NASLite Network Attached Storage

My NL box is a Dell Optiplex GX110. The box has been up and running for about a year with no problems. Last week I ran my backup script from my laptop twice and it completed successfully.

At this point I cannot see the NL Box on my network. The NIC I have been using is a Linksys LNE100tx. The first thing I did was check the lights. It had both the Link and Activity lights on solid. So I thought maybe the NIC had failed. I swapped it out for a DLINK DFE530tx that I had sitting around. This did not fix the problem (maybe that card was bad as well). So, I went and picked up a new Netgear GA311. Installed the card, rebooted and still could not see the NL box on the network. I tried changing the IP on the NL box and that did not work. I then Reinstalled NL thinking that would help, it did not.

My Modem/Router is a Zoom X6. When I log in to the web admin tool it shows me active connections. I do not see the NL box as a connected device.

So I am stuck, I would truly appreciate any advice on how to get my NL box back on the network.

Could be a host of things. Check the cables, switch/hub and associated ports, etc. It sounds like you are concentrating your efforts on the NASLite computer, but the problem may not be there.

The best way to check if your NASLite computer is working properly is to connect to it directly using x-over cable and verify it's working or not before changing things.

Hope that helps...

Thanks for the response Tony! I have also plugged the NL box into my router directly using several cables I know are good because they are working on other devices. I am going to upgrade the firmware on the router later today and see if that helps.

bblevins: Before going thru the router firmware update ... You never mentioned anything about the console. Do you have an LCD/CRT connected ? Everything normal there ? How about BIOS settings ? ( I have a strange problem with an otherwise reliable motherboard ... it occasionally has Alzheimer's, "forgetting" the proper device boot sequence, despite a new CMOS battery. )

I do have a CRT connected. Everything looks fine to me in the console. But when I go into the option to show network traffic it shows no traffic. Which makes since I am not on the network. I will double check the BIOS.

I found the issue...

I tried new network equipment (modem, and router) since I had some extra stuff laying around and that did not help. So I thought maybe the new NIC I bought was bad. I thought I would try the onboard NIC as a last resort. When I went into the BIOS to enable it, I noticed that it was already enabled. I disabled it, plugged the LAN cable into the new NIC that had not previously worked and rebooted. It worked!! I am back on the network...

But, what I do not understand is how the problem arose. I am pretty sure I had disabled the onboard NIC when I set up the box. But, the point is that the box had been running for a damn long time with no problems. I know that no changes had been made to the BIOS because I don't keep a keyboard hooked up to the box. And, the box had not even rebooted in a couple of months. I guess it must have been an IRQ issue, but like i said... The box has not had issues.

SO the bottom line is that I do not know how it happened, just glad it is fixed because I was about to find another box and give up on this one.

Sounds a bit similar to my motherboard with Alzheimer's ... it would not boot because it "forgets" the boot sequence (putting USB stick with NL first). I do not have a fix except that my BIOS luckily has "boot other devices" option. So after exhausting the sequence of non-bootable data drives it finally looks at the USB and boots off of it ... then all is well.
Glad you found your "weak spot" ... try new CMOS battery if you haven't already.