I have a 2nd Gen Drobo (4 bay/USB/FW800, ca. 2010) that’s not spinning up. Power LED is red. All drive bay LEDs are solid red. All blue capacity LEDs are on. The internal fan is running but the disks aren’t spinning up. I’ve tried both USB and FW connections on two computers - the device is not connecting.
Is there some diagnostic or reset procedure I can use on the device, or should I assume that there’s an internal fault of some kind (which probably means it’s time to replace the whole unit)?
(It’s probably time for a new box - 3rd Gens are pretty affordable now - but I don’t like junking hardware that might still be useful.)
hi cassiel,
if you did get a gen3 to replace a faulty gen2 hardware, then i think you can migrate your disk pack to the new gen3 as shown here: http://www.drobo.com/resource-center/migration/
but what you could try is this, to see how the gen2 unit functions:
to power all down (drobo and computer)
to remove the power cable and computer connection cable from drobo
to remove all drives, remembering the order (all these drives are also known as your disk pack)
to then power up the empty drobo just with the power cable in
(what does it do now?)
also, if you let it boot up (possibly going into standby mode), and then after 5 minutes if you power up the computer and connect the drobo to the computer as before (such as with a usb cable) what does it do now?
(does it wake up and shortly after, is it recognised by dashboard?)
if so, please shut it down via dashboard, and then please shutdown the computer, and unplug the power and usb cables from the drobo.
then with power still all OFF, please put your drives back into where they were before,
and then try powering up the drobo
(what does it do now?)
if it boots up with blue led sequences, and then goes into standby, please then power up your computer, and once that is up and running, to then launch dashboard, and then to connect the drobo with usb to the computer. (it might wake up and become recognised again after a while, but what does it do?)
Important:
in case you try steps again a few times, please note that all disk packs should only be removed while power is all OFF, and should only be put in when power is all OFF.
It looks as if the problem is pretty straightforward: a dodgy power supply. (The giveaway was a slight flicker of the capacity LEDs.) It turns out that the “7A Drobo power supply” that I bought off eBay a couple of years ago to replace the original PSU that failed, has itself failed, and appears only to be rated at 5A. (The original PSU does still boot up the Drobo successfully, but doesn’t have enough juice to spin up the disks.)
So I just got the exact same problem after a power outage. All red lights, no spinup. I don’t want to spend $300 for a new 3rd gen 4-bay device, so I’m hoping to find a power supply that will work. Any suggestions? The power supply for the 5D has the same input/output as my gen2 power supply. Will that one work? I’d rather spend $70 than $300. Or can I go with a generic? Basically, my whole life is on this thing and I’d like to get it back.
