NASLite Network Attached Storage

Well I finally got the server set up with a brand new graphics card, had it all configured and set up to boot from USB, so I took the NAS out to the garage where we keep our servers (we access them all remotely).

Hooked it up to the temporary monitor and keyboard we keep just in case, and booted up. It had already been configured completely, but on boot it said it couldn't find the configuration device, and shutdown.

Thinking this was a one off because I hadn't connected the ethernet cable I hooked it up and tried again. Same issue. I was forced to rebuild and reconfigure, it's only a 10 minutes job, but still kinda of annoying. Rebooted, worked fine, rebooted, and bam. Same issues "can't find configuration device".

I bought 3 USB keys (Same 64Mb stick) specifically for the purpose of booting the NAS off them, all 3 have the same issue, and it always seems to be as soon as the PC is disconnected from the power (in the case of moving it out to the garage, and to place my old HDDs in), but the USB stick is non-volatile memory, so power loss shouldn't affect it right?

I'm currently using a backup USB stick (1Gb) that's working so far, it survived a disconnect of power for 10 minutes and I've started the backup process. Once that's finished I'll move the NAS to it's permanent home and hopefully it'll boot up.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this issue, and if so, can it cause any adverse effect to the HDDs and the data upon them?

I hope that makes sense. I tend to find people complain I don't make sense even though I think I do lol.

Turn off USB2 support and turn on legacy (dos) usb support in the BIOS. I've had that happen before.

Odd, any idea why, and what it does that causes this issue?

And IIRC, the BIOS doesn't have an option for Legacy, just USB Keyboard and Mouse support.

Don't ask me why ... but ... every once in a while my USB sticks will behave the same way - can't be found. I don't know if it is power related, or anyrhing else.
What I have found is (first power down and remove the AC power cord), moving the USB stick from one USB port to another seems to "fix" the problem, and the server boots without a hitch. Other than that, NASLite has been flawless for years.

Good advice all around in posts above. Some additional thoughts: The IRQs might not be assigned in the same sequence on each boot. That's why it is generally recommended to turn off all functions not needed (Serial Port, Parallel Port, etc) when troubleshooting. And if you have a setting for it in BIOS, try turning off "PnP O/S". Also, if you suspect the CMOS button cell battery is very old or weak, try replacing it. ( And, YES, the USB is non-volatile, and the battery is an unrelated issue, but an old CMOS battery has caused me some surprises before. ) I am successfully using a 64MB stick ... so it's not a capacity issue.

There should be no adverse effect on data on the HDDs.

I had this problem too with one machine (we own 7ea). It didn't go away until I replaced the high dollar lexar USB key with a $5 Chinese product from Target.

For the longest time, I had believed there was something wrong with the Bios on that Terminator C3 motherboard, because that specimen seemed to lose track of the USB key *every* time I just needed it to work