Sorry to hear that. I was 400 enough to get the most important data. But after a couple of hours, quit for good and I had the same results as you, just to flickered power button. I hope you didn't lose too much for me. It would have been a life long storage of photos of my kids. Thanks for tuning into the channel and watching the video I appreciate your support.
You're not the only one who has had Drobo issues. I had two - a 5N, and 5N2... and the 5N failed entirely. Things I learned - I think mine died from a capacitor or battery problem. There's things online that say if the machine won't even give you any lights, it's likely that there was a failure during the critical startup period where it drops to its internal battery for a split second... and when it fails there, it never comes back to life. All that aside - when that happened, I also did the 'omg' freak out and ordered a Synology NAS as well, to replace BOTH Drobos - as I found the same information about them going out of business. I was able to back up the 5N2 to the new Synology with no issues, and then I did the leap of faith of putting the 5N drives into the 5N2 and hoped they would be readable... and they were. I later learned that it works 'forward' (5N to 5N2) but does *NOT* work backwards (5N2 to 5N) - so anyone who has a 5N2 fail, you *MUST* use another enclosure of that generation... or it will simply initialize/wipe your drives and data. Hope that helps someone.... This is a nightmare for home users that have trusted Drobos for years.. I've had mine since around 2013.. but have since gone full Synology since about a year ago.
Thank you for joining the channel and sharing your valuable experience! Your knowledge is impressive, and I'm certain there are many others out there who can relate to our shared "Drobo blues" and sad stories. It's truly unfortunate that things unfolded this way. All it would have taken was a simple email notification to let everyone in their system know about their business closure, allowing us to prepare accordingly. Moving forward, I am delighted to have the Synology system, which not only performs exceptionally but is also remarkably faster than the Drobo ever was. It's great to have you as part of our community, and I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. Thank you again for sharing!
One of my first tests on the 8 drive system was to fill it up and see if it handled that properly. It ended up destroying all of the content on the device. So, I tried it again. Same result. Also, on the 4 drive system, I calculated that the transfer speed was the average of the speed of all drives DIVIDED BY the # of drives. Total argh. Without an SSD as a cache, like they have in the 5 drive system, performance was dismal. Caveat emptor for sure. I still have mine but need to replace it with or 3 20TB Toshibas redundantly RAIDed together in an old cheese grater Mac Pro. FYI, those can handle 5 or 6 drives if you remove the DVD reader. There's another power supply and SATA connection in the hidden slot just above the DVD reader. So, old circa 2012 Mac Pros make great RAID enclosures. Just add a modern WiFI card and 1 GB Ethernet card and you're good to go.
I'm having a panic. I have a Drobo 5D, I haven't used it for a while. Plugged it in today, and it is not loading properly. Then, I also went to the website and saw the message that they are no more. Definitley can't lose this data. Thanks for your video.
Hi there, @danasweeny4666! Thanks a ton for tuning into the channel and taking the time to share your thoughts. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience - I went through something similar and it was quite nerve-wracking. I truly hope the video provided clear guidance and proves helpful for your drobo situation. Just a heads up, it's super important to have another way to back up your data because the fix might not be permanent. On my end, I managed to recover all my crucial data, but yes, I did lose a bunch of terabytes of videos and movies that I had painstakingly transferred from DVDs to the troublesome system. The silver lining is that movies can always be reacquired, but it's those personal memories that truly matter. If you hit a roadblock or want to brainstorm ideas to safeguard your data, please don't hesitate to drop me a message. I'm here to help and bounce ideas with you. Once again, big thanks for reaching out, and I'm sending you all the best vibes for your data-saving endeavors!
This is so surreal... I had the EXACT same experience, and went down the exact same path. I re-installed the firmware, and the drobo came back up again (after many many days of struggle). I moved my pictures and videos off it at lightning speed. Also looking at a Synology solution.
I am delighted to learn that you were able to recover your data. Unfortunately, many individuals are not as fortunate in such situations. It would have been beneficial if Drobo had proactively communicated their closure to customers, potentially mitigating the negative impact. Synology presents an excellent alternative, offering superior speed and advanced features. I highly recommend it. As a precautionary measure, I maintain backups of critical data both online and on a separate USB drive. Thank you for sharing your experience and for your continued support.👍👍
Thanks for the information. The Drobo5N refused to reboot after a clean shutdown. Bummer. I knew they were out of business but hadn't pulled the trigger on buy a new backup storage, I was considering a Synology or iCloud storage. Now to attempt to save my 8 terabytes of data.
Very interesting, 8 TB was where I was at when mine collapsed. I do want to share a word to the wise. I used to work for Apple for a few years. I would never trust iCloud with your important data. Good luck my friend. I wish you the best.
Good to know about iCloud or maybe anybody's Cloud. I was leaning toward Synology but since the Drobo was working I was leaning slowly. At present I will be buying sooner than later. Now I'll open a can of worms, "conspiracy theory", everyone seems to be having restart issues, is it because, 'The Drobo can't restart because it can't call Home anymore?' Just asking. @@GOTgoodoldtech-1964
I have a 5C and for the last year or two I receive a drive not responding message approximately every 15-20 minutes. I changed drives, hoping that would resolve the issue...it did not. I'm still hoping along but convinced that I have to find another solution.
Sure thing! You should definitely replace that as soon as possible. But first, make sure to back up your most important data. What I did was buy an inexpensive external USB drive to back up everything before it failed completely. Now, I use a Synology NAS, which I highly recommend. The software is updated regularly and works through a browser, so you don’t need a dedicated app. If you haven’t already, check out my follow-up video on using the Synology backup system to replace the Drobo. Thanks for watching and commenting, and best of luck moving forward!
Great tip. I've been very close to your situation. I still have my 4 drive Drobo but need to replace it with or 3 20TB Toshibas redundantly RAIDed together in an old cheese grater Mac Pro. FYI, those can handle 5 or 6 drives if you remove the DVD reader. There's another power supply and SATA connection in the hidden slot just above the DVD reader. So, old circa 2012 Mac Pros make great RAID enclosures. Just add a modern WiFI card and 1 GB Ethernet card and you're good to go.
Well, sounds like you got a good plan set up. That's the important thing, is to stay ahead of the game and make sure your data is backed up before that Drobo goes bad on you. I'm a little more lazy than that, that's why I just went ahead and bought a Synology to do all the work for me. Thanks for tuning in to the channel and I appreciate your comment.👍
I have been using drobo for years (I have one of their original models) My latest 1 was a "Drobo 5d3" What I learned from the very begining was that just because it is a RAID... it is NOT a backup. It simply protects you from a single HD failure...This gives you 1 Level of redundancy.. *Only 1* It doesn't matter what device you choose.. if you do not have and maintain multiple copies you will eventually find trouble Even if you have a backup.... what happens when you are restoring to a new device your backup device fails (Yes that has happened to me) You should be following the 3,2,1 rule In my case for my critical data I have 4,3,2
Your expertise is really impressive! You're spot on with your insights. It's so true that true backup means having your data in multiple places. I also make sure to keep my most important personal data in three different locations, with two of them being online. Your analogy about the home redundant server being a backup for your current drive at home is spot on. Thanks a bunch for sharing your input. Your contribution to the community means a lot, and I'm grateful for your support. Keep the great ideas coming!
Great video , long time drobo user and still using my 5D. Curious about your switch to synology , let us know ! How easy was the setup with the different size drives … like a drobo?
Hey there! Thanks so much for popping onto the channel and for taking the time to leave a comment - means a lot! Just a tidbit - I'm in the process of crafting a sequel video that's coming your way soon. And, a little inside scoop for you - the swap was a breeze! If your Drobo's still kicking, you'll find it even smoother. High five to that! 👍
Same Sh*t... different day and user. In my case, I have 5 x 12TB drives. Found a Drobo 5N unit on Ebay that is reported as working. Praying that I can get my data. FU Drobo
Good luck! I to save my data with two I bought on eBay; one was advertised as new in the box, but neither worked. Thankfully, I got refunds for both. Just a heads up: if you factory reset them, updating can be tricky. Make sure it has the same firmware version as your faulty one. Thanks for watching and commenting-let me know how it goes!
Thanks for sharing your story. You are lucky that you got your data back after your troubleshooting efforts. I have a Generation 1b Drobo since 2008. My original Gen 1a Drobo died within a few weeks of purchase and it was replaced under warranty. That replacement Drobo (Gen 1b) is still working ok. I have been backing up this Drobo regularly to a backup server I built. It's a Windows 10 PC and I use a software called "Drive Bender" which pools several disparate hard drives, i.e. different capacities, different makes, models etc into a single protected, easily expandable volume, similar to Windows Storage Spaces but much better and more reliable. If my Drobo dies, my data is still backed up on my backup server. But wouldn't you know it, just like Drobo, the company that made Drive Bender has discontinued the software. So I have to look for something else to replace it. It's a never ending battle. Always back up your NAS such as Drobo to at least one other protected storage device.
