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gtermini74

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Dear all,

 

I've spent the last 24 hours trying to install this thing on an "oldish" machine I'm re-purposing as media server.

 

I have a Synology 212j, which is inadequate for handling Emby and other media server features, so I thought I would setup my own "souped up" NAS.

 

My machine: 

Elitegroup H61H2M2 motherboard (H61 chipset)

Intel Celeron CPU G530

8 GB DDR3 Ram

Intel C200 Sata AHCI Controller

240 GB SSD Drive

3 TB HDD Drive

 

The only loader able to detect the NIC for me is DS3617-6.2. I can find the DiskStation, and I can manage to upload the DSM 6.2 file. After that, the installation starts (formatting partition, uploading, DSM, Installing DSM, rebooting). After I reboot this happens:

 

- if I unplug the USB where the loader is, then I see a blinking cursor on the screen, which means that the grub file was not placed where it's supposed to go

 

- if I leave the USB plugged in, the loader starts again, but then I can't connect to the DiskStation anymore, and the Assistant can't find it either. 

 

Should I just give up and assume that my hardware is not supported for some reason? Or am I missing something?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

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52 minutes ago, gtermini74 said:

if I unplug the USB where the loader is...

 

1 - if you remove the USB where the loader is, how do you think it can boot...?

 

2 - There is no such thing as a loader called "DS3617-6.2" to my knowledge, and whenever your unknown loader has loaded, 

and you "upload" your DSM, what version of DSM are you installing, and do *that* version support the internal NIC on your mainboard?

Even if the loader itself is supporting it, you might install an updated version with no native support for your NIC, so you loose connection.

 

3 - Clean your USB drive, download Jun's 1.02 loader for DS3615xs, edit the grub.cfg. write it to your USB. Manually download the DSM 6.1.7 .pat file for DS3615xs, , boot from the new USB, when/if you find it in your network, manually install the .pat file you downloaded. When done, leave the USB installed and reboot.

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Thank you for your quick response! Ok so:

 

1. Does the USB stay plugged in indefinitely then? I thought it was only needed during the installation. 

 

2. I know, sorry for not using the correct file name, I was referring to Jun's loader, the ones you find on his guide. I'm installing the dsm 3617 6.2 pak downloaded from the Synology website. How can I find out if that dsm supports my nic card? I can see the diskstation from the assistant, so I'm assuming it has the driver for my nic card, no? So far I haven't attempted to install anything but the 250 mb pak I downloaded.

 

3. That version doesn't work for me, even with the custom drivers added to the second partition, the assistant doesn't see the diskstation. I even tried to take the file from 6.2 and put it there, but that didn't work either.

 

I feel like I'm close to solving the issue, but I'm missing something...

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Again, start with loader 1.02b for DS3615, and download a DSM PAT file for version 6.1.7 DS3615xs+

 

NOT DS3617

NOT 6.2.x

 

When it installs, DON'T let it upgrade to 6.2.x.  This is a version that is almost guaranteed to work on your hardware, and once you figure out what's going on you can experiment with other loaders and DSM versions.

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Thanks, however If I try that, the Assistant won't find the DiskStation. To be clear, I downloaded what you recommended:

 

https://mega.nz/#F!yQpw0YTI!DQqIzUCG2RbBtQ6YieScWg?yMw3WSDQ

https://archive.synology.com/download/DSM/release/6.1.7/15284/

 

Changed PID/VID, burned iso onto USB, and plugged it in. Even replacing the extra.lzma won't make a difference.

 

I'm starting to think that my hardware is not compatible...

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NIC on that board is Atheros, which is not very frequently used, and 100Mbps besides.  There is some Atheros support on the 3615 image but I doubt it is comprehensive.  

 

I think your simple solution will be to buy an Intel PCIe NIC.  There are some PCIe x1 flavors and your board has one PCIe x16 slot too.  Should cost you no more than $15-$20.

Edited by flyride
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3 hours ago, flyride said:

NIC on that board is Atheros, which is not very frequently used, and 100Mbps besides.  There is some Atheros support on the 3615 image but I doubt it is comprehensive.  

 

I think your simple solution will be to buy an Intel PCIe NIC.  There are some PCIe x1 flavors and your board has one PCIe x16 slot too.  Should cost you no more than $15-$20.

 

I agree. That's what I am going to do. I will report back. Thank you for your support guys, you rock!

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It worked! Installing an external NIC and deactivating the onboard NIC in the BIOS did the trick. My Xpenology is now up and running and ready to be configured. Do you think I can just take my drives from my old DS211j and add them to this machine? The DS211j is on DSM 6.2.

Edited by gtermini74
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