to build the array. When ‘top’ reports 98% idle then it is done. Press ‘q’ to quit ‘top’. Another handy command is ‘df’ to see disk usage. Run ‘df’ before and after building the array if you are curious how the disk layouts change.9) Reboot device and let it find the new space. The ix2 will automatically provision it for use, less than 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Thanks Don,
for this detailed update and also for correcting my mistakes, I was writing up the steps I did from memory…(should get a second brain myself).
I didn’t know you can make the filesystem first and then build the raid array, otherwise it would have saved me a lot of time. Thanks also for the clarification on the root password (I always reset it when I wanted ssh access).
This guide should do even for the average user!
Stefan
Stefan,
Without your post leading me in the right direction, I might not have ever figured this out. This blog represents great team work and if my post helps someone else, then it was worth it.
After a solid day of copying files and using the ix2 with the WD 2TB Green drives, the case is cool to the touch, and puts off far less noise too. Less noise because the fan is temp controlled and it doesn’t even spin up very much now. These drives should last a long time because of this.
Regards,
Don
Hi Armando,
If you still need to read your partitions try using UFS Explorer Pro. I have used it to rebuild RAID 1 and 5 partitions even when the original disks have failed. Good Luck and let me know if you have any luck with the blinking blue light. I am still fighting the same battle.
I am trying to recover files from my Storcenter ix2-200 using R-Linux and would appreciate some advice from others who have done this successfully. I have been able to scan one of the drives and seem to have no trouble recovering files from the small partition (which I guess is all of the storcenter software). However, although I can see many found files from the larger (900+GB) partition when I try to \recover\ selected files it seems to hang. The application is still running, it creates a folder on my c: drive as specified but doesn’t seem to do anything else for the next 30+ mins. So far I have just been trying to recover 8-10 files at a time, up to 120 megs total size. Am I just impatient and need to wait longer, or is there some other potential problem going on? Thanks.
Thanks for all the postings here. I finally got around to ordering a replacement disk for the one that failed and it was a breeze.
A few comments. First, the screw diagram on the Iomega PDF may not correspond to your system (I had one extra screw on my system). Second, CONTRARY TO GUIDE, you CAN remove disk 1 (and I presume disk 2) without unscrewing the second drive. Quite easy in fact.
Thank you all :)
I now have two new 2TB WD green working with my iomega.
One quick question, can someone tell me how to setup sabnzbd?
I tried but i cannot get it to work.
Thanks
Greetings, all, I am a new contributor but have been reading for 2 weeks as I try various pieces of this on my StorCenter V20. Has anyone else downloaded the file and had it fail validation? Acronis True Image Home 2011 Update 1 simply says “Error recovering file” with the error code of 0×00040007+0x0000FFF0+0×80070003, but that error code produces no results on the Acronis site.
Granted I am storing the .TIB on a Windows FAT32 filesystem, but I would still think a Validate Backup would pass.
One of my drives is dead and the other corrupted and I have the data elsewhere anyway, so I’ll be happy if I can fire it back up with two 1TB drives instead of the 500Gbs that came with it.
I have one disc that has failed. In my case I simply need to remove and replace 1 of the 2 1TB discs in my ix2. When replacing a single failed disc do you have to use the same model as the ‘working’ disc, or the same manufacturer, or simply the same size? Do you have to replace both discs at the same time with 2 new discs of the same size and model the same model?
I don’t know the answer to your questions, but maybe we’ll get a response from another commenter.
In my opinion, unless you’re suffering a financial hardship, it’s best to replace both disks. Given the Storcenter’s reputation of disk failures, who knows when the second one will go, and you probably only want to do this once. I’d put in two Western Digital “Green” drives for low power consumption and low heat generation. Then you can use the working disk that you removed in a cheap USB enclosure or something.
@MartinC: given the storcenter is only running linux and software raid, it should work with 2 completely different drives (the smaller determining the available size). though whether the webinterface allows it is a different story… at least you could do it following Don’s instructions (please let us know your results).
I have to agree with Paul, if one drive fails I would replace the second one as well. a wd green drive or similar samsung (5400rpm) are much more appropriate for the job (less heat & noise).
Hi all,
I had been struggling to try to replace my IX2 500GB with larger capacity for long time… And here come Don’s step by step instructions! Don, you are the man!
If you want to upgrade your IX2 with a larger capacity drives, I strongly recommended using Don’s post. Here are my 2 cents on Don’s post:
Pro:
1. It worked!
2. It is Linux idiot proof! (like me)
3. The fastest method!
Con:
1. I wished it was posted sooner!!!
2. I wished it was posted sooner!!!
I ended up put my 2 new hard drive and the IX2 main board in my custom made case. It was a tin cookie can with a external cooling fan. There is no way I would put my new 1.5 GB 7200 RPM Seagate drives back into that oven.
Question: Does anyone know if there is Linux command for IX2 that will tell what is the temperature of the hard drive?
If anoyone still has problems, i completely resurrected my ix2 using:
1 – Put your new drives in your StorCenter, reboot and wait 3 or 4 minutes for the dreaded “always blinking blue light”. This will create the basic OS partition.
2 – Disconnect, connect to PC, use Acronis to recover the files in the “C:” partition, using the .TIB files provided by Paul, place them in the root folder of the hard drive, in the newly created partition.
3 – Plug the hard drive in the the StorCenter again, wait for it to boot (you can have the other drive connected, didn’t test it thoroughly, in case of failure, just connect the hard drive you used in steps 1 & 2).
4 – Clean the hard drive (using Configuration -> Drives -> Disk Management -> Erase Hard Drives).
5 – If not connected, shutdown and connect the other drive.
6 – Let it resync, worked for me. :-)
Would this work with the Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drive 1TB aswell? I have the same problem but with a slightly different product. And iomega’s support is the worst I have ever seen :(
If it’s a different product, then probably not. The process would probably work, but you’d need an image of a good one to use in place of the ones I created.
However, you’ve got nothing to lose by trying except your sanity. If you start with a couple of blank disks, then if it fails you would just pull those disks, erase them and use them for something else, and you’ve only lost the time you spent trying.