Woah, that's some serious dedication to backing up your data! It's always frustrating when software we rely on gets discontinued, but you're absolutely right - it's a never-ending battle. Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us to stay vigilant with our backups! @MegaSunspark, your story is truly mind-boggling! I'm amazed by the twists and turns in your tech journey. Drive Bender sounds like quite the unknown gem, and it's fantastic that you were prepared and diligent in your backup efforts. It's such a shame that both the Drobo company and Drive Bender went out of business; that must have been a tough spot for you. You're absolutely right, the golden rule of backups is "two is one, and one is none." I couldn't agree more. As for my backup story, I've also learned some lessons the hard way. It all started back in 2009 when my Apple mini lost my precious photos during a PC transition. I thought I had everything covered when I transferred data to an external drive, but it turned out only thumbnails were copied due to Apple's DRM. What a frustrating experience, and I even lost my music! Sadly, I have a photo gap from 2007 to 2009 because I'd gone all digital after the iPhone release. After that incident, I steered clear of Apple personally, and I even worked for them for a while after that happened. During my time there, I discovered their tactics to keep users in their ecosystem, which left a sour taste. They continue to make it hard to retrieve your data, and that's one of the reasons I parted ways with them. Dodgy practices indeed! Thanks again for tuning into the channel and being part of the community. I truly appreciate your support and knowledge.
@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Thank you! You're correct about the saying about data backup "Two is one, one is none." On my backup server using Drive Bender, I actually created two separate pools. One pool for incremental backup of Drobo and the other for mirror backup. The incremental backup is a one-way backup to the backup server, and it copies only files that are new or modified. It never delets any files on the backup, so if a file was accidentally deleted on the Drobo, it can be recovered from this backup. On the other hand, the mirror backup is an exact replica of Drobo. So if Drobo dies, the mirror backup will serve to replace it readily. This is my 2nd backup. So Drobo gets backed up twice to two different pools. One great thing about Drive Bender is that it uses standard NTFS for all the drives in the pools. So if Drive Bender ever completely croaks, the pool drives can be connected to any Windows PC, and the files can be recovered. Sorry about you losing your photos on your Apple Mac in 2009. Was this before Time Machine backup? I'm not that familiar with Apple features timeline.
@MegaSunspark You got me really curious about the Drive Bender. I know you said they had gone out of business, so I won't pursue it, but I'm still intrigued. Is this program within your PC system on a separate drive? I assume it is, so if the Windows drives fails, you still have your data. I save nothing on my Windows drive other than reloadable programs. I also recommend offsite backup, which is why I use two cloud base services. If the house burns down, I can still retrieve my important files. Apple did have timemachine at the time of my loss. My PC needed reformatting and was having issues when I got the Mac Mini. My Drobo had to be reformatted so the Mac could read and write to it. It would not write to NTFS at the time. So, I transferred all the data to the Mac and an external drive, and it worked fine. I reformatted Drobo to the Mac system and also repaired my PC. Then, I discovered that Mac would not work on the LAN and share the data on Drobo. I was using the Plex server on the Drobo, and the Apple file system would not share the data, that stupid DRM. So, I decided to go back to my repaired PC system and transfer all the data back to the PC directly through the Mac. It all looked like it was there, so I factory restored the Mac Mini to return it to Apple and formated the Drobo back to NTFS. After all was said and done, I found that all folders were created and were empty on my PC. I should have checked before I formatted it. I did check the document, and they were fine, but all the photos were just thumbnails. The music folders were all empty. I never created a time machine backup because at the time, I didn't need it and then decided to return back to PC. So that's my whole sad story. 😔
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Well, Drive Bender is an app that is installed on your C drive like any other program. It takes ANY disk attached to your PC and can pool them all together as a single volume. The disks can be any size, make, model, mechanical or SSD, SATA or USB attached. In my case I have 5 internal SATA hard drives in Pool 1 totaling about 10TB. Pool 2 is made up of 2 external USB drives totaling 6 TB. I use Pool 1 for incremental backup of my Drobo. This pool is also my media pool and is used by my Plex Media server installed on this same PC. Pool 2 is used for the mirror backup of my Drobo. I have drive failure protection/redundancy turned on both pools. This stores each file/folder in the pool on at least two separate drives. So if one drive fails, the files will be accessible from the other drive. When you replace the bad drive with a new one it will copy the files that were lost on the drive that failed to the new replacement drive. I have protection turned on for the whole of both pools. This effectively halves the total capacity of each pool. But you can also pick and chose only certain files or folders in a pool to have protection on which would save disk space. Drive Bender uses NTFS for all of its pooled drives so if the app ever completely collapses or the pool becomes inaccessible for some reason via the app itself, the data can be accessed from each pooled drive via Windows File Manager on this PC or the drives can be moved to any other PC if necessary. There is an alternative to Drive Bender, which is called StableBit DrivePool. This app works exactly the same way functionally. I'm thinking about buying this software and switching over to it. I feel your pain with your file loss with your Mac, that is frustrating. Been there myself. I had a Mac Mini a long while back but it died soon after warranty expired, so it just became an expensive paper weight. Instead of trying to fix it, I just recycled it at that time. I currently have several PCs and a couple of MacBook Air laptops and some iPads. I need to keep up with both PCs and Macs for my IT work.
Hey @oddsandbods9708! I totally understand how scary it can be when your Drobo suddenly stops working without any warning. It's even more frustrating since there's no tech support available since the company went out of business. But don't worry, there are a few things you can try to get it functioning again. First, have you considered connecting the Drobo directly to another computer? It might help if you install the Dashboard software on a fresh system. Also, if you have spare drives that contain backed-up data and you're not too worried about losing it, it would be great for diagnosing the issue. Remember, before doing anything, remove all the current removable drives and make sure to mark which slot they go in. This is vital for restoring your last working setup. Lastly, if you manage to get it working temporarily, I suggest having another data storage solution ready to go to transfer your most important files right away. It's probably time to start looking for a reliable alternative to Drobo. I genuinely hope these suggestions help you recover your data. Good luck, and thank you for tuning into the channel and sharing your experience.
I read yesterday the drobo cache clears over three day. So I've disconnected the power and will try it on Saturday morning. will let you know if it worked.
Hey @oddsandbods9708, that's really interesting! I hope everything goes smoothly for you. I had a similar experience with my Drobo when I unplugged it for a few days while waiting for a replacement. I even tried a factory reset, but unfortunately, it never came back online. After I made the TH-cam video and saved my importamt data, the Drobo failed again. So, I did lose a lot of stored movies because it failed while trying to transfer them. It's frustrating when data loss happens, right? I remember losing about 10 years' worth of movies that I had transferred from my DVD and Blu-ray collections. It was mentally draining because I had put in so much effort to save them. Since, I had given the DVDs away. In total, I lost around 2500 movies and 6TB of data. Anyway, please keep me updated on how things go. I'd love to hear if this solution works for you. If it does, I'll make sure to update my TH-cam video and share the good news with others. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks! I have the 5N2 and it failed to start after a power failure. But I have no lights whatsoever. Not even on the power toggle on the back. The power cable works and the fan turns on immediately, but no lights and no recognition of the three drives I use in the app.. Don't know what to do now..
I'm glad the channel's content has been useful to you, and I really value your engagement! It's unfortunate that your Drobo device isn't functioning correctly, and the news about the company certainly adds to the frustration. Before proceeding with a factory reset, be aware that it will erase all data on your Drobo device, so proceed with caution. Please make sure to remove your drives before initiating the factory to protect your data. Mark which slot they go in, that’s very important. Search online for specific instructions on how to perform a factory reset on the Drobo 5N2 model. Follow those instructions meticulously to reset your Drobo unit. After the reset: 1. Power off the Drobo device. 2. Re-insert your drives carefully, ensuring that they are securely connected. 3. Power on the device to check if it's properly functioning. Should the Drobo still not work after the reset and drive re-insertion, it could indeed be a hardware issue potentially caused by a power surge. Going forward, it might be worth considering a more robust backup strategy to safeguard against hardware failure. I moved to a Synology backup. Here is my followup video for that. th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html Good luck with your Drobo, and if you have additional questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. Your resilience in the face of such technical issues is admirable, and I hope for a positive outcome.
Hi my name is Breno Im from Brasil, love your video but in my case, my drobo died, and is not working anymore. Is that a chance to put my hds in other divece?
