Can't access NAS Storage - Buffalo Linkstation

[Clariman]

If you just want to use it for music playback it should be fine, but for two way file read/write I'd be more nervous.
It's the writes side that can get you into trouble with ransomware and the like.

If you locked it down as much as possible and used non standard ports then it would be 'safer' but it's your call ultimately.
Windows Defender has 'Protected Folders' as an option which can help with ransomware issues, not sure about NAS configuration, I'm sure Bree would know one way or the other.

Thanks. Would a modern NAS be safer or is it any kind of NAS that is risky?

[Redmires]

Another thought. The Buffalo NAS drives run Twonky. With mine I can HTTP to it on a different port number (9050) and configure Twonky, and see all the file structures etc. Try

192.168.1.100:9050

using whatever your IP address is, of course

may need http:// or https:// - I can't recall

[Infrasonic]

If you just want to use it for music playback it should be fine, but for two way file read/write I'd be more nervous.
It's the writes side that can get you into trouble with ransomware and the like.

If you locked it down as much as possible and used non standard ports then it would be 'safer' but it's your call ultimately.
Windows Defender has 'Protected Folders' as an option which can help with ransomware issues, not sure about NAS configuration, I'm sure Bree would know one way or the other.

Thanks. Would a modern NAS be safer or is it any kind of NAS that is risky?

Recent NAS' use the higher SMB protocols 2/3 et al or have firmware upgrades available to get them there, so are inherently more secure from that perspective. You'd need to do a bit of research to get the balance between security/performance and value for money right though.
It's very easy with NAS' to look at the features and end up drooling over the £1K plus machines.
Real time 4K video transcoding is a black hole money pit if you're not careful...

[Clariman]

Another thought. The Buffalo NAS drives run Twonky. With mine I can HTTP to it on a different port number (9050) and configure Twonky, and see all the file structures etc. Try

192.168.1.100:9050

using whatever your IP address is, of course

may need http:// or https:// - I can't recall

Thanks. Said that my IP "refused to connect"

Tried both http and https

[Clariman]

Recent NAS' use the higher SMB protocols 2/3 et al or have firmware upgrades available to get them there, so are inherently more secure from that perspective. You'd need to do a bit of research to get the balance between security/performance and value for money right though.
It's very easy with NAS' to look at the features and end up drooling over the £1K plus machines.
Real time 4K video transcoding is a black hole money pit if you're not careful...

I'd go for an inexpensive one. I'm not a drooler over tech these days and not into 4K video. Don't even pay SKY for HD let alone 4K stuff.

This would appear to be the modern version of what I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IAE2V3W

[Infrasonic]

One of the best YouTube channels for this, just have a look at the cheaper two drive JBOD/RAID 1 reviews...https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 8nW8htpOVF

[JonE]

Another thought. The Buffalo NAS drives run Twonky. With mine I can HTTP to it on a different port number (9050) and configure Twonky, and see all the file structures etc. Try

192.168.1.100:9050

using whatever your IP address is, of course

may need http:// or https:// - I can't recall

Thanks. Said that my IP "refused to connect"

Tried both http and https

I went straight into the Twonky server on my Linkstation LS-CHL-V2 (from 2010) without specifying a protocol. My NAS boxes, like most of my kit, each has a fixed IP. I don't use NASNavi.

Back in May '17 I introduced a Win7 machine to my network and it couldn't see the NAS. I'd forgotten that I'd disabled SMB1 on the Win7 m/c and had left it like that.

Many, many months later the light on the NAS flashed orange to denote that a firmware upgrade was available so I let it do its thing and it's now on 1.74. I haven't checked whether I subsequently disabled SMB1 on all machines (I'd better do that) but a recently introduced Win10 (1809) machine saw the NAS without any fuss.

Cheers!

[JonE]

a recently introduced Win10 (1809) machine saw the NAS without any fuss.

get-smbserverconfiguration in PowerShell shows SMB1 as not enabled but SMB2 as enabled and I confirm that I hadn't already twiddled with that.

Cheers!

[Clariman]

Thanks again everyone. An update on this. Having thought it still wasn't available because my Windows 10 system couldn't see the drive, it turns out that our SONOS equipment can see it and the drive is working perfectly. We now have our 300 to 400 carefully ripped and categorised CD collection available on SONOS . However, not sure how I could get the other 200 ripped to complete the job if I cannot see it from Windows. Anyway, I'm not too worried about that.

From a security point of view, would I be better to get a more modern equivalent Linkstation?

[Infrasonic]

From a security point of view, would I be better to get a more modern equivalent Linkstation?

Maybe read the links and see if you can in fact get your model to work with SMBv2, which will make it more secure.
It seems a bit hit and miss, some models will do it, some won't.

http://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php?topic=24501.0

http://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php ... 0#msg88050

http://forums.buffalotech.com/index.php ... 2#msg88052

[Clariman]

From a security point of view, would I be better to get a more modern equivalent Linkstation?

Maybe read the links and see if you can in fact get your model to work with SMBv2, which will make it more secure.
It seems a bit hit and miss, some models will do it, some won't.

Thanks. I have SMB 1 switched off so it must be using a different SMB version

[Clariman]

Just went I thought all was hunky-dory, when I went downstairs this morning I heard a constant beeping sound coming from the Linkstation NAS. Something is up with it and the troubleshooting page in the manual is a waste of time.

This made me recall why we had left it switched off. It did this before and stopped working. At the time, Google suggested to me that this was a hard disk problem so I thought it was dead. Hence my delight yesterday when it was working.

On the basis that there is a problem (wonder if it is something like a fan not working which is causing it to overheat and go into an error mode?), but the HDD is OK, I've ordered a new Linkstation and will try to get the data across.

