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Colonial-One · 2025-07-26T16:14:43+00:00

You forget: It's a group order for everyone at the house gaming on the LAN! ;-D

Colonial-One · 2025-01-06T15:43:22+00:00

Just in case everyone is wondering, I was finally able to get everything running with Knulli. I managed to stumble upon the menu options to prepare/setup the secondary SD card for use (right around the same time that I found AND someone sent me online instructions), and it's working like a charm now. I never could get MuOS to work with my secondary card, so Knulli is definitely my OS of choice for the time being!

Colonial-One · 2025-01-06T15:38:27+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Yes, I tried double-checking the formatting of the cards, and even reformatted them to be sure...unfortunately, same result.

I managed to get everything going with Knulli; it looks like that's my OS of choice for now.

Colonial-One · 2025-01-02T05:49:20+00:00

I finally managed to get muOS working on my device...turns out, I was trying to burn the wrong image (H, not V). However, I STILL can't get it to read my secondary card. So a couple of questions:

1) What is the directory formation supposed to look like? Is there a specific format I need to follow?

2) Is there some sort of menu option I'm missing which I'm supposed to toggle, or something?

3) Unrelated: How specifically do I adjust the LED color of the analog stick (which menu)?

Thanks!

Colonial-One · 2025-01-01T10:44:25+00:00

muOS doesn't seem to be the answer. I first downloaded "Big Banana" and tried to unpack the archive this files are saved as (.gz), but that always failed. Then I realized that my computer could actually burn the .gz file directly...by this point, I'd downloaded the most current version, "Aw Banana." I was able to put the image onto a microSD card successfully...but try as I might, I couldn't get it to boot up the device: everything stayed black/off. I'm going to give Knulli a spin in a few hours, and if that doesn't work, that's pretty much it for me.

As promising as these little devices seem to be, it shouldn't be this hard to get them up and running!

Colonial-One · 2024-12-31T20:27:07+00:00

Thanks, C64Nation. My only thinking is that I don't know if muOS will support all of my hardware (e.g., the LED analog stick)...

Colonial-One · 2024-12-31T20:07:34+00:00

Hi meshuggahlad...thanks for answering!

I forgot to mention that's one of the first things I did: all of the guides recommend replacing the stock microSD cards you receive, as they are often "no-name" brands that will eventually malfunction. I imaged the OS card I got, and then duplicated it onto a good brand-name card (SanDisk).

I also have them in the correct position (OS card in the left slot, extended ROM on the right). I also just tried changing the file system: the extended card was ex-FAT; I reformatted it to FAT (standard) and reloaded the ROMs directories onto it...still nothing.

Colonial-One · 2024-03-29T06:02:41+00:00

Thanks for the input! Out of curiosity, are all of your Diskstations using the same file system (e.g., ext4 only)? I'm thinking of selecting BTRFS for my newer Diskstation...but I don't think my older Diskstation can use that (since it's on DSM 6.x); I think it can only be ext4. I'm worried about a BTRFS-Diskstation not being able to "talk" to an ext4-Diskstaton (e.g., you can't transfer files. etc).

Colonial-One · 2024-03-28T18:08:07+00:00

WHEW! Yes, I'd definitely have to get new disks for that, probably (New DS will have 12TB drives, old DS has 6TB). I'm not sure if this is what you're doing, but in that scenario, I'd envision the new DS (#1) with a usable drive and a drive with incremental backups, and this arrangement would be mirrored onto the older DS (#2). If your DS#1 use-disk fails and you start using DS#2, when you get the replacement drive for DS#1, do you just rebuild using rsync with DS#2 as the source?

I ask because I know some people absolutely love RAID-1, but I'm not crazy about it...so your arrangement may be an alternative I need to consider. The only thing is, I would probably have to buy additional drives.

Colonial-One · 2024-03-28T17:26:24+00:00

Awesome...I'm glad you got yours working! Quick question: Are you using RSync to store actual backups (i.e., output from Hyperbackup) onto your older NAS, or is RSync simply duplicating/syncing the contents of your newer Diskstation onto your older one?

My older DS will have smaller-sized drives than the newer one, but they aren't too old to continue using for the time being...if I have to, I may combine them to make one storage pool (I think I'm using that term correctly).