Hi Breno, I'm really sorry to hear about your Drobo. It's always tough to deal with a dead machine. I wish I had better news for you. Unfortunately, only another Drobo can read the data, and it has to have the same firmware as the one your drives came from. You'd need to do the swapping just like I covered in my video, so if you manage to get your hands on another Drobo, be sure to watch the video again and follow the steps. Drobo encrypted the data with their own software that nobody else can mimic or decrypt. So, without another Drobo, the data would be lost. I believe Drobo had an obligation to email all their users and let us know they were going out of business so we could find another backup source. Unfortunately, they didn't do that, leaving many of us caught off guard and resulting in significant data loss for thousands of users. The only real option I’ve found for getting a compatible Drobo is through services like eBay, looking for a previously owned and working unit. But even then, there's no guarantee if it doesn't have the same firmware. I wish you the best of luck, my friend.
You've hit the nail on the head with that excellent question! 🌟 Thank you so much for sharing your idea; I truly appreciate it! Though I may not be extensively familiar with paid cloud storage services, I have hands-on experience backing up certain things using platforms like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Dropbox. I'm more than happy to take things a step further and prepare a video all about this type of storage backup, just for you! 🎥 So, stay tuned and keep watching for more exciting content. And remember, if you have any more questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out anytime. I'm here to help and provide you with the best information possible! 😊👍
My Drobo died a couple of days after transferring all my data to the cloud. Trying to find a replacement system, but nothing exists that is as easy as Drobo. Please can a company replicate what Drobo did.
I hear what you're saying, Drobo was pretty self contained and simple. I got a Synology and it took some adjustment but now I like it better than Drobo. There are more apps and access remotely is much more modern and simple than what Drobo had. There are more instructions on Synology than Drobo had as well. I suggest you do the research and see if it works for you. I'm here if you have questions. Thanks for being part of the community. Good luck!
I wish I watched your video months ago. My Drobo 5N just failed last week and I have 10TB of TB data in it. What are you using now? I'd love to hear about your recommendations.
I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with the Drobo issues. It's never pleasant when this happens to you, and it's an epidemic in nature. This is the follow-up video on what I use now. I hope it helps. Thank you for watching and sharing your comments. Good luck with future backups. 👍 th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html
Is there any way to recover the data outside the Drobo? I was trying to access my YEARS of family photos and can’t access anything anymore. Was working fine… then nothing. The drives have been flashing orange and green for a day or so.
"Hi @stevef1104, I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing that issue with your Drobo drive. Many of us have faced sudden drive failures too. The problem you described sounds similar to what I went through, as I mentioned in my video. I also made a follow-up video with more details. You might try a factory reset on the Drobo and then reinstall the drives. This could help you recover your photos. Before you factory reset, remember to remove the drives, label them, and place them back in their original slots. In my case, I found it helpful to install the Drobo Dashboard fresh on a different computer-I used my wife's laptop. After factory resetting, I set everything up through her laptop via an Ethernet connection. Once I reinstalled the drives after the reset, everything turned green. For the next four hours, I managed to recover all my photos before the drive failed again. The good news is I was able to retrieve all my important data. Please rewatch my videos and follow the steps carefully. I had already accepted the possibility of losing everything, so I wasn't too worried about causing more damage. Let us know how it goes or if you find another solution-your experience could help others. Best of luck!"
Great video. I have a Drobo 5n. Was trying to reset my password and forgot I will not be able to get any support from Drobo because they no longe exist. Wondering if there is a way to reset the software and create a new password so I can log in and access my drives. Any help is appreciated.
I'm sorry to hear that you've forgotten your password for the Drobo. Unfortunately, it seems a bit tricky to reset it now that the company's server and support are no longer available. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a solution, but it seems even if you were to get another Drobo, you would still need to log in with your password. From what I understand, the password reset is not stored locally on your device or computer, so it's a bit of a tough situation. I wish I had better news to share with you, but unfortunately, that's just the reality of the situation. It's disappointing to have to say this, but please know that I appreciate your engagement with our channel and leaving a comment. Perhaps someone else will see your question and have an answer. If that happens, we'll both be in the know.
"Sorry to hear that you're struggling with the issue of the Drobo. I hope you had a backup of your most important data before this happened. If you're like me, you probably didn't search for such videos until after it happened. That's just how it goes. I hope my video can be of help to you. I also released a second video on switching over from Drobo to Synology, so you might want to check that one out too. "
Am wondering if you can remove the individual drives, plug them into a caddy and attached to a Mac or pc and run data recovery software. Would that work?
That would seem so simple if you could, unfortunately, because of the encrypted coding done by Drobo, those drives cannot be read on anything else. If you don't have another Drobo and firmware that can read the encryption, then your data is just lost. I'm hoping that you have some backup or that you're just asking the question out of curiosity and don't have an issue. Just to give you a little bit of background, I used to work for Apple I tan tech support for such things so this is how I know. I hope that was helpful. Thank you for watching and I appreciate your comment.
I have this same Ddrobo and mine won't work at all since I upgraded my iMac to 64Bit system. Apparently Drobo can only run on 32 Bit systems. Wish I could undo the upgrade but ios is not reversible
Hi there, @barrymckay2851! I totally get where you're coming from. It sure was a curveball when my Drobo took a nosedive - quite a dramatic moment, to say the least! And then hearing the company had closed shop...boy, what a revelation. But hey, not all hope is lost. If you can manage to get a 32-bit computer, borrowed or found, there's a good chance you can download the Drobo software and be on your way to data nirvana again. You might want to consider an external drive, just as a temporary data safehouse until you're ready to commit to a new NAS. Have you heard about Synology? Synology 5-bay DiskStation... www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4DFBRZV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Absolutely love it. As a bonus, I've even employed my former Drobo drives in my new setup, and guess what, it's miles faster! Thank you for being part of our community and enriching it with your experiences. Fingers crossed for you! And remember, I'm here if you want to share updates or just vent. Best of luck!
Oh no, sounds like your Drobo is giving you a bit of a headache! Trust me, you're not alone - many of us have been there. Good news is, I'm right here, ready to lend a hand. I recall spending a few intense hours working on my own troublesome Drobo, and, despite the bumps along the way, I managed to retrieve all that important data. So, I put together this video showing how I did it. Just a quick heads-up: Drobo repair isn't really an option since the company has sadly closed its doors and the support has ceased. But don’t fret! Why don't you let me in on what's going on, and share the model you're having troubles with? Then, together, we'll explore all possibilities for recovering your data. And hey, even if I can't find a solution, the wonderful GOT community surely will have some valuable input. Thanks for reaching out to the channel and sharing your quandary. We’re here to try our best to help - that’s a promise!
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 It’s Drobo 5N2. All my led lights are yellow. No blue no green… even without the disks and after hard reset. I have 5 disks of 8 Tb!!!
@@AviNishniverWow, that's quite the hefty Drobo packed with loads of data you have there! It's great to hear that you've made an initial effort in the right direction for recovering your precious data. Now, let me share with you how I tackled a similar situation before my Drobo finally hanged up its boots. 1. First off, I took out the drives and clearly marked the slots they originated from. 2. I then went ahead and reset the Drobo. 3. Up next, I installed the Drobo Dashboard anew on a separate device. 4. Then, I plugged the Drobo directly into this device using Ethernet or a USB cord. 5. After opening the newly installed dashboard, I turned on Drobo so it was acknowledged by the system. 6. Once this step was done, I switched off the Drobo and inserted the drives into their respective slots. 7. Finally, I powered up the Drobo again! At this point, my computer recognized it, allowing me to map drives and transfer a quite a bit of data onto another USB drive. My Drobo did call it a day one more time after about 5 hours but I was able to salvage all the crucial data I needed before then. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to have a spare drive at the ready to quickly start transferring your data. I genuinely hope this helps you out and fingers crossed for a successful data recovery!
My 5D3 stopped working, just the fan was running. Replaced USB C cable, still nothing. Ended up finding a "new" 5D3 on eBay, paid a premium price for it. Drives migrated OK, worked for several days then bam, just the fan is running, nothing else. Replaced the USB cable, still nothing, tried my older power brick, still the same results. I read where the internal battery could be bad so I am now in the process of trying to figure out how to do that. I could not find any TH-cam videos on how to do that, still searching. Just ordered a new power brick just in case that could be the problem. Meanwhile I have been looking for an alternative to the Drobo - work in progress.
It never gets easier to hear others having the Drobo blues. I hope you backed up the important data while it was working for a bit. It almost seems like these drives have a built-in time bomb where they just stop working. I did create a follow-up video on what I use now instead of the Drobo. Here it is: th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html. Thank you for tuning in to the channel and watching. I appreciate your comment and wish you the best of luck.👍
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Fortunately I also have my older Drobo D5 that I have on my backup desktop that every few months I would transfer new stuff onto it. My guess is that 5D has about 97% of my data on it. Like you, I rip all my movie DVDs and store them so fortunately I have all those and my family photos, ripped music CD and vinyl records etc. saved on my older D5. However, I'd love to get my "newer" 5D3 up and running so I can catch the extra stuff I missed. I was also in the process of looking for a new Drobo replacement, so this latest fiasco caught me in between Drobos. I'll finish watching your other video - I didn't think about Synology so I need to see what they have. I don't use a network system, just direct attachment to my desktop as I do videography for my church and other stuff like that. At 73 years young I'm still trying to keep active, especially my mind! I took out my "older 5D3, cleaned it up a bit and plugged it back in and but my 5 drives in - all I'm getting is 5 amber lights and an amber power light and the fan is working. Computer has not detected the Drobo since I turned it on 15 minutes ago.