C

[Clariman]

An update ...

So with the old NAS (Buffalo Linkstation), Windows 10 could not see it but the Buffalo management software and my SONOS system could, so I could play from our music library again. Therefore I knew hard disc etc was OK. However, after leaving switched on for 24 hours it started emitting a continuous beep and no longer worked. My guess it is something like a failing fan that causes it to overheat after a while???

Anyway, I bought myself a new Buffalo NAS and managed to back up the old one to the new one, and I have managed to get SONOS to access our music library on the new NAS which is great.

This leaves the remaining question of how I can get Windows 10 to access the device. If I can, I can resume ripping our CD collection to it and adding to our music library. More importantly, I could use it for backing up my PC.

[mc2fool]

So with the old NAS (Buffalo Linkstation), Windows 10 could not see it but the Buffalo management software and my SONOS system could, so I could play from our music library again. Therefore I knew hard disc etc was OK. However, after leaving switched on for 24 hours it started emitting a continuous beep and no longer worked. My guess it is something like a failing fan that causes it to overheat after a while???

Anyway, I bought myself a new Buffalo NAS and managed to back up the old one to the new one, and I have managed to get SONOS to access our music library on the new NAS which is great.

This leaves the remaining question of how I can get Windows 10 to access the device. If I can, I can resume ripping our CD collection to it and adding to our music library. More importantly, I could use it for backing up my PC.

So by "the Buffalo management software" do you mean NAS Navigator? And if so, what happens when you double click on the NAS in it (assuming it shows it at all)?

Also, quick check, do you have it in the same workgroup as your W10 system?

[uspaul666]

Possibly a silly question but I think there is a difference between the nas “advertising” itself so that it can be spotted by the finder on windows and just mounting the thing. Have you tried doing Windows-R and running something like:
\\192.168.0.10\
? This would display all the shares/partitions on my WD NAS.

[Clariman]

So by "the Buffalo management software" do you mean NAS Navigator?

Yes, but also I get more management tools when I type its IP address in my browser

And if so, what happens when you double click on the NAS in it (assuming it shows it at all)?

I get to see the details of it - workgroup, ip address etc.

Also, quick check, do you have it in the same workgroup as your W10 system?

Yes it is in the same workgroup

[Clariman]

Possibly a silly question but I think there is a difference between the nas “advertising” itself so that it can be spotted by the finder on windows and just mounting the thing. Have you tried doing Windows-R and running something like:
\\192.168.0.10\
? This would display all the shares/partitions on my WD NAS.

Sorry, what do you mean by Windows-R?

[Clariman]

Possibly a silly question but I think there is a difference between the nas “advertising” itself so that it can be spotted by the finder on windows and just mounting the thing. Have you tried doing Windows-R and running something like:
\\192.168.0.10\
? This would display all the shares/partitions on my WD NAS.

Sorry, what do you mean by Windows-R?

Ah, just realised you mean Windows Run and entering the IP address. I have just done that and Windows tells me that I can't display the info because it is insecure because it is using the SMB-1 protocol.

Now that figures with what I read with SONOS and NAS devices. SONOS moved to FTP for Windows access but cannot do the same for NAS because most NAS use SMB1.

[Infrasonic]

Possibly a silly question but I think there is a difference between the nas “advertising” itself so that it can be spotted by the finder on windows and just mounting the thing. Have you tried doing Windows-R and running something like:
\\192.168.0.10\
? This would display all the shares/partitions on my WD NAS.

Sorry, what do you mean by Windows-R?

Ah, just realised you mean Windows Run and entering the IP address. I have just done that and Windows tells me that I can't display the info because it is insecure because it is using the SMB-1 protocol.

Now that figures with what I read with SONOS and NAS devices. SONOS moved to FTP for Windows access but cannot do the same for NAS because most NAS use SMB1.

If this is a new NAS surely it can use SMBv2 or higher. JonE's posts upthread would indicate that his older NAS received a firmware update as he has SMB1 off and everything was working fine.

I went straight into the Twonky server on my Linkstation LS-CHL-V2 (from 2010) without specifying a protocol. My NAS boxes, like most of my kit, each has a fixed IP. I don't use NASNavi.

Back in May '17 I introduced a Win7 machine to my network and it couldn't see the NAS. I'd forgotten that I'd disabled SMB1 on the Win7 m/c and had left it like that.

Many, many months later the light on the NAS flashed orange to denote that a firmware upgrade was available so I let it do its thing and it's now on 1.74. I haven't checked whether I subsequently disabled SMB1 on all machines (I'd better do that) but a recently introduced Win10 (1809) machine saw the NAS without any fuss.

get-smbserverconfiguration in PowerShell shows SMB1 as not enabled but SMB2 as enabled and I confirm that I hadn't already twiddled with that.

[Clariman]

Possibly a silly question but I think there is a difference between the nas “advertising” itself so that it can be spotted by the finder on windows and just mounting the thing. Have you tried doing Windows-R and running something like:
\\192.168.0.10\
? This would display all the shares/partitions on my WD NAS.

Thanks for that. So the SMB1 error message that doing that gave me, led to a useful MS Knowledgebase article which linked to a couple of Buffalo Forum posts. In one of those it said that new Buffalo devices supported SMB2 even if the user interface doesn't give it as an option. This prompted me to check out the manual again and - lo and behold - my firmware level does support SMB2 so I have switched it on.

So now I can see the NAS and its folders when I go via Windows-R and enter the IP address. So if I wanted to rip some CDs to there or wanted to use it as a general backup, would I need to go through all that first? Or can I directly communication with it from elsewhere?

Thanks
C