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Can't get any DSM installed/updated on USB


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Hi, I've been working on this all day long without 100% success.  I've tried every loader, DSM ".pat" file (making sure that these both match each time), and I've received every outcome from the PC boots from the USB into the loader but cannot be found by either find.synology.com or Synology Assistant to successfully booting into various loaders (6.1 - 6.2), finding it on my network, trying to install/update DSM (seemingly successfully) and rebooting and no longer recognizing the updated USB.

 

The following are 100% brand new:

Case, 500W power supply, 4x4TB Hitachi NAS drives

 

The following are used but fully functional:

Asus B75/Plus Motherboard

Intel i7-2600 CPU

Kingston KHX1600C9D3K2 - 16GB (4x4GB sticks)

Patriot Blitz 8GB USB 3.0 (Loader USB)

 

I can boot into other (TinyCore, etc.) Linux live distros from this same Patriot USB drive, and the hard drives are detected in the BIOS.

 

I feel like I'm so very close to getting this to work, but I'm so tired and confused from trying so many variations of loaders and .pat files.  I must admit that I don't fully understand precisely how the loader and DSM work with the PC, and I need some higher wisdom to help me strategically troubleshoot further.

 

Thank you very much!

Edited by Turp
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Ok, so today in my continuing journey/struggle toward a working NAS, I have noticed a few things.  In reading the charts here https://xpenology.com/forum/topic/13333-tutorialreference-6x-loaders-and-platforms/, I tried simplifying things and am now strictly focusing on using the "DS3615xs 6.1 Jun's Mod V1.02b" loader which I can consistently get booted and can then locate in my laptop's browser as the correct NAS.  I'm also trying to install the "DSM_DS3615xs_15047.pat" DSM, because I noticed on the initial NAS information screen it says that the current version of the DSM is "15047".  I have also then tried versions 15284 & 23739 without success.

 

The issue that I keep facing is during the NAS setup (new, migrate, restore) process which formats and installs the full DSM (.pat) onto (I'm assuming) whatever device that was booted into (I've tried using both a USB flash drive as well as a stand alone internal HDD - both separately and both installed simultaneously).  It either usually crashes with a formatting or other error, or on the rare instance where it does actually get to 100% and then my browser starts the 10 minute countdown to refresh, I have to completely re do everything and start over from the beginning (including and especially re-flashing the boot device).

 

I understand what a loader (.img) file does (boots the hardware up into a usable state), and that this loader does NOT contain the full DSM software which performs all software functions of the NAS.  What I don't understand, is where exactly the update/install of the actual DSM package is trying to install it to.  Does it have to update whatever device the PC was booted from, or can/should it use an installed HDD if it finds one (which seems to be what it tried doing when I installed all of my storage drives into the PC due to a "no discs found" error).

 

Surely I can get this to work, right?  What's the easiest, simplest and best setup/configuration for a desktop PC NAS?  I'm fine booting up into and manually configuring my USB flash drive if necessary, if you think that's the only way that I can guarantee to get it up and running.

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What are the 4 Kingston USB Sticks being used for in your build?

Are you only looking to build a DSM6.x.x NAS or would you be interested in building a DSM7.x.x?

The easiest build I have found is the DS3622xs+ by following this tutorial:

 

The DS3622xs+ can be built on most hardware.

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Thanks for taking the time to respond and let me know what worked for you!  I will check it out.

 

The 4 Kingston sticks are internal RAM.

 

I just want the best (most reliable, fastest) NAS for streaming video throughout our home using Plex.

I was looking into upgrading to a brand new Synology DS which would've run me about $1,000+ with drives, when I noticed all of the YouTube videos showing how simple and easy (YEAH RIGHT!) it is to use just about any old PC as a Synology NAS.

 

I'm currently using a Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 6 with six 2TB drives in hybrid RAID (10TB usable storage space).

This device is very old and doesn't work very well (stuttering/buffering video and file transfers), and I'm currently using 99% of it's capacity.

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By the way, if this topic isn't in the correct or best group, then please move it or let me know where it should be.

 

If we can obviously create a workable bootable Synology NAS loader, then why exactly can't we simply build the properly configured loader which contains the full and working DSM?  I of course realize that Synology doesn't and won't support our using their proprietary software, which necessitates our work in combining the two in order to use it, but isn't that exactly what we're ending up with?

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Thanks.  I should've also mentioned from the start, that I'm on a very strict and tight fixed income and have no more money to put into this project.

 

Question, This PC that I have is more than capable of running a Plex server on Windows, so why wouldn't it be best to simply install Windows 10 (onto a 128GB SSD that I also have not in use), installing Plex onto it as a server, and using Windows Storage Spaces with parity to configure and serve all of my files/shares locally?  That sounds much more reliable and perhaps ever more robust in performance.

 

Just trying to think outside of the box.

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8 hours ago, Turp said:

I understand what a loader (.img) file does (boots the hardware up into a usable state), and that this loader does NOT contain the full DSM software which performs all software functions of the NAS.  What I don't understand, is where exactly the update/install of the actual DSM package is trying to install it to.  Does it have to update whatever device the PC was booted from, or can/should it use an installed HDD if it finds one (which seems to be what it tried doing when I installed all of my storage drives into the PC due to a "no discs found" error).

 

Surely I can get this to work, right?  What's the easiest, simplest and best setup/configuration for a desktop PC NAS?  I'm fine booting up into and manually configuring my USB flash drive if necessary, if you think that's the only way that I can guarantee to get it up and running.

 

DSM is installed onto a reserved partition of each hard disk you connect.  Your data lives on the rest of the space on the disks.

 

The USB loader is required to boot the DSM Linux OS and fool DSM into thinking that the hardware is Synology.  The loader device doesn't have DSM installed to it, but it is modified to match the DSM software installation and the serial number you choose.  You cannot remove the loader device, even after DSM is up and running.

 

As you should understand from the Loaders and Platforms matrix, 1.02b is for DSM 6.1.x.  1.03b and 1.04b are for DSM 6.2.x.  TCRP is for DSM 7.x.x.  You must match both the DSM hardware platform (not your hardware) and the compatible DSM build version for the loader you choose.

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58 minutes ago, Turp said:

 

Question, This PC that I have is more than capable of running a Plex server on Windows, so why wouldn't it be best to simply install Windows 10 (onto a 128GB SSD that I also have not in use), installing Plex onto it as a server, and using Windows Storage Spaces with parity to configure and serve all of my files/shares locally?  That sounds much more reliable and perhaps ever more robust in performance.

 

Maybe.  If you want to do this you're on the wrong forum.

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Thanks Flyride, the first two points in your first reply make perfect sense and helped me better understand each part and how they work together.

 

Per the third point of the first reply, I have tried many times perfectly matched (per the loader/platform matrix) files, but either Satan hates me and has a special affinity for my torture, or perhaps I'm simply the unluckiest person on Earth!  I'm 95% certain that my mix of hardware isn't 100% compatible with this process, and possibly 0.5% that the modified loaders aren't as fully and "plug-n-play" compatible with the DSM files.  I could very well be completely wrong on that last point, and certainly don't want to disparage those who have generously given their time and efforts to create and test them!

 

I didn't begin aiming to nor am I convinced that my Windows Plex server/NAS idea is the best, and I realize that this isn't the place for such a discussion past the decision to go that route.  I'm just much more familiar with installing/configuring Windows especially on a desktop PC platform, and I'm getting extremely frustrated trying and testing the Xpenology solution with nothing but failure.  I thought that it was going to be fairly simple, straight forward and take maybe a day or two.  In my case at least, that assumption couldn't be further from reality...

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