This FAQ is part 1 of a 3 part series

Booting into EM?

“What is EM and why is it not documented in the user manual?” EM is known both as Engineering
Mode and Emergency Mode. The simplest answer that I can give is to help recover the NAS device to its
original function. The reason I say this is because if you’re unsure of what you are doing you can, in fact
damage your NAS to the point of non-functionality. In lieu of this being said I will note now: This
documented Emergency Mode is for NAS recovery purposes and is not to be utilized to let your NAS
limp to its death. You may attempt booting into EM for data recovery purposes but it is not
guaranteed to allow you to access your data if corrupt firmware is involved or not.

These are the devices that should be covered in this FAQ (I will add more as time goes on):

 LinkStation:

- Pro (LS-GL and LS-XHL)

- Live (HS-DHGL and LS-CHL)

- Pro Duo (LS-WTGL)

 TeraStation:

- Live (HS-DHTGL)

- Pro (TS-TGL)

- Pro II (TS-HGL and TS-RHGL)

How can I tell if my NAS is in EM?

The most surefire way to tell if your NAS is in EM mode is by looking at the NAS Navigator. Since the
NAS Navigator is a universal program which allows it to see multiple products (i.e. you don’t need a
different NAS Navigator program to see a LinkStation Pro Duo and a TeraStation Pro II) you don’t need
to download a separate application for each NAS. An alternate method (for those units equipped) is to
look at the front LCD readout (commonly on the TeraStation series) and see if the unit has an IP address.
More to the point within the NAS Navigator program next to the hostname of the NAS you should see “-
EM”. Sometimes when you attempt to put a NAS into EM the NAS Navigator will not show “-EM”. This
is acceptable if your goal is to attempt to update the firmware or access the files of the NAS as it is being
seen on the network.
How to put a NAS into EM:

Each NAS will vary whereas some will be similar in the process of being put into EM. So we’ll start with
the LinkStation series and work our way to the TeraStations.

LinkStation (HS-DHGL and LS-GL):

1. Make sure that your NAS is powered off

2. Hold down the RESET/INIT button on the NAS (should be located on the back of the NAS)
3. While continuing to hold down the RESET/INIT button power the NAS on (a little tune or chime
will signal a successful EM boot attempt)
4. Release the RESET/INIT button
5. It will take approximately 1 minute for the device to boot and acquire an IP address

NOTE: If you still don’t see the device on the NAS Navigator after 60 seconds then I would
suggest checking out the possibility of performing a TFTP boot here. Please be advised that
for older NAS models that a TFTP boot option may not be possible at which point I would
suggest seeking the assistance of a 3rd party data recovery professional.

6. Once the NAS shows up on the NAS Navigator you may attempt to access your data or re-flash
the firmware

LinkStation (LS-CHL, LS-XHL and LS-WTGL):

NOTE: The FUNCTION button for the LS-LCHL and LS-CHL series is located on the front of the
NAS whereas the LS-WTGL has the FUNC button on the back.

1. Make sure that your NAS is powered off

2. Hold down the FUNC/FUNCTION button for at least 6 seconds before powering the NAS on
3. While continuing to hold down the FUNC/FUNCTION button power the NAS on

At this point it varies for these units so please read carefully:

 LS-LCHL and LS-CHL: The FUNCTION button will start blinking at which point you release
the button and hold it down for an additional 10 seconds or until the FUNCTION button
goes solid. At this point you may release the FUNCTION button
 LS-WTGL: The POWER light on the front of the unit will begin blinking blue rapidly at
which point you may release the FUNC button. The POWER light should turn green in
approximately 60 seconds

NOTE: If you still don’t see the device on the NAS Navigator after 120 seconds, then I would
suggest performing a TFTP boot.
 4. Once the NAS shows up on the NAS Navigator you may attempt to access your data or re-flash
the firmware

TeraStation (HD-HGL):

1. Make sure the NAS is powered off

2. Hold down the INIT button in the back of the NAS
3. While continuing to hold down the INIT button power the NAS on (a little tune or chime should
signal a successful EM boot attempt)
4. Release the INIT button
5. The DIAG and POWER lights should blink in unison and the Hard Disk Status lights should start
spinning in a ring.
6. After 120 seconds your NAS should be seen on the network by the NAS Navigator

NOTE: If you’re still not able to see the device after this time it could be due to the NAS
performing a Disk Check. The length of the Disk Check can vary depending on the NAS size. If
a Disk Check continues for more than 24 hours then I’m afraid due to the age of this unit that
a TFTP option is not available and would suggest seeking the assistance of a 3rd party data
recovery professional.