@@williammorani4297 You may want to try a different computer, that worked for me. It was only temporary and the Drobo crashed again but I did manage to get my important data off it. If you continue to use the Drobos I believe it's a ticking time bomb. I would move to something else ASAP for longevity.
I've got a similar issue...when I plug my 5N Drobo in the fans come on but the switch won't turn on the Drobo or turn off the fans. None of the lights in front are on. The power switch seems to not be responsive...any suggestions?
I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through the same issue. Dealing with problems related to your Drobo backup system and recovering your backup files can indeed be quite challenging. Looking back, I feel fortunate in my own situation. Thankfully, my fan wasn't stuck on; it simply stopped recognizing the disks. I can relate to your frustration, as the two 5N units I purchased from eBay also had fan problems right from the start. It's disappointing, especially when one of them was supposed to be new. I couldn't get either of those units to function properly. I suspect there might have been a firmware issue that couldn't be resolved through updates. What I did was completely wipe Dashboard from my computer and I removed the Disks from the Drobo. Then I did a factory reset on the Drobo by holding the reset button in for about a full minute. The rest is a pinhole on the back of the Drobo next to the power plug. You need a small paper clip or SIM tool to reach it. When I did that all my lights responded and went through the cycle and then turned yellow/orange which meant to insert disks. Once I did that the Drobo recognized all the disks for about 12hrs before it crashed again. I reinstalled Dashboard on my computer and was able to see my data. I ran out and purchased a 10TB USB drive and transfer all the most important data before it crashed again. I have since bought this Synology amzn.to/47KpZT1 and put all the drives in it and now use it as my backup. It did wipe the drives because it couldn't read the Drobo encryption. I have tried to swap parts on the 5N's I bought off eBay and the one I owned and haven't been able to make not one of the three to work. It's a mystery to me why they just stopped working. I wish I could be more help.
Sounds like your issue might be the power supply. I had the same issue with my Drobo once and it turned out to be a bad power supply. I ordered a 3rd party power supply from Amazon, plugged it in and everything came up normally. You might want to try that.
thanks a lot for the video (and the others you provide on the drobo) I am freaking out right now because my drobo is not powering up and I don't know what the problem is. it was working perfectly fine, then we changed apartments . during the move I shut down the drobo 5n2 and securely removed the harddrives for the move. arriving at the new place I inserted the drives, plugged in the power cord and but then all that happened was that the green light on the toggle switch was flickering for a few seconds (fan started spinning a bit) and after that nothing happened. no power. based on your experience could you comment if this might be just an issue with the ac adaptor or is this a hardware problem inside the NAS itself? any comment or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Hey there, I'm really sorry to hear about the challenges you're facing with your drobo. I totally get how disheartening it is when something like this happens. It can be quite a puzzle to figure out what's going on, right? It could be related to the power cord and unit, or maybe there's something internally going on with the drobo. Have you checked if the power cord fits snugly into the unit? It's also a good idea to ensure that your power outlet is secure. One thing to try is removing all the discs and then putting them back in the same slots. While they're out, you can do a hard reset by holding in the reset button, usually located at the back near the plug. You'll need something small like a paper clip to reach in the hole and press the button. After that, plug it in and continue holding the reset button for a full minute after it's powered on or plugged in. The slot lights should turn orange to indicate that you need to load the drives, but don't load them at this stage. If the lights don't turn orange, it might be a power issue. If it seems to be on track, turn it off again, put your drives back in, and then turn it back on. I really hope this helps! It's always frustrating when these things happen, especially when it feels like it's too late to back up the backup, right? Wishing you the best of luck, my friend!
thanks a lot for your prompt response - end of the story: luckily it was the power cord. everything thing is up an drunning again which is my second chance - will migrate now :) @@GOTgoodoldtech-1964
I have a 5N that didn't like my PC upgrading from Win8.1 to Win10 last year. Tried several times to get a information on how to reset the admin password (lost with the hard drive crash that caused me to upgrade). My backup information and tons of pics and all the data I didn't want to lose are locked away in the Drobo. I have 5 drives in it, however; without being able to log into it I'm unable to access the data or anything else on it. If I knew that the only way to access the data was with a compatible Drobo, I'd have bought a different system. Do you think that pulling the drives and doing a software reboot would wipe the admin information? And if I do, will reinstalling the drives afterwards cause me to lose the data on them? Please help.
I am so sorry to hear about your situation with the data being locked into the drobo. I need to do some research to find out if there is any way to reset your admin password. Unfortunately I'm afraid it might have to go through the Drobo service, which we know is no longer available. I will get back to you once I've done sufficient research. The last thing I would want is for you to lose your data. Thank you for watching the video and I appreciate you posting your concerns here. Maybe others can see this and help.
Alright, for my research, I found that the initial steps I took with my system are crucial. Begin by powering down your system and then carefully removing the hard drives, remembering to mark their slots for reinstallation. Next, perform a hard factory reset on the Drobo, which involves holding in the reset button located near the power switch on the back. Once the reset is complete, connect the Drobo to your computer until prompted to add disks, then power it down again. Insert your disks and power back up, with the hope that it will recognize all your disks and restore your data while erasing the admin password.However, please keep in mind that following advice from external sources carries risks, and I cannot guarantee typical results, especially since Drobo is no longer in business. Unfortunately, there aren't many alternative options for retrieving data from a Drobo. I wish you the best of luck, and please do let me know if you try this method or anything else, and if it works for you.
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Thank you very much, that was the step I was afraid of because if it fails, then the data will most likely be lost. I'll let you know how it comes out. Guess I'll have to buy a Synology. Bigger bummer is I still have 2 years extended warranty on my unit that I paid for last spring.
@@mrpoquah All these drobo issues depress me, I, like so many on her have a ton ( 14TB's worth) of data locked away on my old drobo as well. I was curious if you tried the hard reset and then reinstall of the original drives. Were you able to access your data without the previous admin password ? I was thinking i would remove all the drives, copy all the data on them to another drive ( maybe a 20TB single drive ) then replace the original drives back into the drobo and see if it gives me access without the old password. I don't have a ton of hope that this will work, but I guess I'll still have the raw data saved elsewhere...
At this point I think the best I can suggest is eBay as a source for a good used drobos. I'm sorry you've just been welcomed into the community of drobo disappointments and woes. I wish you the best of luck. My best advice is within the video which I go through step by step how to transfer your drives to another drobo. I truly hope it works for you.
I wouldn't trust any RAID that doesn't use a standard protocol. My OG drobo has survived this long and i'm copying data off as i'm typing up this message. if this was using raid5, zfs, or some other tech standard you'd be able to import drives to a new server/platform that's not locked down to a single manufacturer.
Hey @beingboston, I totally agree with you! It's so frustrating when things suddenly go wrong, especially when you rely on them. I had a similar experience with my Drobo, and it was a tough lesson to learn. For years, I never had any issues, so it caught me off guard. I'm relieved to hear that you're able to transfer your data while your Drobo is still functioning. Thanks a lot for being part of the channel and sharing your experience. Your insight is much appreciated, and your support means a lot.
I appreciate you tuning in to the channel, I hope the video was useful. It's a bit confusing where you sent the DM, sorry I didn't get it. You're welcome to chat here, I'm happy to help or talk about tech. Thanks again for your support.
@@MrOzphoto Oh WOW! I have not heard of the Drobo catching fire yet so thanks for sharing. I hope it didn't do any damage beyond the Drobo. Did you have any of your data backed up elsewhere?
Glad you were able to recover your data!
Mine just does not power up. power LED just flicker once
Sorry to hear that. I was 400 enough to get the most important data. But after a couple of hours, quit for good and I had the same results as you, just to flickered power button. I hope you didn't lose too much for me. It would have been a life long storage of photos of my kids. Thanks for tuning into the channel and watching the video I appreciate your support.