Agree with Paul, sorry Michael, I just tested it with an ioMega ix2, can’t say if it’ll work or not in a NHD.
Still as far as i can see in the pictures in IoMega’s site, the enclosure is pretty much the same in the 1Tb (2x500Gb) model, so maybe you won the big prize and the motherboard is the same. :-)
Best of luck!
Good progress using the posts here thanks to all… I’m replacing 1 surviving 500Gb with a pair of 1Tb drives. R Drive Image 4.7 raw sector copied the good drive to the 2 new drives and I’m up and running, but of course the last EXT3 partition is only ~450Gb instead of ~920Gb this way. Simply erasing that last large EXT3 on both drives has not worked for my unit – the StorCenter can sometimes format the RAID1 but goes back to 0 used, 0 capacity on a reboot – so I like the idea of SSH into the box and working through the Linux commands Don shows. But the StorCenter wont talk to puTTY; I get “Network error – connection refused”. My netgear confirms it has grabbed .13 from DHCP but I do not use puTTY a lot so this is probably a rookie error, suggestions/observations welcome.
Jeffrey,
what exactly are you entering into PuTTY? You should be able to use any SSH client going to root@192.168.1.13 (if that is your ip address as you say). thus, root is the username and the password is soho[admin password] or just soho if there is no admin password set.
I’ve had 2 failures but no data loss. I just replaced the failed drive and it rebuilt. Lucky me.
To the heat issues my, my unit being the older version had terrible ventilation. I say “had” because I modified the case to flow better. I completely removed the drives and board and then got busy with a Dremel. On the front plastic cover I removed the square vents entirely, since they were nearly closed off. Next I cut a hole in the metal tray that sat behind the plastic cover blocking any possibility of air flowing through the unit and over the hot drives. The final step before re-assembly was to cut out the perforated aluminum cover in front of the fan.
The results after assembly were functionally great. The unit is quieter because the fan is less restricted and you can feel air being drawn through the front opening and exhausted out the back. More importantly the unit barely gets warm to the touch whereas before it was very hot all the time. I think my drives will live a lot longer with the lowered heat load. The difference in heat build up was very dramatic, more than I expected.
Don, I’ve tried several values for the Host in PuTTY including the IP address (192.168.36.13), the host name the StorCenter gave itself (Iomega-02745D, which responds to pings), and I tried root@192.168.36.13 although I thought I was probably misunderstanding you and I’m just supposed to put the IP in Host and then use root/soho as the authentication once the StorCenter starts replying to me. The thing is: I get no dialog with the StorCenter at all; it just comes right back immediately with “Network Error: connection refused”. It’s like the SSH daemon isn’t running or I’m throwing a whacked out protocol at it that it doesn’t like, except all the settings are PuTTY’s defaults.
Meanwhile the HTTP interface to the StorCenter continues work great, and I even tried flipping back & forth between JBOD and RAID1 to see if the StorCenter would figure out by itself that it had more space, but it hasn’t deleted the large EXT3 on its own to replace it with a larger one; it still thinks it has 454Gb in RAID1 and around 920Gb as a JBOD whereas that should be more like 920Gb and 1840Gb respectively.
Hi JeffreyTN,
did you enable ssh through the webinterface?
https://youriomegaipaddress/support.html
(support access -> enable ssh)
from a unix shell, I just
ssh root@youriomegaipaddress
password is “sohoPASSWORD” (without quotes and replace PASSWORD with the one you set through the webinterface).
I haven’t used PUTTY for a long time, put as far as I can remember you have different fields for ipaddress, user and password.
HTH,
stefan
Jeffrey,
If Iomega-02745D responds to pings then you can use root@Iomega-02745D to try SSH into. Be sure it is trying SSH, not FTP or Telnet, the port should be 22 (which is default for SSH).
Jeffrey, Just to be clear “root” is the username. From another Linux computer username@domainname or username@ipaddress is common, but from putty, there are separate fields for domain/ipaddress (also called host), username, and password. You may be able to leave the password blank and let it prompt you, at least you will know if you are getting that far first.
I do not believe it is possible to do what you want through the web interface. Shell access is a must.
Jeffrey, sorry for making this into three messages. I only have three things in my PuTTY screen. 1. ipaddress, but you can use domain name. 2. Port 22, 3. SSH. When I open the connection it prompts with “login as:” This is where you type “root”. Then it prompts with root@10.0.0.2′s password: (for me) and this is where you type soho or soho+ your admin password.
i have a dead ix2 4tb. i bought the case empty. thinking i could put hard drives in it so simple.
oh no.
will these files work for the 4tb??
am trying to put 2 750gb beasts in.
ive been on this for days now.
Thanks to both Don and Stefan…
the notion of https://192.168.36.13/support.html got my hopes up because it is indeed like the StorCenter is unwilling to talk to a terminal client of any kind, so I thought “Ah HA – it’s because SSH is not enabled”. But alas, https://192.168.36.13/support.html gets me a 404 error.
Don, the clarification was helpful in assuring I’m using the correct values, but unfortunately I am. I alternate between 192.168.36.13 and the host name of Iomega-02745D, and in both cases I use Port 22 and SSH. The fact that the StorCenter denies me immediately seems material, i.e. PutTTY can take a good 30 seconds to fail if I give it a mythical IP address, but with either the StorCenter’s IP or host name it comes back and tells me no dice in less than a second – much like Stefan’s suggestion that the protocol is not enabled. At no point has the StorCenter talked to me yet, i.e. put anything at all on the terminal client.
Which makes me wonder: this is a Firmware Version: v20.20 box; is it maybe too old to know about the support page and perhaps I should update the firmware?
@ JeffreyTN
I had to login to my web interface first and then change to the support page….
Is it possible to be running with only single drive?
I really hate the heat issue with my ix2.
Sure, but you get no redundancy. For heat concerns, run 5400 RPM “Green” drives. Or, you could buy some 2.5″ laptop hard disks, and some 2.5″ to 3.5″ converter brackets. Or, another guy drilled a bunch of holes in his ix2 case. You could also modify the front faceplate by drilling a bunch of holes in it and attaching a chassis fan to it (ugly). There are lots of possibilities if you think outside the box.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the quick reply. I see blue blinking light all the time when there is only a single drive in. Have you tried having a single drive and all the function works?
