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B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 31 Jan 2014, 17:17
by gmdehaas
I bought a B3 via iBood.
Last 2 days I wasted time installing this thing.
I tried several USB stick: the green led keeps on shining and the internal HD isn't doing anything.
I tried putting the installation files on an USB harddisk (yes, fat32). The external disk shows activity for a while, after 5 minutes the B3 keeps on blinking purple.
The internal HD is some samsung 2TB disk and is spinning up propery (then it flashes together with the ethernet leds).

I also tried HP's USB Disk Storage Format tool to create bootale USB stick. Nothing helps. :evil:

Re: Awfull installation nightmare

Posted: 01 Feb 2014, 12:10
by deadblueeyes
Same problem here,

bought the b3 and a WD Red 2 TB put in the HDD plugged in a
fat32 bootable usb drive with the latest firmware (2.4.1.1) /install/Files
started the b3 with pushed power button waited until the led switched to green and waited.
After a few minutes the led switched to purple and started blinking.

checked the hdd using smart perfectly fine.

help...

i tried using the rescue system but dont know what to do there...

i would be kindful for any help

best

Re: Awfull installation nightmare

Posted: 01 Feb 2014, 16:07
by gmdehaas
It's still not working.
The USB stick seems fine, the disk is 100% oke (it's a 2TB Samsung HD204UI).
It has a 3GB/s SATA interface and 4kb sectors. Is B3 compatible with that?
Could that be a reason that it doesn't even start formatting?
Please help me out here, otherwise I need to consider this as a 'DOA' and I'll return this box.

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 02 Feb 2014, 08:54
by johannes
This should work and we do test install all devices before shipping, but of course things could have happened during freight. Contact support@excito.com if you want to return for checkup, but please check instructions one more time so you have done it correctly.
If you do return, please include your disk so we can figure out if the issue is there. (And no, as far as we know all SATA drives are compatible).

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 02 Feb 2014, 09:57
by gmdehaas
I'm not going to ship this item to Sweden with y harddrive in it...
I'm returning this item to iBood and I'll just buy a zyxel 310.
Thanks for responding anyway

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 02 Feb 2014, 11:46
by deadblueeyes
It worked for me after i installed the 3tb patch
dont know why was an act of despair

no it runs like it should

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 02 Feb 2014, 15:50
by gmdehaas
I just tried the 3tb patch, but no luck here, so it'll be returned.
Guess it's just bad luck with this HD.

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 03 Feb 2014, 15:54
by gerardo1991
I've also bought mine on iBood and it isnt working.
But when I turn it on, it is instantly green (blinking very slow). And after a while it keeps flashing purple, tried it multiple times and waited for a few hours.
Do you need to format your USB with FAT or FAT32?

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 03 Feb 2014, 16:22
by gerardo1991
I also bought it via iBood, also not working.
When turning it on with the described manner, it is green instantly. After that it keeps blinking purple.
I've done it multiple times and waited a few hours.
Any suggestions?

Also, do you need to format the USB with FAT or FAT32?

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 04 Feb 2014, 01:33
by gmdehaas
I tried both FAT and FAT32.
I got my zyxel 310s !
It installed within 5 minutes ! No messing around with usb sticks...
So the problem was certainly within the B3, not within the harddrive

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 04 Feb 2014, 01:58
by Ubi
you also bought a rather different product. I got my toaster to work in 5 minutes without a USB disk too!!

fun note: that thing is called the NSA-310. KRather unsettling...

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 04 Feb 2014, 03:00
by gmdehaas
The 310s installes using a desk tool in stead of a USB stick.
It wouldn't make much of a difference, other than that you cannot do any kind op diagnostics with the B3.
If it doesn't work, you don't know why. It would be nice if the B3 would write some sort of logfile to the usb stick.
I understand that the hardware of the B3 is more powerfull and the B3 is more flexibel and more energy efficient.
But for my usage, file sharing - bittorrent - UPnP, the B3 and Zyxel are functionally equal.

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 04 Feb 2014, 03:37
by Gordon
That might be a plus, I agree. However that does require that the USB stick or drive is actually recognized during startup. Like the B3 however, those sticks are just as much black boxes; not only differing in appearance but also in their electronics. Some will actually require a separate driver and in fact I do own a USB stick that I cannot use on my Linux desktop (and the B3) but functions just fine on my Windows mini laptop. For this reason it is always good to have a USB stick that has a little light on it to indicate data moving around.

Booting a rescue system can also help identify whether the USB stick is good. If the drive you inserted was preformatted it may help to remove all partitions manually prior to attempting installation. This is because on a headless system you cannot answer questions like "I don't know what this partition is, do you want to keep it"?

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 04 Feb 2014, 08:10
by gerardo1991
OKay, I think I got mine working. At least, the blue led is now on.

I did four things different from the previous tries, so maybe its one of them:
  • 1. I used another USB flash drive (first one was 4 gb, this one is 1 gb)
    2. I gave my USB drive 1 name (so "USB_disk" instead of "USB disk")
    3. I used the other USB hole
    4. I formatted the USB flash drive with FAT instead of FAT32 (I used "normal" formatting not fast format)
3 and 4 are probably not the reason, but 1 or 2 could be.

Re: B3 refuses to work even not formatting

Posted: 05 Feb 2014, 16:35
by StefanPeeters
Hi,

I also bought it at Ibood. I connected the B3 to the my procurve switch true the WAN port and my laptop to the LAN port. I inserted the USB, presed the knob while inserting the power cable and releesed it when I got a green light. I get a green light for 5 seconds and after it blinks purple. I even bought a new disk (WD 3TB RED), before I had a WD 1.5TB BLACK. Still it doesn't work. I also formated the USB as FAT and FAT32 but nothing seems to work. I am very disapointed about this product. I had high expectations. Looks like a waste of money.

Someone can explain me how to get this work? I bought this because I red it was so easy to use that even a child could make this work.

Is there a way I could get a refund from Ibood?