You're not the only one who has had Drobo issues. I had two - a 5N, and 5N2... and the 5N failed entirely. Things I learned - I think mine died from a capacitor or battery problem. There's things online that say if the machine won't even give you any lights, it's likely that there was a failure during the critical startup period where it drops to its internal battery for a split second... and when it fails there, it never comes back to life. All that aside - when that happened, I also did the 'omg' freak out and ordered a Synology NAS as well, to replace BOTH Drobos - as I found the same information about them going out of business. I was able to back up the 5N2 to the new Synology with no issues, and then I did the leap of faith of putting the 5N drives into the 5N2 and hoped they would be readable... and they were. I later learned that it works 'forward' (5N to 5N2) but does *NOT* work backwards (5N2 to 5N) - so anyone who has a 5N2 fail, you *MUST* use another enclosure of that generation... or it will simply initialize/wipe your drives and data. Hope that helps someone.... This is a nightmare for home users that have trusted Drobos for years.. I've had mine since around 2013.. but have since gone full Synology since about a year ago.
Thank you for joining the channel and sharing your valuable experience! Your knowledge is impressive, and I'm certain there are many others out there who can relate to our shared "Drobo blues" and sad stories. It's truly unfortunate that things unfolded this way. All it would have taken was a simple email notification to let everyone in their system know about their business closure, allowing us to prepare accordingly.
Moving forward, I am delighted to have the Synology system, which not only performs exceptionally but is also remarkably faster than the Drobo ever was. It's great to have you as part of our community, and I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. Thank you again for sharing!
One of my first tests on the 8 drive system was to fill it up and see if it handled that properly. It ended up destroying all of the content on the device. So, I tried it again. Same result. Also, on the 4 drive system, I calculated that the transfer speed was the average of the speed of all drives DIVIDED BY the # of drives. Total argh. Without an SSD as a cache, like they have in the 5 drive system, performance was dismal. Caveat emptor for sure. I still have mine but need to replace it with or 3 20TB Toshibas redundantly RAIDed together in an old cheese grater Mac Pro. FYI, those can handle 5 or 6 drives if you remove the DVD reader. There's another power supply and SATA connection in the hidden slot just above the DVD reader. So, old circa 2012 Mac Pros make great RAID enclosures. Just add a modern WiFI card and 1 GB Ethernet card and you're good to go.
I'm having a panic. I have a Drobo 5D, I haven't used it for a while. Plugged it in today, and it is not loading properly. Then, I also went to the website and saw the message that they are no more. Definitley can't lose this data. Thanks for your video.
Hi there, @danasweeny4666! Thanks a ton for tuning into the channel and taking the time to share your thoughts. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience - I went through something similar and it was quite nerve-wracking. I truly hope the video provided clear guidance and proves helpful for your drobo situation. Just a heads up, it's super important to have another way to back up your data because the fix might not be permanent. On my end, I managed to recover all my crucial data, but yes, I did lose a bunch of terabytes of videos and movies that I had painstakingly transferred from DVDs to the troublesome system.
The silver lining is that movies can always be reacquired, but it's those personal memories that truly matter. If you hit a roadblock or want to brainstorm ideas to safeguard your data, please don't hesitate to drop me a message. I'm here to help and bounce ideas with you. Once again, big thanks for reaching out, and I'm sending you all the best vibes for your data-saving endeavors!
This is so surreal... I had the EXACT same experience, and went down the exact same path. I re-installed the firmware, and the drobo came back up again (after many many days of struggle). I moved my pictures and videos off it at lightning speed. Also looking at a Synology solution.
I am delighted to learn that you were able to recover your data. Unfortunately, many individuals are not as fortunate in such situations. It would have been beneficial if Drobo had proactively communicated their closure to customers, potentially mitigating the negative impact. Synology presents an excellent alternative, offering superior speed and advanced features. I highly recommend it. As a precautionary measure, I maintain backups of critical data both online and on a separate USB drive. Thank you for sharing your experience and for your continued support.👍👍
Thanks for the information. The Drobo5N refused to reboot after a clean shutdown. Bummer. I knew they were out of business but hadn't pulled the trigger on buy a new backup storage, I was considering a Synology or iCloud storage. Now to attempt to save my 8 terabytes of data.
Very interesting, 8 TB was where I was at when mine collapsed. I do want to share a word to the wise. I used to work for Apple for a few years. I would never trust iCloud with your important data. Good luck my friend. I wish you the best.
Good to know about iCloud or maybe anybody's Cloud. I was leaning toward Synology but since the Drobo was working I was leaning slowly. At present I will be buying sooner than later. Now I'll open a can of worms, "conspiracy theory", everyone seems to be having restart issues, is it because, 'The Drobo can't restart because it can't call Home anymore?' Just asking. @@GOTgoodoldtech-1964
I have a 5C and for the last year or two I receive a drive not responding message approximately every 15-20 minutes. I changed drives, hoping that would resolve the issue...it did not. I'm still hoping along but convinced that I have to find another solution.
Sure thing! You should definitely replace that as soon as possible. But first, make sure to back up your most important data. What I did was buy an inexpensive external USB drive to back up everything before it failed completely. Now, I use a Synology NAS, which I highly recommend. The software is updated regularly and works through a browser, so you don’t need a dedicated app. If you haven’t already, check out my follow-up video on using the Synology backup system to replace the Drobo. Thanks for watching and commenting, and best of luck moving forward!
Great tip. I've been very close to your situation.
I still have my 4 drive Drobo but need to replace it with or 3 20TB Toshibas redundantly RAIDed together in an old cheese grater Mac Pro. FYI, those can handle 5 or 6 drives if you remove the DVD reader. There's another power supply and SATA connection in the hidden slot just above the DVD reader. So, old circa 2012 Mac Pros make great RAID enclosures. Just add a modern WiFI card and 1 GB Ethernet card and you're good to go.
Well, sounds like you got a good plan set up. That's the important thing, is to stay ahead of the game and make sure your data is backed up before that Drobo goes bad on you. I'm a little more lazy than that, that's why I just went ahead and bought a Synology to do all the work for me. Thanks for tuning in to the channel and I appreciate your comment.👍
I have been using drobo for years (I have one of their original models) My latest 1 was a "Drobo 5d3"
What I learned from the very begining was that just because it is a RAID... it is NOT a backup.
It simply protects you from a single HD failure...This gives you 1 Level of redundancy.. *Only 1*
It doesn't matter what device you choose.. if you do not have and maintain multiple copies you will eventually find trouble
Even if you have a backup.... what happens when you are restoring to a new device your backup device fails
(Yes that has happened to me)
You should be following the 3,2,1 rule
In my case for my critical data I have 4,3,2
Your expertise is really impressive! You're spot on with your insights. It's so true that true backup means having your data in multiple places. I also make sure to keep my most important personal data in three different locations, with two of them being online. Your analogy about the home redundant server being a backup for your current drive at home is spot on. Thanks a bunch for sharing your input. Your contribution to the community means a lot, and I'm grateful for your support. Keep the great ideas coming!
Great video , long time drobo user and still using my 5D.
Curious about your switch to synology , let us know !
How easy was the setup with the different size drives … like a drobo?
Hey there! Thanks so much for popping onto the channel and for taking the time to leave a comment - means a lot! Just a tidbit - I'm in the process of crafting a sequel video that's coming your way soon. And, a little inside scoop for you - the swap was a breeze! If your Drobo's still kicking, you'll find it even smoother. High five to that! 👍
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964excellent, thanks for the quick reply , can’t wait for the video 😊
Same Sh*t... different day and user. In my case, I have 5 x 12TB drives. Found a Drobo 5N unit on Ebay that is reported as working. Praying that I can get my data. FU Drobo
Good luck! I to save my data with two I bought on eBay; one was advertised as new in the box, but neither worked. Thankfully, I got refunds for both. Just a heads up: if you factory reset them, updating can be tricky. Make sure it has the same firmware version as your faulty one. Thanks for watching and commenting-let me know how it goes!
Thanks for sharing your story. You are lucky that you got your data back after your troubleshooting efforts. I have a Generation 1b Drobo since 2008. My original Gen 1a Drobo died within a few weeks of purchase and it was replaced under warranty. That replacement Drobo (Gen 1b) is still working ok. I have been backing up this Drobo regularly to a backup server I built. It's a Windows 10 PC and I use a software called "Drive Bender" which pools several disparate hard drives, i.e. different capacities, different makes, models etc into a single protected, easily expandable volume, similar to Windows Storage Spaces but much better and more reliable. If my Drobo dies, my data is still backed up on my backup server. But wouldn't you know it, just like Drobo, the company that made Drive Bender has discontinued the software. So I have to look for something else to replace it. It's a never ending battle. Always back up your NAS such as Drobo to at least one other protected storage device.
Woah, that's some serious dedication to backing up your data! It's always frustrating when software we rely on gets discontinued, but you're absolutely right - it's a never-ending battle. Thanks for sharing your story and reminding us to stay vigilant with our backups! @MegaSunspark, your story is truly mind-boggling! I'm amazed by the twists and turns in your tech journey. Drive Bender sounds like quite the unknown gem, and it's fantastic that you were prepared and diligent in your backup efforts. It's such a shame that both the Drobo company and Drive Bender went out of business; that must have been a tough spot for you.