I have not. I was basing my reply on the concept that when a single drive fails, the other still works. However, I might be wrong about that. The device may shut down access when one drive fails, until you replace the failed drive and re-sync. I’m not sure. Sorry.
The unit will work with a single drive, but the flashing blue light will persist because it is in a crippled mode. The unit is built around dual drives and if you don’t want the redundancy of dual drives, then just get a USB enclosure.
You can also tape over the light so you can’t see it. You already know the risks of a single drive and don’t need the unit to constantly remind you that it not able to protect your data.
Regards,
I read all the comments with great interest.
I got an Iomega ix2 without any disks. I do have a
blank 1TB SATA lying around. Can someone tell me where
I can find the system files (or an image) that go in
the first (1GB) partition? I know of the .tib Acronis
images but I rather work with a dd image or just a
tar.gz of the files and folders.
Unless you try to replace both drives simultaneously, the drives get partitioned somehow magically and the first partitions on the two drives synced to each other.
But the second partition for the data is a complete mess, the webinterface doesn’t help either.
Luckily iomega included ssh access and a working linux system…
Adding a second drive to a working box should be straight forward!
Stefan
Yes, dear Stefan, but what if I wanted to use just 1 harddrive? I can format my second partition via ssh root access and mount it somewhere. But the web interface and the applications don’t see my mount. Where does a normal box mount its disks; or better yet, does anyone know how to configure the box for use with a single disk (so no RAID mode at all).
Geert, The ix2 is specifically built for two drives. The second drive can be added to the first to act like a larger single drive, or the obviously mirror mode. Since the device is all about dual drives, it will always be in crippled mode with a single drive (flashing blue light for one thing). This magical partitioning is done and managed at the hardware level. While it will work with only one drive, most of the device features will be disabled in crippled mode.
If you want to make the device happy, you have to add a second drive. Otherwise, you just have an over-sized drive enclosure with networking capability.
Regards,
Don
Dear Don, not exactly true to my great pleasure.
I was able to get shared storage space even with 1 disk
and a steady blue LED. When logged on via ssh I issued
this commend:
# mdadm –create /dev/md1 –level=raid1 –force –raid-devices=1 /dev/sda2
It builds a raid1 with 1 device. Rather useless from a raid point of view, but very useful from a functionality point of view, since after a reboot the second partition now gets recognized.
The web interface reports this:
Free 906 GB
Used 200 MB
Backup 0 B
Total Space 907 GB
Nice, just what I wanted.
Geert,
I am happy to be proven wrong. I think this forum has something for everybody now. I can’t think of anything that hasn’t been covered. Watch be be proven wrong again! :)
Regards,
Don
Device: Iomega StorCenter ix2
Software Version: 2.0.15.43099
Config: 2 500GB drives RAID1
Issue: 1 Failed Drive
Upgrade: 2 1TB drives RAID1
Process:
1. Replace failed drive with new 1TB drive; allow resync.
2. Replace remaining smaller drive with 1TB drive; allow resync.
3. Issue following command (between quotes) via ssh;
"mdadm --grow /dev/md1 --size=max"Done.
This has been very helpful but I’m a little confused about SSH. billyteens procedure seems to be the most straightforward but I don’t know how to issue a command via SSH. I downloaded Putty for WIn7 but how do I use it to issue commands against the storcenter?
Unfortunately I also had the issue of feared every blue blinking light.
Whenever I used the good 1TB original disk I still had a running system although with a red light due to the fact that there was no longer a mirrored raid available. If I put in a new 2TB as the second drive I could still access the system but was never able to rebuild the raid.
When I used 2 new 2TB systems where I had put back the disk image with Acronis True Image I was never able to get passed the blue blinking light. At some point I even left the box on for 2 days to see if anything would change but it didn’t.
After some time I decided to examine one of the 2TB disk after it had been in the box to actually find out that there where no longer files present on the first partition (the EXT2 partition). I then realised that this was the result of the box actually adjusting the partion size to the original size.
No matter what I did in Acronis I was never able to set the partion to the proper size whis is 1044.51 MB (or 996.22 MiB), I could set it at 1044.5 or 1044.6 but no matter what the box would always adjust the partion rendering it useles.
At that point I decided to do the following:
1. I put the original image back on one of the new disks.
2. Used Ext2 Volume Manager to mount the EXT2 partion under windows.
3. In windows I backed up all the files and folders inside the EXT2 partion.
4. Removed the larger EXT3 partion from the disk.
5. Put the image back on the other new disk and also removed the EXT3 partion from that.
6. Placed the disks in the IX2 box and booted up and waited for around 10 minutes before shutting it down again.
7. Removed the disk and mounted them on my system again to copy the files/folders I backud up under windows again to the EXT2 partions on both disks
8. Put the back in the IX2 box and booted
After a few minutes of waiting I had the red light again and was able to access the system through the webinterface again.
From that point on I was able to use Don’s directions (see his post from 31/12/10) to rebuild the system with just one exception.
I was not able to format both /dev/sda2 and /dev/sdb2 in one session. I had to reboot the IX2 to be able to format the other device also. But for the rest it seems to work properly.
Currently it’s busy rebuilding the raid system (at 63% now), so hopefully by tommorow morning I will have a working one again.
I’v been attempting to follow Stefan and Dons great instructions here but am having trouble that I hope someone can help me with. Thanks in advance!
IX2 with (2) 500GB drives
Drive2 is dead; (so I want to replace both with 1.5 TB drives)
Data preservation is not an issue because I offloaded it all to a different HD on my network.
Shutdown IX2 via UI
Remove dead Drive2
Power on IX2
IX2 recognizes that drive2 is missing
Shutdown IX2 via UI
Install New (1.5TB) Drive2
Power on IX2
IX2 Seems to synchronize the new 1.5TB drive2 with the original 500GB drive1 (don’t remember detailed results here but UI was always accessible)…..
Shutdown IX2 via UI
Removed original (good) 500GB drive1
Power on IX2
IX2 Now recognizes that the new 1.5TB drive2 is the only one present.