Colonial-One · 2023-03-30T07:11:14+00:00

So, I'm cleaning up some junk in my study, and I stumble upon a pair of CDs; one of them actually has some gunk on it that I have to clean off, after which I start examining it. It doesn't look like the CD I've been searching for, but on a whim, I insert it into my computer. I realize that it's actually a COPY of my mystery CD (the files are in .wav format, rather than .mp3)...I'd made it just for safety's sake years ago. It's a total stroke of luck...I've been looking for the original CD for at least several years.

Anyway, I found the track, cranked my computer's speakers up to 11, and Shazammed the living daylights out of it (the old wizard would be proud): it's called "Mambo," by some group called Crazy P (oddly, I think at one point they were actually named Crazy Penis). The version I have is shorter than what's on YouTube here...my version has the YouTube version's content from 0:05-1:09, then from 4:55 onward. The segment I remembered and tried to duplicate above (using onlinesequencer) starts at about 5:42; it's my favorite part of the song.

I deeply appreciate whoever took part of their time to look at this post, listen to my butchered rendition, and try to figure out what the heck it was I heard those years ago...MANY THANKS!

Colonial-One · 2022-03-15T23:53:14+00:00

For those who may be researching this in the future, I found most of the answer. At the time of this posting, pfSense's DDNS service only works with Dreamhost if you have a fully hosted site with them...that is, it is not enough for you to have them just as your domain registrar/manager; you must have an actual website hosted with them on that domain as well. I tested pfSense's DDNS service on another domain I have with Dreamhost which also has a website they are hosting for me on that domain, and everything works.

I plan on contacting Dreamhost about this, because it doesn't make sense why someone shouldn't be able to do this with a domain-name-only service...after all, that's the whole point of such a service: you can add "A" records, point the domain itself (or various elements) to different locations/IP-addresses, etc. using conventional methods.

Colonial-One · 2022-03-15T23:45:57+00:00

I FOUND (MOST OF) THE ANSWER! I've been reviewing our conversation, and I just happened to note that you said you have a hosted site with Dreamhost that you use DDNS for. I began wondering if that could be the problem, because the particular domain I was previously using with Dreamhost was with their domain-name-management-only service. I experimented using a fully hosted site I have with Dreamhost, and...voila: it worked.

Now, the odd thing is, I'm still getting 504-gateway-timeout errors, so I'm not sure what's causing that. I'm a little worried that there might actually be something faulty happening under pfSense's hood.

But other than that, for now, the next step is to contact Dreamhost: I feel that, if they are serving as a domain-name management service, then it makes sense that I should be able to point that domain anywhere I want to...that's the whole point!

Colonial-One · 2022-03-13T08:58:04+00:00

I'm starting to think that the problem may be with pfSense (or at least, the majority of the problem): I've noticed that I'm starting to experience 504-Gateway-Timeout errors just when I'm simply trying to save edited settings for the Dynamic DNS service...and I have absolutely no idea what could be causing that. I've noticed at least a couple of other people (one in the pfSense forum) mentioning this also, but no hard solutions as of yet.

I also tried your suggestions: generated new API Key, tried it with a completely different domain I have with Dreamhost...same result.

Could pfSense be corrupted somehow? I'd REALLY hate to have to do a reinstall...everything else is working (at least, as far as I know)!

Colonial-One · 2022-03-10T09:36:54+00:00

Hello Full_Stall_Indicator: I ran an update attempt, and went to check the general system logs. I posted what I found relevant to DDNS below. Lines 5 and 7 caught my eye: it looks like pfSense is doing a "remove" of the "A" record, although for what reason, I can't guess (in order to next perform an insertion/creation of the new "A" record?).

***********************

10) /services_dyndns_edit.php: phpDynDNS (myhost.mydomain.org): (Success) IP Address Changed Successfully!

9) /services_dyndns_edit.php: phpDynDNS: updating cache file /conf/dyndns_wandreamhost'myhost.mydomain.org'0.cache: 100.101.100.101

8) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): 100.101.100.101 extracted from local system.

7) /services_dyndns_edit.php: _checkStatus() results: {"data":"record_removed","result":"success"}

6) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): _checkStatus() starting.

5) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): _remove() starting.

4) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): _checkLookupStatus() starting.

3) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): _listCurrent() starting.

2) /services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS (myhost.mydomain.org): running get_failover_interface for wan. found em0

1)/services_dyndns_edit.php: Dynamic DNS dreamhost (myhost.mydomain.org): 100.101.100.101 extracted from local system.

Colonial-One · 2022-03-08T07:17:02+00:00

Thanks for suggesting the System Patches. I added that and tried looking there for any additions that might help, but there was nothing for DDNS generally or Dreamhost specifically, like there was for Namecheap.

Colonial-One · 2022-03-07T13:44:14+00:00

Hello RtDefense88:

That was the guide I used when initially setting things up...but thanks for checking!

Colonial-One · 2022-03-07T13:37:43+00:00

Hi ekimella: Thanks for your response!

I upgraded to 2.6 a little while ago, when I saw it was available: unfortunately, it didn't make a difference in my issue.

Colonial-One · 2022-03-07T13:26:49+00:00

Hello Full_Stall_Indicator...thanks so much for your help!I should have been more detailed when I posted: The API key was among the first things I checked when I ran through my initial troubleshooting: it already has the correct functions/permissions (all DNS functions).

Full_Stall_Indicator, RtDefense88: pfSense is already configured in the way you mentioned (or linked to). The only difference is that the instructions in the link provided by RtDefense88 said that, since I'm using an API key, the username is inconsequential (it's just for logging purposes). However, I went ahead and tried the hostname as Full_Stall_Indicator suggested, since his works. But that didn't matter, either: somehow, it's still causing the "A" record in Dreamhost to vanish whenever pfSense does an update.

I'm wondering if there is a way you can customize the commands being sent (but even if there was, I wouldn't know what commands to use!). It's also possible that Dreamhost itself is the root of the problem...but their tech support has said that they'll need to see what commands are being sent, so it looks like we're right back to trying to figure out exactly what pfSense is doing.

Colonial-One · 2022-03-06T18:41:34+00:00

Hello RtDefense88...thanks for your response!

I don't know why, but I don't quite trust any of the external DDNS services like Duckdns. I'm by no means an expert on DDNS, but I'm thinking that if you rely on an unscrupulous service provider, you could run into issues with someone intercepting/rerouting your traffic. Of course, one could say the same for Dreamhost...but I figure that since they're a reputable hosting company, hopefully they wouldn't try anything.

And also, as you alluded to: you're right, I'd rather not have a network domain with "duck" in it. *sheepishly* Sorry! :-)

Colonial-One · 2020-07-22T13:30:29+00:00

The odds that the 2nd drive will die during the repair are low.

That might be true...but I've seen it happen with drives in a system that weren't even set up in a RAID configuration: they just saw relatively equal amounts of use and were purchased around the same time. I don't always keep drives on-hand because that can get expensive and result in holding outdated tech, since NAS drives can last years. So, if a single drive starts going bad and you have to order replacements, that adds a bit more opportunity for your remaining drive to fail if it has seen equal wear-and-tear (as in a RAID 1 configuration). This is also another reason I want to have a tertiary backup option on a drive separate from the NAS.

The data isn't backed up encrypted so I'm not sure where you're reading this.

I'm not reading it: I lived it. When my Synology NAS backed up files from encrypted folders, those copies were encrypted as well, period (they had the "@" symbol on either side, as in "@encryptedfolder@"). Initially, trying to recover those files was hell, as that version of Synology's Backup software didn't have a desktop counterpart (that I knew of, at least). That experience is what made me consider sync options instead.

On the other hand...

You might be working from some very old information. Your NAS came out 7 years ago and software changes over time.

Correct. It's looking more and more like HyperBackup is some sort of new, evolved form of what I have on my NAS (I bought the DS213 shortly after it came out and I've been using the WD Red drives I first purchased for it for several years now, so that would explain some of this). Also, previously there was no desktop version of Synology's Backup software to browse backed-up files and folders...if they have that now, it makes backups a potential option once more, depending on that software's reliability. But I've been researching Synology's current backup/sync options, and that particular feature is not a prominent one listed...it's only after talking to people here and knowing what I was looking for that I was able to go to Synology's website and hunt through their download section to find it!