You're absolutely right, the golden rule of backups is "two is one, and one is none." I couldn't agree more. As for my backup story, I've also learned some lessons the hard way. It all started back in 2009 when my Apple mini lost my precious photos during a PC transition. I thought I had everything covered when I transferred data to an external drive, but it turned out only thumbnails were copied due to Apple's DRM. What a frustrating experience, and I even lost my music!
Sadly, I have a photo gap from 2007 to 2009 because I'd gone all digital after the iPhone release. After that incident, I steered clear of Apple personally, and I even worked for them for a while after that happened. During my time there, I discovered their tactics to keep users in their ecosystem, which left a sour taste. They continue to make it hard to retrieve your data, and that's one of the reasons I parted ways with them. Dodgy practices indeed! Thanks again for tuning into the channel and being part of the community. I truly appreciate your support and knowledge.
@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Thank you! You're correct about the saying about data backup "Two is one, one is none." On my backup server using Drive Bender, I actually created two separate pools. One pool for incremental backup of Drobo and the other for mirror backup. The incremental backup is a one-way backup to the backup server, and it copies only files that are new or modified. It never delets any files on the backup, so if a file was accidentally deleted on the Drobo, it can be recovered from this backup. On the other hand, the mirror backup is an exact replica of Drobo. So if Drobo dies, the mirror backup will serve to replace it readily. This is my 2nd backup. So Drobo gets backed up twice to two different pools. One great thing about Drive Bender is that it uses standard NTFS for all the drives in the pools. So if Drive Bender ever completely croaks, the pool drives can be connected to any Windows PC, and the files can be recovered.
Sorry about you losing your photos on your Apple Mac in 2009. Was this before Time Machine backup? I'm not that familiar with Apple features timeline.
@MegaSunspark You got me really curious about the Drive Bender. I know you said they had gone out of business, so I won't pursue it, but I'm still intrigued. Is this program within your PC system on a separate drive? I assume it is, so if the Windows drives fails, you still have your data. I save nothing on my Windows drive other than reloadable programs. I also recommend offsite backup, which is why I use two cloud base services. If the house burns down, I can still retrieve my important files. Apple did have timemachine at the time of my loss. My PC needed reformatting and was having issues when I got the Mac Mini. My Drobo had to be reformatted so the Mac could read and write to it. It would not write to NTFS at the time. So, I transferred all the data to the Mac and an external drive, and it worked fine. I reformatted Drobo to the Mac system and also repaired my PC. Then, I discovered that Mac would not work on the LAN and share the data on Drobo. I was using the Plex server on the Drobo, and the Apple file system would not share the data, that stupid DRM. So, I decided to go back to my repaired PC system and transfer all the data back to the PC directly through the Mac. It all looked like it was there, so I factory restored the Mac Mini to return it to Apple and formated the Drobo back to NTFS. After all was said and done, I found that all folders were created and were empty on my PC. I should have checked before I formatted it. I did check the document, and they were fine, but all the photos were just thumbnails. The music folders were all empty. I never created a time machine backup because at the time, I didn't need it and then decided to return back to PC. So that's my whole sad story. 😔
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Well, Drive Bender is an app that is installed on your C drive like any other program. It takes ANY disk attached to your PC and can pool them all together as a single volume. The disks can be any size, make, model, mechanical or SSD, SATA or USB attached. In my case I have 5 internal SATA hard drives in Pool 1 totaling about 10TB. Pool 2 is made up of 2 external USB drives totaling 6 TB.
I use Pool 1 for incremental backup of my Drobo. This pool is also my media pool and is used by my Plex Media server installed on this same PC.
Pool 2 is used for the mirror backup of my Drobo.
I have drive failure protection/redundancy turned on both pools. This stores each file/folder in the pool on at least two separate drives. So if one drive fails, the files will be accessible from the other drive. When you replace the bad drive with a new one it will copy the files that were lost on the drive that failed to the new replacement drive. I have protection turned on for the whole of both pools. This effectively halves the total capacity of each pool. But you can also pick and chose only certain files or folders in a pool to have protection on which would save disk space.
Drive Bender uses NTFS for all of its pooled drives so if the app ever completely collapses or the pool becomes inaccessible for some reason via the app itself, the data can be accessed from each pooled drive via Windows File Manager on this PC or the drives can be moved to any other PC if necessary.
There is an alternative to Drive Bender, which is called StableBit DrivePool. This app works exactly the same way functionally. I'm thinking about buying this software and switching over to it.
I feel your pain with your file loss with your Mac, that is frustrating. Been there myself. I had a Mac Mini a long while back but it died soon after warranty expired, so it just became an expensive paper weight. Instead of trying to fix it, I just recycled it at that time. I currently have several PCs and a couple of MacBook Air laptops and some iPads. I need to keep up with both PCs and Macs for my IT work.
Turned off my perfectly working Drobo 5D yesterday tried to reboot it. five solid yellow lights and yellow power light. just wont boot at all. :-(
Hey @oddsandbods9708! I totally understand how scary it can be when your Drobo suddenly stops working without any warning. It's even more frustrating since there's no tech support available since the company went out of business. But don't worry, there are a few things you can try to get it functioning again.
First, have you considered connecting the Drobo directly to another computer? It might help if you install the Dashboard software on a fresh system. Also, if you have spare drives that contain backed-up data and you're not too worried about losing it, it would be great for diagnosing the issue.
Remember, before doing anything, remove all the current removable drives and make sure to mark which slot they go in. This is vital for restoring your last working setup.
Lastly, if you manage to get it working temporarily, I suggest having another data storage solution ready to go to transfer your most important files right away. It's probably time to start looking for a reliable alternative to Drobo.
I genuinely hope these suggestions help you recover your data. Good luck, and thank you for tuning into the channel and sharing your experience.
Thank you.
@@oddsandbodsyou're welcome. Please let me know how things turn out.
I read yesterday the drobo cache clears over three day. So I've disconnected the power and will try it on Saturday morning. will let you know if it worked.
Hey @oddsandbods9708, that's really interesting! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.
I had a similar experience with my Drobo when I unplugged it for a few days while waiting for a replacement. I even tried a factory reset, but unfortunately, it never came back online. After I made the TH-cam video and saved my importamt data, the Drobo failed again. So, I did lose a lot of stored movies because it failed while trying to transfer them. It's frustrating when data loss happens, right? I remember losing about 10 years' worth of movies that I had transferred from my DVD and Blu-ray collections. It was mentally draining because I had put in so much effort to save them. Since, I had given the DVDs away. In total, I lost around 2500 movies and 6TB of data.
Anyway, please keep me updated on how things go. I'd love to hear if this solution works for you. If it does, I'll make sure to update my TH-cam video and share the good news with others. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks! I have the 5N2 and it failed to start after a power failure. But I have no lights whatsoever. Not even on the power toggle on the back. The power cable works and the fan turns on immediately, but no lights and no recognition of the three drives I use in the app.. Don't know what to do now..
I'm glad the channel's content has been useful to you, and I really value your engagement! It's unfortunate that your Drobo device isn't functioning correctly, and the news about the company certainly adds to the frustration.
Before proceeding with a factory reset, be aware that it will erase all data on your Drobo device, so proceed with caution. Please make sure to remove your drives before initiating the factory to protect your data. Mark which slot they go in, that’s very important.
Search online for specific instructions on how to perform a factory reset on the Drobo 5N2 model. Follow those instructions meticulously to reset your Drobo unit.
After the reset:
1. Power off the Drobo device.
2. Re-insert your drives carefully, ensuring that they are securely connected.
3. Power on the device to check if it's properly functioning.
Should the Drobo still not work after the reset and drive re-insertion, it could indeed be a hardware issue potentially caused by a power surge.
Going forward, it might be worth considering a more robust backup strategy to safeguard against hardware failure. I moved to a Synology backup. Here is my followup video for that.
th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html
Good luck with your Drobo, and if you have additional questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. Your resilience in the face of such technical issues is admirable, and I hope for a positive outcome.
Hi my name is Breno Im from Brasil, love your video but in my case, my drobo died, and is not working anymore. Is that a chance to put my hds in other divece?
Hi Breno,
I'm really sorry to hear about your Drobo. It's always tough to deal with a dead machine. I wish I had better news for you.
Unfortunately, only another Drobo can read the data, and it has to have the same firmware as the one your drives came from. You'd need to do the swapping just like I covered in my video, so if you manage to get your hands on another Drobo, be sure to watch the video again and follow the steps. Drobo encrypted the data with their own software that nobody else can mimic or decrypt. So, without another Drobo, the data would be lost.