Shutdown IX2
Install New (1.5TB) Drive1
Power on IX2
IX2 Seems to synchronize the new 1.5TB drive1 with the new 1.5TB drive2
The problem is that the data is never accessible and it won’t allow me to configure mirroring (draid1 through the UI)
The “settings” tab in the UI recognizes both new drives as 1.4TB with no apparent errors on either icon but… there is a red message stating: “Data on your Iomega StorCenter device is currently unavailable.” No matter what I try I cant seem to access the data.
So, here’s what I did:
# fdisk -l: shows 2 disks (/dev/sda, /dev/sdb) with 2 partitions each (/dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, /dev/sdb1, /dev/sdb2)
** For each drive, I decided to delete partition2 then recreate it **
# fdisk /dev/sda
Command (m for help): d
Partition number (1-4): 2
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
** Not sure why this error came up but you’ll see in a minute that the partition was deleted.**
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table
fdisk: WARNING: rereading partition table failed, kernel still uses old table: Device or resource busy
# fdisk /dev/sda
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 1500.3 GB, 1500301910016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 182401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 127 1020096 83 Linux
Command (m for help): q
**Now Create the new partition2 on disk1 **
# fdisk /dev/sda
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (128-182401, default 128): Using default value 128
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (128-182401, default 182401): Using default value 182401
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
** Again, Not sure why this error came up but you’ll see in a minute that the new partition was created.**
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table
fdisk: WARNING: rereading partition table failed, kernel still uses old table: Device or resource busy
# fdisk /dev/sda
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 1500.3 GB, 1500301910016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 182401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 127 1020096 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 128 182401 1464115905 83 Linux
Command (m for help): q
** I’ll spare you the details, but I did the exact same thing on disk2 (/dev/sdb)
Before rebuilding the raid array (step 5 from Stephan’s 12/31/10 entry) says to format partition2 (mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/sda2) but I get an error See below) every time…
# mkfs.ext3 -v /dev/sda2
mke2fs 1.40.2 (12-Jul-2007)
mkfs.ext3: No such device or address while trying to determine filesystem size
#
Any suggestions would be oh so greatly appreciated. I’ve put waaay to many hours into this and just want my NAS back online…. ;-(
Thanks so much!
-Carl
Mission Accomplished! Thanks to all of the great information here. Don’s writeup from 12/31/10 was absolutely awesome but I had to add just 1 step. I had to restart the IX2 between steps 4 & 5 (after creating the secondary partitions and before formatting them). If I didn’t restart, the formatting would fail because it could not find the newly created partitions. All is well. Thanks again!
Carl, I’m sorry for missing a step. I’ve been formating drives since the DOS fdisk days. And rebooting after a low level format is more of a reflex than a step. But again, the purpose was to spell in out so that my wife could do it, and to that point, on this job, any detail left undone is a problem.
Maybe, NOW we have it all as a team effort. Maybe the moderator or someone can rewrite the process so all the information is in one post, by the numbers. Stefan is the true author of that information, I was just the editor.
Regards, Don
Are you kidding? There is WAY too much information in this comment thread, covering way too many different ways of doing things, with way too many variables on what could go wrong.
This post started as a fairly simple operation, in a “for dummies” manner, and through the valuable contributions of others, has snowballed far beyond its original scope.
I don’t have the time, nor the technical knowledge to piece together all that has been written into a single, cohesive, and accurate set of documentation. Also, we’re talking about a device that became obsolete not long after this thread began.
As the owner of this blog, I am happy to see folks getting value from it, and I will continue to approve comments that contribute to it, and make minor corrections as needed, but there won’t be any major post overhauls coming from this direction.
Just a note of thanks for this resource. Noticed the solid red light on my ix2 the other day, bad drive. Followed the simple instructions here and replaced the drive, it’s rebuilding the new drive right now. Found the cause of the problem, dead fan, and as others noted, rotten case airflow design. Rebuilding it with an external fan blowing through it right now (case is ice-cold :)), but I’ll replace the fan with new and do some case mods to improve air flow. Also plan on replacing the drive that didn’t croak as it was running hot as blazes for a long time. Thanks again for this page, helped out a LOT.
Short update on my ix2. Replaced the drive and it rebuilt the mirror in a few hours. The OEM fans is a Sunon HA40101V4-0000-999, which is spec’ed at 40 mm x 40 mm x 10 mm, 12V, 5.3CFM, 0.8W, 4500RPM, 18.2DBA. These fans are ~$4, but not available except in large quantities. I replaced it with a fan from my local Fry’s, but it was a 27DBA noise rated fan and very loud. So, I bought a Hanon HA40201V4-0000-C99 from FrozenCPU.com, spec’ed at 40 mm x 40 mm x 20 mm, 12V, 5.5CFM, 0.6W, 4700RPM, 12.8DBA. These are more expensive, at $17, but can be bought in quantities of 1. The site says they’re not in stock, but I ordered mine and received it in less than 5 days. The extra 10 mm of depth is no problem and it works with the existing screws for the OEM fan. I clipped the pulse lead (yellow) and spliced in the OEM board connector and it works perfectly. Note that the fan on this unit is temp controlled from the mainboard and won’t turn on until a setpoint temp is reached. The unit is dead silent and works as new, and even has slightly more airflow. Next step is to ultimately replace both drives with 5400RPM silent/green drives. While this NAS may be a PITA, it has a very good DLNA that works great with the Xbox. The Seagate BlackArmor 220 that I bought to replace it has a nearly non-operational DLNA server, so I’m just going to run both units and mirror my data for more security.
On 26/08/10, Paul responded with an entry detailing the Userid nad Pasword to allow Iomega Stor Manager access the newly imaged Linux OS. I have sucessfully installed the OS on two replacement drives BUT can not access the interface thru the Stor Manager.
So, just what is the UserID and Password ? “admin/” (w/o quotes) and “root/soho” (again w/o quotes) doesn’t cut it. I am NOT a Linux (or Unix) whize. I’ll need the EXACT UserID and Password character string to make this work.
Thanks !