7. Once the NAS shows up on the NAS Navigator you may attempt to access your data or re-flash
the firmware

TeraStation (HS-DHTGL, TS-GL and TS-HGL):

1. Make sure the NAS is powered off

2. Open the front door that allows access to the Hard Disk Drives (you will need your key to do so
if you don’t have one and you’re in the USA or Canada you can contact our Technical Support
24/7/365 at 866-752-6210)
3. Hold down the INIT button on the middle underside of the LCD display
4. While continuing to hold down the INIT button power the NAS on (a little tune or chime will
signal a successful EM boot)
5. If the LCD reads “System EM Booting” then you may release the INIT button
6. After 120 seconds the NAS Navigator should not only find the unit, but the LCD display should
show a link status (i.e. IP address, Hard Disk space used, etc).

NOTE: If you still don’t see the device on the NAS Navigator or the LCD display still shows
“System EM Booting” after 120 seconds, then I would suggest performing a TFTP boot.
 7. Once the NAS shows up on the NAS Navigator you may attempt to access your data or re-flash
the firmware

TeraStation Rackmount (TS-RHGL):

1. Make sure the NAS is powered off

2. Carefully pull the front face plate of the NAS off (you will need your key for this if you don’t have
one and you’re in the USA or Canada you can contact our Technical Support 24/7/365 at 866-
752-6210)
3. Hold down the INIT button should be a small protrusion located on the left underside of the LCD
display
4. While continuing to hold down the INIT button power the NAS on (a little tune or chime will
signal a successful EM boot)
5. Release the INIT button
6. After 120 seconds the NAS Navigator should not only find the unit, but the LCD display should
show a link status (i.e. IP address, Hard Disk space used, etc).

NOTE: If you still don’t see the device on the NAS Navigator or the LCD display still shows
“System EM Booting” after 120 seconds, then I would suggest performing a TFTP boot.

7. Once the NAS shows up on the NAS Navigator you may attempt to access your data or re-flash
the firmware

In closing most things don’t go according to plan and these NAS devices are no exception to that rule. In
the event you start experiencing strange activity (i.e. no Hard Disks being found, other error codes, etc) I
would suggest either posting a thread on the Storage forum or contacting your region’s respective
technical support.

This FAQ is part 2 of a 3 part series

Updating firmware from EM mode:

NOTE: Please be sure that you don’t extract the firmware files on to your NAS and run the updater
this will invariably brick your unit. Also, make sure that you have your Anti-Virus/Firewall completely
disabled during this procedure. Countermeasures can sometimes interfere with an update and either
have the update fail or worse brick the NAS.

BEFORE UPDATING: Make sure that your computer/server is on the same subnet as the NAS.
 Example:

IP Address of NAS: 192.168.11.150

IP Address of computer/server: 192.168.11.xxx (where xxx is any value between 0 and

255 but NOT 150)

Updating firmware usually goes 1 of 2 ways:

 A normal update in EM just requires that you run the correct firmware after extracting the
files on to your computer or
 A force update (steps outlined below) where certain flags will need to be set in the
initialization file as well as the updater itself.

To perform a force firmware update:

There are two ways to update firmware so I’ll start with the newer versions first and work back to the
older ones.

Performing a firmware update with tsupdater or lsupdater:

1. Download the firmware for your respective unit. If you’re unsure of your model then double
check by posting on our forum
2. Extract the files on to your desktop
3. Open up the tsupdater.ini or lsupdater.ini (if you don’t see the .ini part of the file I have pictures
of what the file icon looks like for XP and Vista)

ini file icon for XP ini file icon for Vista

4. You should see text closely resembling the following:

[Application]

Title = BUFFALO LS-WTGL/R1-V3 Updater Ver.3.09

WaitReboot = 480
 WaitFormat = 500

[Target]

ProductID = 0x00003004

Name = LS-WTGL/R1-V3

[Flags]
VersionCheck = 1

5. You’ll want to change the “VersionCheck = 1” value to 0 and then hit Enter a couple of times to
go to new lines and add in the following:

[SpecialFlags]

Debug = 1

6. Once these changes are made you’ll want to save the ini file
7. Open the tsupdater or lsupdater file with the following icon next to it (some variations may
occur):

tsupdater or lsupdater application icon

8. The firmware application window will open. Right click on the title bar of the firmware update
window and choose Debug (D). The resulting window will pop up:
 9. Make sure the options in your window are checked exactly as shown above
10. Click OK
11. Click Update

NOTE: If you’re performing a firmware update in normal or EM mode you will be asked to
enter the admin password. In normal mode the admin password should be what you had set
it to, however in EM it should default to ‘password’ (minus apostrophes of course).