I believe Drobo had an obligation to email all their users and let us know they were going out of business so we could find another backup source. Unfortunately, they didn't do that, leaving many of us caught off guard and resulting in significant data loss for thousands of users.
The only real option I’ve found for getting a compatible Drobo is through services like eBay, looking for a previously owned and working unit. But even then, there's no guarantee if it doesn't have the same firmware.
I wish you the best of luck, my friend.
Can you do a video on backing up on the cloud too? Which cloud storage is the best?❤
You've hit the nail on the head with that excellent question! 🌟 Thank you so much for sharing your idea; I truly appreciate it! Though I may not be extensively familiar with paid cloud storage services, I have hands-on experience backing up certain things using platforms like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Dropbox.
I'm more than happy to take things a step further and prepare a video all about this type of storage backup, just for you! 🎥 So, stay tuned and keep watching for more exciting content. And remember, if you have any more questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out anytime. I'm here to help and provide you with the best information possible! 😊👍
My Drobo died a couple of days after transferring all my data to the cloud. Trying to find a replacement system, but nothing exists that is as easy as Drobo. Please can a company replicate what Drobo did.
I hear what you're saying, Drobo was pretty self contained and simple. I got a Synology and it took some adjustment but now I like it better than Drobo. There are more apps and access remotely is much more modern and simple than what Drobo had. There are more instructions on Synology than Drobo had as well. I suggest you do the research and see if it works for you. I'm here if you have questions. Thanks for being part of the community. Good luck!
I wish I watched your video months ago. My Drobo 5N just failed last week and I have 10TB of TB data in it. What are you using now? I'd love to hear about your recommendations.
I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with the Drobo issues. It's never pleasant when this happens to you, and it's an epidemic in nature. This is the follow-up video on what I use now. I hope it helps. Thank you for watching and sharing your comments. Good luck with future backups. 👍 th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html
Is there any way to recover the data outside the Drobo? I was trying to access my YEARS of family photos and can’t access anything anymore. Was working fine… then nothing. The drives have been flashing orange and green for a day or so.
"Hi @stevef1104, I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing that issue with your Drobo drive. Many of us have faced sudden drive failures too. The problem you described sounds similar to what I went through, as I mentioned in my video. I also made a follow-up video with more details.
You might try a factory reset on the Drobo and then reinstall the drives. This could help you recover your photos. Before you factory reset, remember to remove the drives, label them, and place them back in their original slots.
In my case, I found it helpful to install the Drobo Dashboard fresh on a different computer-I used my wife's laptop. After factory resetting, I set everything up through her laptop via an Ethernet connection. Once I reinstalled the drives after the reset, everything turned green. For the next four hours, I managed to recover all my photos before the drive failed again.
The good news is I was able to retrieve all my important data. Please rewatch my videos and follow the steps carefully. I had already accepted the possibility of losing everything, so I wasn't too worried about causing more damage.
Let us know how it goes or if you find another solution-your experience could help others. Best of luck!"
Great video. I have a Drobo 5n. Was trying to reset my password and forgot I will not be able to get any support from Drobo because they no longe exist. Wondering if there is a way to reset the software and create a new password so I can log in and access my drives. Any help is appreciated.
I'm sorry to hear that you've forgotten your password for the Drobo. Unfortunately, it seems a bit tricky to reset it now that the company's server and support are no longer available. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a solution, but it seems even if you were to get another Drobo, you would still need to log in with your password. From what I understand, the password reset is not stored locally on your device or computer, so it's a bit of a tough situation. I wish I had better news to share with you, but unfortunately, that's just the reality of the situation. It's disappointing to have to say this, but please know that I appreciate your engagement with our channel and leaving a comment. Perhaps someone else will see your question and have an answer. If that happens, we'll both be in the know.
I am watching this now and the problem that you had is EXACTLY what I am experiencing. Will watch til end.
"Sorry to hear that you're struggling with the issue of the Drobo. I hope you had a backup of your most important data before this happened. If you're like me, you probably didn't search for such videos until after it happened. That's just how it goes. I hope my video can be of help to you. I also released a second video on switching over from Drobo to Synology, so you might want to check that one out too. "
Am wondering if you can remove the individual drives, plug them into a caddy and attached to a Mac or pc and run data recovery software. Would that work?
That would seem so simple if you could, unfortunately, because of the encrypted coding done by Drobo, those drives cannot be read on anything else. If you don't have another Drobo and firmware that can read the encryption, then your data is just lost. I'm hoping that you have some backup or that you're just asking the question out of curiosity and don't have an issue. Just to give you a little bit of background, I used to work for Apple I tan tech support for such things so this is how I know. I hope that was helpful. Thank you for watching and I appreciate your comment.
I have this same Ddrobo and mine won't work at all since I upgraded my iMac to 64Bit system. Apparently Drobo can only run on 32 Bit systems. Wish I could undo the upgrade but ios is not reversible
Hi there, @barrymckay2851! I totally get where you're coming from. It sure was a curveball when my Drobo took a nosedive - quite a dramatic moment, to say the least! And then hearing the company had closed shop...boy, what a revelation.
But hey, not all hope is lost. If you can manage to get a 32-bit computer, borrowed or found, there's a good chance you can download the Drobo software and be on your way to data nirvana again. You might want to consider an external drive, just as a temporary data safehouse until you're ready to commit to a new NAS.
Have you heard about Synology?
Synology 5-bay DiskStation... www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4DFBRZV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Absolutely love it. As a bonus, I've even employed my former Drobo drives in my new setup, and guess what, it's miles faster!
Thank you for being part of our community and enriching it with your experiences. Fingers crossed for you! And remember, I'm here if you want to share updates or just vent. Best of luck!
I didn't understand where and you fix the drobo?
Oh no, sounds like your Drobo is giving you a bit of a headache! Trust me, you're not alone - many of us have been there. Good news is, I'm right here, ready to lend a hand. I recall spending a few intense hours working on my own troublesome Drobo, and, despite the bumps along the way, I managed to retrieve all that important data. So, I put together this video showing how I did it.
Just a quick heads-up: Drobo repair isn't really an option since the company has sadly closed its doors and the support has ceased. But don’t fret! Why don't you let me in on what's going on, and share the model you're having troubles with? Then, together, we'll explore all possibilities for recovering your data.
And hey, even if I can't find a solution, the wonderful GOT community surely will have some valuable input. Thanks for reaching out to the channel and sharing your quandary. We’re here to try our best to help - that’s a promise!
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964
It’s Drobo 5N2. All my led lights are yellow. No blue no green… even without the disks and after hard reset. I have 5 disks of 8 Tb!!!
@@AviNishniverWow, that's quite the hefty Drobo packed with loads of data you have there! It's great to hear that you've made an initial effort in the right direction for recovering your precious data. Now, let me share with you how I tackled a similar situation before my Drobo finally hanged up its boots.
1. First off, I took out the drives and clearly marked the slots they originated from.
2. I then went ahead and reset the Drobo.
3. Up next, I installed the Drobo Dashboard anew on a separate device.
4. Then, I plugged the Drobo directly into this device using Ethernet or a USB cord.
5. After opening the newly installed dashboard, I turned on Drobo so it was acknowledged by the system.
6. Once this step was done, I switched off the Drobo and inserted the drives into their respective slots.
7. Finally, I powered up the Drobo again!
At this point, my computer recognized it, allowing me to map drives and transfer a quite a bit of data onto another USB drive.
My Drobo did call it a day one more time after about 5 hours but I was able to salvage all the crucial data I needed before then.
It can't be stressed enough how important it is to have a spare drive at the ready to quickly start transferring your data.
I genuinely hope this helps you out and fingers crossed for a successful data recovery!
My 5D3 stopped working, just the fan was running. Replaced USB C cable, still nothing. Ended up finding a "new" 5D3 on eBay, paid a premium price for it. Drives migrated OK, worked for several days then bam, just the fan is running, nothing else. Replaced the USB cable, still nothing, tried my older power brick, still the same results. I read where the internal battery could be bad so I am now in the process of trying to figure out how to do that. I could not find any TH-cam videos on how to do that, still searching. Just ordered a new power brick just in case that could be the problem. Meanwhile I have been looking for an alternative to the Drobo - work in progress.