Al
Al, for someone who is receiving free technical support from your peers on a product that is no longer supported by its manufacturer, your tone comes across as pretty demanding. It hardly motivates me to point out that when someone says “The username/password for the Storcenter login is admin/(blank). The password for its Linux OS is root/soho.” What they mean is that the username is “admin” and that there is no password (for the web interface), and that the Linux username is “root” and the Linux password is “soho”. I’m not sure what you mean by the “Stor Manager”. If that’s some software package that you installed on your computer to manage the device, then you should know that I, and probably 99% of the guys who have posted comments here, think that such software is for chumps. The passwords given are for the web interface that is built into the device, and for the Linux operating system that it runs on. You will need to be able to find the IP address that is assigned to your device in order to use either of these, and log in via web browser or SSH utility. If you’re not familiar with that, I’m sure you can hire a consultant who is.
Thank you Paul for your promt reply. And if I sounded like a raving looney, I apologize. I have had this unit on my bench for over a month now. The unit belongs to a friend of mine who asked me to repair it.
I was abele to quickly determione that one of the HDDs was definitely bad – in that the heads would not load (a constant clicking sound). And the other disk would not boot. As it turned out, the Linux OS on the “non-clicking” drive was trashed so a total replacement was deemed to be in order.
I have spebnt the past several weeks trying to get a copy of the OS so I could restore the unit to working order – even though all my friends files are now considered to be toast. Your reference link to “Suren’s” downloadable OS has saved the day !!! Iomega does not, (as I found out) and will not, provide that downlaodable OS so I was at the mercy of folks like you to help point me in the right direction.
I downloaded a trial copy of Acronis True Image Home V11 and built a Recovery CD as was described in this blog. I sucessfully executed the image rebuild of the code “Suren” had provided and I am now attempting to access the unit. Prior to this sucessfull rebuild, I could not get past the “blinking blue light” problem – meaning the drive was not ready (or could not read the boot info). The light is now a solid red as it should be, waiting for configuration, etc.
This is where my concern for the UserID and Password promt comes in. From the iomega.com website, I have downloaded the “StorCenter ix2 Manager” (software version 1.1.17.34772 2008-09-06:0018) which I am led to believe is the interface software provided by Iomega specifically for the StorCenter IX2 device. It is the iniktial screen for this software that prompts me for a UserID and PAssword. When I saw your blog entry, I thought I needed to provide the info exactly as it was posted. Remember, I am not a Linux (Unix) experienced person. The software I installed is for the benefit of my user (friend). If there is better or more “geeky” software the Linux user community prefers, than that is fine with me. I am olny looking out for my friend and his ability to sucessfully navigate his now repaired StorCenter IX2.
So, I have applied the “admin” (w/o quotes) name to the UserID when launching the “StorCenter ix2 Manager” and a blank Password and the unit has responded in the affirmative. I am now able to access the unit as I hoped I could and I own it all to your patience and support.
Thank you again for helping me get this unit back to operational status. Yes, it is old, and it is obsolete, but it is my friend’s property and I want to be sure that if it can not be repaired, at least i gave it my best.
By the way, my backgound is indeed in consulting, having worked for IBM for 35 years on mainframes, sales and service, software development, WANs/LANs, Client Server applications, and management. In retirement, I now repair personal computers for a 501(c)3 chairity group as well as maintain several MS Access Database applications for businesses in the community. All this on Windows and OS/w platforms. I can tell you this that the best job is retirement !!!
Thanks again, Paul for your valuable assistance in getting me going again. Like I said, I have avoided the Linux (Unix) platform until now because the corporate world has yet to fully embrace “open systems” architecture. It is coming though. For me, I am busy enough with putting up with the Microsoft community.
Al
Glad you got it working.
Iomega’s support for this (and presumably other) product(s) is abysmal – but on the other hand, these are cheap and therefore somewhat disposable. QNAP, by contrast, has abysmal support AND their stuff is expensive. :)
For the record, installed management software is usually not needed. The device obtains an IP address via DHCP, and then you can access it via web browser. It has a web interface GUI built in. Some of the more technical folks in this comment thread got into the underlying Linux OS. I am not one of them. I’ve also decided to wait on learning Linux in earnest until it becomes profitable to do so. That has not happened yet.
I know we’re off-topic now. But learning Linux is profitable now. On the deployment side of IT, tens of thousands of dollars can be saved by avoiding licencing fees and expensive programs. On a personal level Linux is fun because of the magic you can do with it. I built a media center in Ubuntu Server that my wife can operate, yet has twice the features of any Windows box.
I can’t avoid Windows, don’t even try, but my personal computers are all dual boot and I prefer Linux because it boots in less than half the time of Windows 7 on my aging quad core, 4 gb ram machine.
I can’t wait for retirement, Linux will be a part of it for sure. The Linux community and the forums are AWESOME and people are helpful. If I didn’t know Linux, my ability to save money would be severely reduced. Linux is the answer to so many professional questions for small-mid sized companies.
Regards, Don
Don –
I should have said “profitable for me“. Certainly there are uses for it in some markets.
Note to anyone else who might want to argue the point: I won’t be approving any more comments on the subject of Linux vs. Windows. Don is right, it’s off-topic, and this is not the place for that discussion.
– Paul
Wow! You all are GREAT! I had all but given up on my iX2. I foolishly pulled the old drives for an upgrade before I realized all the issues around moving the boot image. Then as I worked my way through this wonderful, helpful thread, but alas I was having no good results, just blinking blue lights… Then I read a small line that said Acronis under Windows doesn’t work correctly, so I tried the bootable version of Acronis TI home 2011 and viola! It is in the process of rebuilding the file system as I write this. I used the newer (2.0.15.43099) image from Suren as-is (without deleting the 2nd partition) and it seems to be working. At least I can log into the web interface again, and the blinking blue light is gone….
Thanks All!
Excellent! Glad it helped you. I started this with a simple “Hey, I tried this and it worked” kind of article – definitely not a comprehensive manual to the StorCenter, but it has sort of turned out that way. I say “sort of” because different folks seem to be having different results. The key is getting back into the web interface after inserting a set of larger drives. How you get there is not really important, as long as one set of instructions in this thread does get you there. Once you’re back into the web interface, you will be able to go into the drive management area and mess with the drives until they are using all of the available space one way or another. I will edit the original post to make the note about using the bootable CD more prominent.