If you experience issues such as “ACP_STATE_FAILURE” you can try running the firmware update in Safe
Mode with Networking or on another computer. An “ACP_STATE_FAILURE” usually refers to the unit
having a defect on the system board. That in mind I would recommend contacting your regions
Technical Support for an RMA as this is usually irreparable. It is rare but sometimes you can manage to
pull out of a downward spiral and successfully update the firmware from a different OS. Please bear in
mind though that this is usually a sign that the NAS will fail in time. If you do manage to recover I would
strongly recommend backing up your data to an alternate source as quickly as possible.

Force firmware update on older units:

 NOTE: Units such as the TeraStation I and LinkStation Gigabit are among the older NAS devices
in this category. Since these devices are discontinued there isn’t a TFTP solution that we offer,
so if this procedure fails and you need your data I would suggest contacting a 3rd party data
recovery professional.

1. Download the appropriate firmware for your NAS from our website
2. Extract the files on to your desktop
3. Right click on the NASupdater application and go to Send To->Desktop (Create Shortcut)
4. Right click on the newly created shortcut and choose Properties
5. In the target line you will see:

“C:/*Path to your Desktop+/*Your NAS firmware folder+/NASupdater.exe”

On the right side of the end quotation you’ll want to add:

/force

6. Click on the Compatibility tab in the window and choose to “Run this program in compatibility
mode with Windows 2000”
7. Cross your fingers and run the shortcut

This FAQ is part 3 of a 3 part series

What is TFTP?

Due to its simple design, TFTP can be implemented in a very small amount of memory — an important
consideration [in the past]. It was therefore useful for booting computers such as routers which did not
have any data storage devices. It is still used to transfer small amounts of data between hosts on a
network, such as IP phone firmware or operating system images when a remote X Window System
terminal or any other thin client boots from a network host or server. The initial stages of some network
based installation systems (such as Solaris Jumpstart, Red Hat Kickstart and Windows NT's Remote
Installation Services) use TFTP to load a basic kernel that performs the actual installation.

Thank you, Wikipedia.

TFTP in this case is used for replacing a failed boot image on the NAS. When the NAS is first booted into
EM (with a lost boot image) it sends a request to the IP address 192.168.11.1 to replace blocks of data
for the missing boot image.

Performing a TFTP boot:

A TFTP boot requires a little bit of finesse and a tiny bit of luck. 9 times out of 10 when a NAS constantly
says “System EM Booting”, E04 (or 4 DIAG light flashes depending on the NAS) or doesn’t show up on
the NAS Navigator after a long period of time after an EM boot attempt, then chances are that you need
to perform this method. So, without further delay let’s get to it.

What you’ll need:

- The NAS Navigator client

- Your NAS model’s latest firmware

- Your NAS model’s TFTP boot image which you can find here

- Make sure your firewall/anti-virus software is disabled.

Performing the TFTP boot:

1. Directly connect your NAS to your computer via an Ethernet cable (crossover isn’t necessary)
2. Set your computer’s NIC (Network Interface Card) to a static IP address of 192.168.11.1

NOTE: If you don’t know how to change your IP address on your computer you can find out
how to do that here.

3. Run the TFTP program for your respective NAS and have the files extracted to your desktop

4. Open the TFTP folder and run the program TFTP Boot.exe with the icon:
5. A command prompt similar to the one shown below should appear:

6. At this time perform an EM boot for your respective NAS (if you don’t know how to do an EM
boot you can find out how here). When the NAS boots up it will make a request to the IP
 address 192.168.11.1 (which is what your computer should be set at) and the terminal should
look something like this:

7. After you see blocks of data being served the NAS typically boots to EM at which point you can
perform a firmware update. If your errors or issues persist I would suggest contacting your
regional technical support.