It never gets easier to hear others having the Drobo blues. I hope you backed up the important data while it was working for a bit. It almost seems like these drives have a built-in time bomb where they just stop working. I did create a follow-up video on what I use now instead of the Drobo. Here it is: th-cam.com/video/UEdPdsWI_IE/w-d-xo.html. Thank you for tuning in to the channel and watching. I appreciate your comment and wish you the best of luck.👍
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Fortunately I also have my older Drobo D5 that I have on my backup desktop that every few months I would transfer new stuff onto it. My guess is that 5D has about 97% of my data on it. Like you, I rip all my movie DVDs and store them so fortunately I have all those and my family photos, ripped music CD and vinyl records etc. saved on my older D5. However, I'd love to get my "newer" 5D3 up and running so I can catch the extra stuff I missed. I was also in the process of looking for a new Drobo replacement, so this latest fiasco caught me in between Drobos. I'll finish watching your other video - I didn't think about Synology so I need to see what they have. I don't use a network system, just direct attachment to my desktop as I do videography for my church and other stuff like that. At 73 years young I'm still trying to keep active, especially my mind! I took out my "older 5D3, cleaned it up a bit and plugged it back in and but my 5 drives in - all I'm getting is 5 amber lights and an amber power light and the fan is working. Computer has not detected the Drobo since I turned it on 15 minutes ago.
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 I meant to ask if you know if you can migrate downward from 5D3 to 5D?
@@williammorani4297 You may want to try a different computer, that worked for me. It was only temporary and the Drobo crashed again but I did manage to get my important data off it. If you continue to use the Drobos I believe it's a ticking time bomb. I would move to something else ASAP for longevity.
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Agree 100%. Looking now for an alternative!
I've got a similar issue...when I plug my 5N Drobo in the fans come on but the switch won't turn on the Drobo or turn off the fans. None of the lights in front are on. The power switch seems to not be responsive...any suggestions?
I'm really sorry to hear that you're going through the same issue. Dealing with problems related to your Drobo backup system and recovering your backup files can indeed be quite challenging. Looking back, I feel fortunate in my own situation. Thankfully, my fan wasn't stuck on; it simply stopped recognizing the disks. I can relate to your frustration, as the two 5N units I purchased from eBay also had fan problems right from the start. It's disappointing, especially when one of them was supposed to be new. I couldn't get either of those units to function properly. I suspect there might have been a firmware issue that couldn't be resolved through updates.
What I did was completely wipe Dashboard from my computer and I removed the Disks from the Drobo. Then I did a factory reset on the Drobo by holding the reset button in for about a full minute. The rest is a pinhole on the back of the Drobo next to the power plug. You need a small paper clip or SIM tool to reach it. When I did that all my lights responded and went through the cycle and then turned yellow/orange which meant to insert disks. Once I did that the Drobo recognized all the disks for about 12hrs before it crashed again. I reinstalled Dashboard on my computer and was able to see my data. I ran out and purchased a 10TB USB drive and transfer all the most important data before it crashed again.
I have since bought this Synology amzn.to/47KpZT1 and put all the drives in it and now use it as my backup. It did wipe the drives because it couldn't read the Drobo encryption.
I have tried to swap parts on the 5N's I bought off eBay and the one I owned and haven't been able to make not one of the three to work. It's a mystery to me why they just stopped working. I wish I could be more help.
Sounds like your issue might be the power supply. I had the same issue with my Drobo once and it turned out to be a bad power supply. I ordered a 3rd party power supply from Amazon, plugged it in and everything came up normally. You might want to try that.
thanks for ur story
My pleasure, I hope it was helpful. Thank you for watching and for your comment. I appreciate your support. 👍
thanks a lot for the video (and the others you provide on the drobo) I am freaking out right now because my drobo is not powering up and I don't know what the problem is. it was working perfectly fine, then we changed apartments . during the move I shut down the drobo 5n2 and securely removed the harddrives for the move. arriving at the new place I inserted the drives, plugged in the power cord and but then all that happened was that the green light on the toggle switch was flickering for a few seconds (fan started spinning a bit) and after that nothing happened. no power. based on your experience could you comment if this might be just an issue with the ac adaptor or is this a hardware problem inside the NAS itself? any comment or pointing me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Hey there, I'm really sorry to hear about the challenges you're facing with your drobo. I totally get how disheartening it is when something like this happens. It can be quite a puzzle to figure out what's going on, right? It could be related to the power cord and unit, or maybe there's something internally going on with the drobo.
Have you checked if the power cord fits snugly into the unit? It's also a good idea to ensure that your power outlet is secure. One thing to try is removing all the discs and then putting them back in the same slots. While they're out, you can do a hard reset by holding in the reset button, usually located at the back near the plug. You'll need something small like a paper clip to reach in the hole and press the button. After that, plug it in and continue holding the reset button for a full minute after it's powered on or plugged in. The slot lights should turn orange to indicate that you need to load the drives, but don't load them at this stage. If the lights don't turn orange, it might be a power issue.
If it seems to be on track, turn it off again, put your drives back in, and then turn it back on. I really hope this helps! It's always frustrating when these things happen, especially when it feels like it's too late to back up the backup, right? Wishing you the best of luck, my friend!
thanks a lot for your prompt response - end of the story: luckily it was the power cord. everything thing is up an drunning again which is my second chance - will migrate now :) @@GOTgoodoldtech-1964
I have a 5N that didn't like my PC upgrading from Win8.1 to Win10 last year. Tried several times to get a information on how to reset the admin password (lost with the hard drive crash that caused me to upgrade). My backup information and tons of pics and all the data I didn't want to lose are locked away in the Drobo. I have 5 drives in it, however; without being able to log into it I'm unable to access the data or anything else on it. If I knew that the only way to access the data was with a compatible Drobo, I'd have bought a different system. Do you think that pulling the drives and doing a software reboot would wipe the admin information? And if I do, will reinstalling the drives afterwards cause me to lose the data on them? Please help.
I am so sorry to hear about your situation with the data being locked into the drobo. I need to do some research to find out if there is any way to reset your admin password. Unfortunately I'm afraid it might have to go through the Drobo service, which we know is no longer available. I will get back to you once I've done sufficient research. The last thing I would want is for you to lose your data. Thank you for watching the video and I appreciate you posting your concerns here. Maybe others can see this and help.
Alright, for my research, I found that the initial steps I took with my system are crucial. Begin by powering down your system and then carefully removing the hard drives, remembering to mark their slots for reinstallation. Next, perform a hard factory reset on the Drobo, which involves holding in the reset button located near the power switch on the back. Once the reset is complete, connect the Drobo to your computer until prompted to add disks, then power it down again. Insert your disks and power back up, with the hope that it will recognize all your disks and restore your data while erasing the admin password.However, please keep in mind that following advice from external sources carries risks, and I cannot guarantee typical results, especially since Drobo is no longer in business. Unfortunately, there aren't many alternative options for retrieving data from a Drobo. I wish you the best of luck, and please do let me know if you try this method or anything else, and if it works for you.
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Thank you very much, that was the step I was afraid of because if it fails, then the data will most likely be lost. I'll let you know how it comes out. Guess I'll have to buy a Synology. Bigger bummer is I still have 2 years extended warranty on my unit that I paid for last spring.
@@mrpoquah All these drobo issues depress me, I, like so many on her have a ton ( 14TB's worth) of data locked away on my old drobo as well. I was curious if you tried the hard reset and then reinstall of the original drives. Were you able to access your data without the previous admin password ? I was thinking i would remove all the drives, copy all the data on them to another drive ( maybe a 20TB single drive ) then replace the original drives back into the drobo and see if it gives me access without the old password. I don't have a ton of hope that this will work, but I guess I'll still have the raw data saved elsewhere...
Looking for a Drobo 5C. My 5C died and need to move the drives. Anyone know where to source?
At this point I think the best I can suggest is eBay as a source for a good used drobos. I'm sorry you've just been welcomed into the community of drobo disappointments and woes. I wish you the best of luck. My best advice is within the video which I go through step by step how to transfer your drives to another drobo. I truly hope it works for you.
@@GOTgoodoldtech-1964 Think I can put those drives in a 5N?
I wouldn't trust any RAID that doesn't use a standard protocol. My OG drobo has survived this long and i'm copying data off as i'm typing up this message. if this was using raid5, zfs, or some other tech standard you'd be able to import drives to a new server/platform that's not locked down to a single manufacturer.
Hey @beingboston, I totally agree with you! It's so frustrating when things suddenly go wrong, especially when you rely on them. I had a similar experience with my Drobo, and it was a tough lesson to learn. For years, I never had any issues, so it caught me off guard. I'm relieved to hear that you're able to transfer your data while your Drobo is still functioning. Thanks a lot for being part of the channel and sharing your experience. Your insight is much appreciated, and your support means a lot.
Great video… just sent you a DM.
I appreciate you tuning in to the channel, I hope the video was useful. It's a bit confusing where you sent the DM, sorry I didn't get it. You're welcome to chat here, I'm happy to help or talk about tech. Thanks again for your support.
MIne caught fire with smoke out the back, Danger if you have one! Good thing I was home!
@@MrOzphoto Oh WOW!
I have not heard of the Drobo catching fire yet so thanks for sharing. I hope it didn't do any damage beyond the Drobo. Did you have any of your data backed up elsewhere?
Yeah, sure it did. Cool story.