I’m struggeling since a month getting my StorCenter working again…
Trying out the hints you give on this page, I found a problem with the Firmware 1.1.xxx image. Whenever I try to select it in Acronis (BootCD 11), I get the message “This is not the last created volume of the backup archive. Insert the last created volume to start working with this archive.”
Anyone an Idea why? Tried already to re-download the file – same thing.
Now I solved the image-problem: after downloading it the third time but now WITHOUT using my Download Manager it was accepted and could be recovered.
But still the StorCenter is not working…
Maybe let me describe the problem – just in case the problem is not even the missing boot partition but a fault in the hardware…?
So, as I switch on my StorCenter ix2 it is blinking blue for quite some time, then it is blinking a few times red and immediately switches off. No possibility to log on the web interface…
Is this what others have also experienced and solved through this tutorial? Or might I be having a hardware problem that cannot even be solved with your images?
The problem is that I have tried so many ways of starting it – firmware 1.1, firmware 2.0, on one HD, on both HDs etc. but always getting the same problem in starting.
Do you have any advise for me?
Thanks, guys!
FraWg.. Thanks. Found myself in a spot where I was running Raid0 and lost a drive. Upgraded to the 2x2tb, formatting now.. banged my head against the wall for a few hours before I re-read all the comments and found your post.
thanks
hi Guys,
Found this thread because I too have major troubles with the IX2..
I have given up and bought a new Synology DS-211, but now I still have to gain access to my data on the old drives..
Is there a ‘Sticky’or a “FAQ’ somewhere on how to achive this?
The IX2 is just sitting there blinking it’s blue evil eye at me..
Hello,
Does anybody have an os/boot image from an ix2-200 cloud edition? Can it be made to work on an ix2-200 non cloud edition?
Cloud edition has new features and also supports os x lion now. Non cloud is not going to be upgraded??!? Isnt cloud edition the same hardware as non cloud?
Ok, crisis avoided ;-)
The disks were setup in a RAID 0, connected one of the disks to my PC, started EXT2FDS and there it was…all my data in tact.
I’ll just copy it to a ‘save’ place for now and then finally I can get rid of this crappy piece of hardware….3 HD failures in just over a year…
OK, followed the format process of my 2x2tb reset using Frawg’s instructions. after more than 48 hours I was at 51%, but just 12 hours later I went to access StoreCenter and it asked me for setup information ( so I figured the format process time was off). 1 of the drives needed authorization to overwrite, so I did this and nothing happened.. so I decided to set it to Raid 1 still nothing happens.. Rebooted the StoreCenter and both drives need authorization to overwrite.. so I did this, and again set it to Raid 1. The red light is solid and the dashboard just says “Data on your Iomega StorCenter device is currently unavailable.” – No progress bar, no more information. Any thoughts?
As I wrote in my previous posts, I upgraded my IX2 also to 2x2tb, after which the webinterface became useless for managing the disks (changing between raid0 and raid1 or resetting). The only solution I found is to use ssh access and do the rest in the console (see my or better Don’s instructions).
hth,
stefan
ps.. there is a difference between “enable remote access” and going into /support.html and enabling support access.. WHAT that is I have no idea.. but the /support worked for me. RA did not.. Now to do Don”s method..
Hi every body;
First sorry my bad english.
I have 2 ix2 units. this units one drives damaged end off warranty. I try to replace disks read tips from here but not succes.
I have 2x500gb work hdd. one drive plug pc and restore image (1.1 and 2.1 firmware tried) using acronis restore disk 2011 without problem.Then plug first disk ix2 power on bring blue led about 1 min. then bring red 2 or 3 times shut down unit him self :(
I turn power on using button its start to bring blue forever. I cant access web interface.
I replaced power adapter tried different disks nothing changed.
Please help me
I suggest restoring the image onto both disks again (to refresh it in case something went wrong), and then plug BOTH disks in (not just one of them), and see what you get.
Thanks for advice but nothing change power off him self after about 2-5 times bring red light.
But when i connect disk again windows computer i can see only i part (before connect ix2 two part 1 is 1gb about another 990GB about) and 1 folder in it.lost+found name.
Any idea?
mehmet, If the web interface is working go to the /support.html page and enable ssh. The follow Dan’s instructions to the letter. Don’t try to fix partition 2 in windows because it never works. If I wasn’t as linux savvy as I was I’d have given up by now… These guys got it right and I was able to fix my 1TB to a 4TB Raid1 (2x2tb 5900rpm Green Seagate drives). But the information is definitely fragmented on this forum. Would be nice to see 1 page for each type of fix that has been proven to work.
Nothing change i read every comments but i cant see solution.
I restore 1.1 and 2.0 image one disk then both disk shut down him self after 3 times red light bring.
I try restore image thin delete big partition this time always bring blue.
I cant access web interface or /support page
Any idea.
It sounds like time to repeat the advice I gave Jack back in December:
Unless you’re REALLY bored, or you have a lot more time than you do money, it might be time to cut your losses, buy a better NAS device, and toss the StorCenter out. Think of your hourly rate at your regular job, and multiply the number of hours you’ve spent on this by your hourly rate. If you could have bought another one by now based on your hourly rate, it’s time to give up. Unless you’re bored.
Yes you said totaly true.
I tried mybe 50 times. I cant under stand what is problem and why its too much hard or stuped. i’m apple technician and lot of Nas configured like seagate black armor or qnap. they was like a game.
Again i try to explane what was i do.
First my StorCenter was raid 1 before crashed if its importent
I have new 2 hdd 1TB and restore 2.1 firmware using acronis without problem.
When i connect drives storcenter bring blue led about 1 min. then 2 or 5 time (some time 3-4) shutdown him self.
I turn it on again but its only blue led bringing. ok i said.
Connect drives windows and i see drive empty. No system files only 2 folder 1 is lost+found another is images but bouth is empty.