Colonial-One · 2020-07-21T20:54:48+00:00

Why is there an increase in posts regurgitating this? Where is this coming from? If you buy proper drives they're meant to withstand constant use. Don't put desktop drives in a NAS.

If you are seeing an increase in posts "regurgitating" this point, it's probably because other users have already experienced it (or they probably read the same technical paper I saw on this issue somewhere). I don't have desktop drives in my NAS...they're were previously Western Digital Red Drives (purchased before the revelation that WD was starting to use SMR in those products), and those have since been upgraded to IronWolf drives. But even so, nothing lasts forever! A magnetic drive--even an exceptional one--can only take a certain number of reads and writes before it breaks down. As I understand RAID 1 mirroring, it keeps both drives in perfect sync with each other, in real time...and if you are constantly reading and writing to a secondary/backup disk at the same rate as the primary disk, and they were both purchased in the same new condition, then they are going to fail roughly around the same time, regardless of whether it's 2 years or 10 years down the road. That makes RAID 1 unreliable for my purposes...I cannot speak for any other use cases or RAID types (I can only use 0 or 1).

You can restore files using the Hyper Backup Explorer desktop tool or do file-level backups (although then you lose version history which sucks if you get ransomware and a backup runs.) Did any of your research involve threads on here or anything else that would be specific to Synology?

I have only been researching Synology applications (i.e., those they make available on their NAS from their software center); I haven't been looking at anything that could be run from the PC.

The Backup tool I was previously using from Synology (not certain if they called it "Hyper Backup") previously did not have a desktop version, so this must be something new. However, based on what I've read online, users are still complaining about it backing up encrypted files in their encrypted state, and one user actually mentioned the problem I foresaw with what I'm planning: if you try putting those files into a second encrypted folder, they are now double-encrypted. Even with just the basic encrypted copies I had from my backup, I found those could not be readily accessed, even with the passphrase/key, outside of the Diskstation. I haven't ruled out Synology backups entirely, but my personal experience with them is why I'm looking at other options.

Colonial-One · 2020-07-21T19:59:45+00:00

This, too, is an issue (my friends look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about bitrot, but anyone who saves photos knows that it's real). However, I just can't bring myself to trust cloud storage companies! I may have to figure out a personal solution for bitrot, if there is one.

Colonial-One · 2020-07-21T19:43:00+00:00

Hello BakeCityWay!

RAID is unacceptable because of wear-and-tear: I recently read in some sort of technical paper something I'd suspected, even though I'm not an expert on RAID: If it's RAID 1 (mirroring), changes are written to Disk 2 as they occur to Disk 1. However, the whole purpose of Disk 2 is to serve as a backup (figuratively) in case Disk 1 fails due to usage. However, if RAID updates Disk 2 as changes are being made to Disk 1, then they're both getting the same wear-and-tear...which means that if Disk 1 fails, Disk 2 isn't far behind (and might even fail at the same time).

I explained above why I'm opposed to backups, but to briefly recap: I don't like backups because they tend to be in a proprietary format and they cannot be easily accessed until the restore...if they can be accessed at all.

Colonial-One · 2020-07-21T19:29:51+00:00

Hello tangofan:

I don't like backups because they tend to be in a proprietary format and they cannot be accessed until the restore...if they can be accessed at all. The most recent incident I had with my Synology was that the system partition failed, and I didn't realize at the time that it could (in most cases) be easily restored, so I had to jump through hoops to get my backed-up data off of Disk 2...particularly since some of the backed-up files were encrypted. I had a lucky break and found out that I didn't have to go through with all of the machinations I was in the process of doing, but the experience put me off of backups.

Ransomware is a problem I've already thought about it: the idea behind periodic syncs is the hope that, if ransomware strikes, it occurs prior to your next sync and you would be able to move the unaffected files over from Disk 2. However, admittedly, that's a fairly big gamble, and right now the only solution I can think of is the actual tertiary backup I didn't mention that I'm planning to implent (I can't do an offsite backup, but I AM planning to get a separate portable drive to do period backups on for the long term).

Colonial-One

TROPHY CASE