I was tried 1.1 firmware nothing change.
any idea about problem.
lukasim wrote same problem mine but nothing write what happend.
hello mehmet,
the only advice I can give: only restore the system image of one disk, and let the storcenter synchronize the second disk. At least the webinterface should come up then. If you can’t get the raid system running through the webinterface, enable ssh and do it through the console.
hth,
stefan
I have 3 of these units. One hard drive in each of two units failed within several weeks of each other. I replaced the bad drive in each unit with the drives from the third Storcenter that I was not using. (I deleted the partitions from these replacements first.) Fortunately I managed to make backup copies of everything because the remaing original drives failed within the next month. I replaced those drives as well.
To prevent further failures, I removed the hard drives from each Storcenter and then installed them in the drive bays of a tower case I had laying around. (Each drive bay holds 3 drives and has it’s own fan for cooling the drives.) I purchased a small wall tranformer that plugs in to the power connectors for the fans. I used 18-inch SATA cables to connect the Storcenter PCB to the drives. (I just removed the back of each Storcenter.) I used power cable “extenders” to connect the Storceneter to the power connector on each drive. The Storcenters are sitting side-by-side in the bottom of the tower case.
Now, the hard drives never get hot. I believe this will result in greater reliability.
After replacing the original 500 gig drives with 2 TB drives I found out that there is no “official” way from Iomega to apply the firmware to the drives. This re-imaging method with Acronis could not be the only way to do this and I searched for a some other ways to apply the firmware directy to the drives, and there is one…
It is possibel to load the firmware from an attached USB stick and the ix2-200 will do all the rest for you ! Using this method will also upgrade your ix2-200 to the newer Cloud Edition, which is the only supported drive from Iomega now and in the future. This also brings back support for Mac OS X Lion again !
Just follow the link, it works without problems !
http://www.technopat.net/forum/ssd-flash-ve-sabit-diskler/2790-upgrading-iomega-ix2-200-cloud-edition.html?langid=1
Alex,
Will this work for the regular Storcenter ix2? (not the 200)
Hi Wayne,
I don´t know, only have the ix2-200. The reason why this works with the cloud edition is that it is the same hardware. If the ix2 is based on different hardware it might not work…
After 2 weeks of using the new firmware I must say that it works pretty good. The only problem is the bad ventilation of the drives which was not improved with the new firmware. The fan still starts only at 59 °C. Maybe somebody has a different solution for this problem…
Hey, I’ve got a fan question. I don’t see the fan on my StorCenter ix2 spinning during normal operation. After I replaced my disks, I powered it up with the back cover off, and the fan spins up for about a second, then stops. Every time I test it, it’s the same. So, I know it’s getting power, and I know it spins, but I never see it spin up again. Is the fan supposed to run intermittently, or continuously? Anyone have any info on the fan and how it’s supposed to operate?
I have the same problem, I think it is a malfunction. My second drive number 1 has gone out and I have given up on this unit. I may list it here for sale for REALLY cheap. Like zero if you want the parts. The darn thing gets SO hot, I think it is just a badly designed unit.
Well, what a thread! Our IX2′s have had dead drive 2′s over time, and some rebuild after replacement, but one I have here now refuses to rebuild. I get this message on the disk page:
1 disk on your Iomega StorCenter device has incorrect data on it. Data on the Iomega StorCenter device is available but may be lost if another disk fails. Click here to authorize overwriting existing data.
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 127 1020127 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 128 121602 975742455+ 83 Linux
Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 127 1020096 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 128 121601 975739905 83 Linux
So I authorise the overwriting – and the disk “disappears” until the next cold boot. Repeatable.
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 127 1020127 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 128 121602 975742455+ 83 Linux
#
I don’t want to delete the surviving drive and just get the thing to rebuild as RAID1. Any suggestions?
Generally it is obvious there is basic design fault with over heating. So what does the team recommend instead?
FWIW, one at a time, I replaced both of the disks in mine with Hitachi 7200 rpm 1TB drives from Fry’s, and replaced my fan with a 40×20 Sunon Maglev fan that is quieter and moves more air:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9367/fan-587/Sunon_MagLev-Vapo_40mm_x_20mm_Fan_w_TAC_Sensor_Wire_-_Bare_Wire_HA40201V4-0000-C99.html?tl=g36c15s560
The 40×20 fits fine, no interference, and because it’s from the same mfg as the OEM fan, you can use the original case mounting screws with no issue. Net result – unit is dead silent and only slightly warm to the touch. If I were doing this again, I’d use some type of green 5400 rpm drives that would run even cooler.
wow…this thread is mind numbing!
My Ix2 RAID 1 2TB failed to boot. flashing white light that never goes solid. System not accessible through IP or StorMgr. Support eventually said the system was hosed (OS not readable). They had said they could send me a USB flash but found out they could not with the cloud edition – which at least would allow boot of device and some way to get at data. They sent me a new unit and told me to use a data recovery service. What is really stupid is that you cannot place the drives into the new enclosure that works as they told me the drives would be formatted??
Now assuming that my using RAID 1 is useless if cannot get at the drives, I attempted to pull the drives and get at data directly. Any recommendations? Windows beleives the drives need formatting when simply attaching them as USB devices and when you look at the drives, the drives show as RAW.
All the programs I have tried to use either won’t see the drive or wont’ recognize the drive format.
Really frustrated that a simple NAS device cannot have it’s drives pulled and simply mounted in Windows when designed for the home market….any thoughts? I have no real indication that the drives/nor the data are actually damaged except the ability for the device to boot up properly
The drives aren’t Windows, they’re Linux partitions. Try http://gparted.sourceforge.net/, use the Live CD/USB/PXE version.
Thanks Dan. My assumption is that if I can get the drives connected to either a linux machine or boot my machine using linux (ie. Ubuntu flash) or a partition tool that you reference, that i should be able to see a real file listing of the linux partition?
Not being familiar beyond the basics of linux,
What is the process then to copy to an NTFS formatted drive? Ultimately the files are not useful to me until I can get them back recognizable on a windows system with preserved file names
so simple process in the end:
if the iomega drives are still valid (no physical damage) and you just can’t get at them through storage manager or direct IP.
Pull the drives, attach to SATA external connector ($45 or less). Then figure out that Iomega has a few boot partitions and then the data partition and the data is stored in XFS.
Try multiple programs and find one that works http://www.ufsexplorer.com/ ($49 euro’s for full version. the trial is recommended to ensure you can see files and will restore files <64mb)
This program was amazing. Can see the XFS partition with folder structure. Can copy the files to where you want them. Can also scan and recover files that have been deleted.
NO need to boot using ubuntu or anything else. Just install this on windows and copy files over
[Just restored using the Acronis image.]
So I can get to the web interface but it says data is unavailable. Is this normal for x amount of time. I can’t choose mirror as it just reverts back to non mirroring. Does this just take time at this point?
I’d tell it to erase the disks, change storage mode, etc until it looks like it’s doing something (might even give you a percentage indicator if you refresh the screen after a minute or so) until you get a handle on what it’s doing. At this point, since the web interface is available, the user manual might even be helpful.
Soo, my experience with the rebuild:
First tried rebuilding the 2.0.15.43099 image like mentioned on top, restored the 1Tb image to my 1,5Tb WD Greens, deleted the ext3 partition in Windows and tried boting. Got a flashing blue light all the time although the ix2 accessed the HDs a couple of times.
Then I tried the 1.1.17.34772 image, restored ONLY the ext2 partition and the MBR to my blank 1,5Tb WDs, installed them and the ix2 booted properly, restored the ext3 partitions on its own and the whole procedure took me: 20secs each to restore the ext2 and about 10mins to build the datasystem on the ix2. After that it was ready to recieve data.
Hi have downloaded the disk images and I have repaired the my NAS with your help.
Thank you for your great service!
I upgraded my disks before finding this thread. If you’re a linux person, you might find my post useful.
http://tentacles.posterous.com/upgrading-the-disks-in-an-iomega-storcenter-i
I have replaced a 750 GB harddisk of an Iomega StorCenter Network 750GB (1HD x 750GB) with a Maxtor 2 TB (green).
First I made an image of the original 750 GB harddisk with Acronis True Image 2011 rescue cd (sector by sector). Then I restore this image to the 2 TB harddisk (sector by sector). I have used a Gigabyte Board to clone the harddisk in AHCPI-Mode. I tried to clone the harddisk on the fly – under Windows 7 or with rescue CD, but this does not work!
The result was an 1:1 copy of the original harddisk with 3 primary partititions: 1.) ext3 (nearly 4GB), 2.)Linux swap (nearly 500MB), 3.)ext3 (nearly 700GB).
In a second step I used Acronis Disk Director 2011 to destroy the third partition of 700GB and made a new partition of nearly 1.8TB (primary ext3). I have done it under Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.
Well done. Every thing is now working fine on my Iomega NAS!
I lost my old datas, because I have cleaned my third partition. Acronis Disk Director has an option to resize an existing partition. I have not tested this, because the existing datas were not important and I do not want to waste time, trying it.
May be that someone have an use to know this procedure.
Above someone has ask for NHD-procedures. So I reported it in this forum.
The Acronis disk images have been uploaded to this site and are being hosted here now. You will find the links near the bottom of the original post that started this comment thread. Enjoy.
Can’t thank you enough for posting the images.
My bricked ix2 is once again fully functional!!
After a little case mode (for additional cooling) it’ll serve me once again. Hopefully for more than 6 months.
THANK YOU!
When using the ix2 with only one drive, does it matter which bay it is in?
I plugged in my ix2 with only one drive.
I went to settings>>disks and the one disk is operating normally, the other shows as missing.
As well, I changed the data protection to not mirrored.
When I go to Shared Storage, it says “The selected function is not available due to the state of the disks”.
What do I do?
Greetings!
I find myself in need of a power cord for a StorCenter ix2. It’s a model# SA165E-12U. Output: 12V, 4A.
If anyone’s got a spare, and is in the mood to give something back, please drop me a line.
Thanks!
Hello!
First of all, great post. Really helpt me out with my broken ix2. After 1 of the 2 drives crashed (known firmware version from seagate) my NAS wasn’t responding to any commands. So took out the good drive and ext2explorer copied all of my data. After wiping this disk all of my ix2 was gone. With your acronis image i could rebuild my ix2. Still got a problem, the ix2 logs keeps saying “The main storage area could not be initialized.” Any thoughs how to fix this?
Thanks!
If you have access to the web interface, its controls should be able to do the job. Maybe a “Quick Erase” which wipes the disks and restores factory settings?
Please I need to StorCenter ix2 2×500 image v2.0.15.43099.
thanks
Cesar Moto »
The links at the bottom of the original post work. I’m deleting the comment ones now.
I’ve the ix2 from a while but NEVER used it… NEVER… it has just 2 folders and no users … i think it has 2 days of run.
I’ve moved in a new house and now i want to use it
Today i’ve turned it on and i’ve found the bad message that a drive is missing……….
I’ve read the PDF and it seems quite easy (also because i don’t need to create any image :-D i’ve no file in it! )
I’ve some questions:
1) if i don’t find another disk like the one inside the unit, can i replace BOTH disks at the same time?
2) do i need to initialize/partition/format in some way before install them in the unit (even if i replace a single disc)?
3) do you think replacing the disc/discs it’s a waste of money on this unit??
Thanks for the HUGE Help you give to us.
Bix
Bix » The answers to these questions and many more are in the comment thread. Happy reading!
Hello, I’m trying to restore the 500GB image to a 750 GB Disk.
Either way I tried, the blue led keeps flashing and no red one passes by. The harddisk makes some noise each minute or so.
I can do a ping to the device.
I’m using ATIH2012 and image recovery is a succes.
I’ve tried the disk recovery method, recovery by partition nothing worked.
Anybody a hand?
Tnx in advance,
Greetz
Hello I am a novice at many of the posts I see above. I have a ix2 with the dreaded blue light. I just want to get my data off of it. Can someone tell me what I need to do the easiest process to get the information off? I have a newer ix2-200 that I can use to put the data on. I will throw the old one away. Below is the message that i received yesterday. Can anyone assist?
The Iomega StorCenter device is degraded and data protection is at risk. A drive may have either failed or been removed from your Iomega StorCenter device. Visit the Dashboard on the management interface for details. To prevent possible data loss, this issue should be repaired as soon as possible
Data protection is being reconstructed on your Iomega StorCenter device