Connect ReadyNAS directly to pc without internet?

Not the 104, but the 314.

Did you have four or less disks in the NAS?

The drive order hopefully won't matter.

What firmware version was on the 316?

You could use a spare disk (must not be from your array) to update the firmware in the 314 then power down, remove the spare disk and migrate your disks across.

The NAS is Network Attached Storage not a USB peripheral. You can make a direct-connection using an ordinary ethernet cable. You could use a switch or router without an Internet connection.

Thank you for the quick response mdgm! As always you are extremely helpful! :D

Since I do have four disks does that mean I would have to rebuy a ReadyNAS 316 which I just gave to my sister :x ? I might as well use the drive I used for the upgrade for storage afterwards. I had just bought the fourth disc a few weeks ago and the ReadyNAS showed that I still have over 10GB of space. You did indicate I could use a spare disk (but not from my array) to update the firmware in the new ReadyNAS then power down, remove the spare disk and migrate your disks across.

So let me try to explain what I think you instructed me to do. If I do have four disks and they are OS 6.1.9 (answering your question) I would have to get the ReadyNAS 316? Buy one more Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 and insert it in the ReadyNAS by itself. Turn on the ReadyNAS 316 and let it update to OS 6.1.9. Turn it off and then insert the four hard drives with the one that is already in there which would leave me with what I had in the first place before I gave my 316 to my sister :x . I'm I right? :? And does it matter which bay the new drive is placed? I would imagine the bay on top is the first one and it could remain there after I insert the other four.

The other thing you explained to me was that I can make a direct-connection using an ordinary ethernet cable. And I could use a switch or router without an Internet connection. Can I make a direct connection from the ReadyNAS to the laptop via ethernet cable without the switch or router? If I do have to use a switch or router can you explain to me what is the reason for this? Is it because the switch or router assigns the ReadyNAS and my laptop some type of ID?

When I do upgrade the ReadyNAS will probably get an IP address. Will the ReadyNas' IP address cause connection problems because there is no internet connection? Does the ReadyNAS address need to be erased?

And finally...You did mention that after buying the ReadyNAS it woud need to be upgraded to OS 6.1.9. The best I can do to get internet around here is get AT&T's Netgear Unite 770s Aircard. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/171522081046?lpid=82
Can I upgrade the firmware with this?

Without internet how do I transfer files from the laptop to the ReadyNAS? I guess I can use a thumbstick to transfer files, right? Will ReadyNAS Remote or Dropbox be available without internet? Lord I moved to the wrong place! :roll:

Thanks again mdgm! Sorry to be such a pain. I'm learning about this as I go! :wink:

That is not exactly as mdgm instructed. Once you have updated the firmware on the 316 with the extra drive in place you need to power the 316 down and remove the drive.
The 316 will now be empty.
Then you put it the 4 drives that you have into the 316, preferably in the same order as they were in but this may not matter.
Once the drives are in ( 4 of them) then power on.

If you have a router then the nas should get a dhcp assigned IP address from the router. A switch won't assign an IP address, neither will your PC if you make a direct connection. In these latter cases the nas will assign itself 192.168.168.168.

To connect from your PC you'll need to assign the PC an address like 192.168.168.167 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and you should be able to connect.

You don't need internet access to access the nas from your PC.

Upgrading firmware depends on an internet connection. You can download the firmware file manually and stick it on a USB disk to put on your PC then update the nas, but at some point you will need internet access .

Do you have internet access? I have no idea about the aircard, is that a wifi card or 3G card?

Hello vandermerwe. Thank you for your interest in my problem. I understand what you said about upgrading the firmware but after the 4 drives are in and I power the NAS back on at what point can I insert the drive that I used to upgrade the system. I will be buying 1 Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 (Which is identical to the other four that I have) to do the upgrade but at some point I wanted to add that one to the other four. Especially because It will be costing me close to $200.00. Will it be usable after it has helped me upgrade?

After the NAS has read all the other four drives and I turn it off can I then add it in?
Or should I just get a cheap drive and throw it away after it's done it's job?

I don't have a router or internet access. I moved to an isolated area in the woods. No internet access whatsoever. The AT&T's Netgear Unite 770s Aircard is a Wi-Fi card. I think it picks up the signal from sattelites.

Again, Thanks to mdgm and of course to you vandermerwe. You two have a nice weekend. I'll let you know if I run into any problems.

The single drive is needed to enable the nas to boot, it won't boot without a drive in it.
The firmware is installed on the flash in the nas and onto the drives, so the idea here is to get the latest firmware onto the flash so that it matches the 6.1.9 that is on the 4 drives you want to put in.

Once the 4 drives are in, of course you can add the new disk, you should ( must) do this while the nas is ON. The disk will be wiped and added to the array. You may get a message saying that there is data on the new disk, do you want to destroy the volume on the new disk. You can of course do this as long as it is asking to destroy data on the single new disk.

That card looks like a 4g lte card that can link your 4g connection to several wifi clients. You obviously need a 4g signal and a contract , plus you need to set it up. Do you have an AT&T contract to get 4g and do you have a 4g signal?

You could use a 314 with 4 or less disks. However if the 316 had more than 4 drives installed then migrating the existing array to a 314 would not be possible.

Migration of an array from a 316 to a 104 is not something we'd support and I think wouldn't work. Migration from a 104 to a 316 would be something that should work (more likely to work if no apps are installed).

Hello again gentlemen. OK. I have a one more questions.

If I change my address like 192.168.168.167 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 to connect to the NAS without the internet will I still be able to use my Wi-Fi card to connect to the internet? Is 192.168.168.167 a viable ip address for internet use through my AT&T Wi-Fi Card? I already have a contract and have been using it connecting to the internet.

Thanks for your help mdgm and vandermerwe. I have the ReadyNAS 316 on order. I'll let you know how it went.

I don't know how the configuration of the card works, however the nas will need to connect via a wifi network so you will need an access point or router to which you will need to connect the nas with Ethernet.

When I had to connect to the internet my laptop recognized that there was internet available. My Wi-Fi card has a network name and Wi-Fi password. I entered the password into the laptop and was connected.

You mentioned that I download the firmware file manually and stick it on a USB disk to put on my PC then update the NAS, but at some point I will need internet access. Can you tell me why? I only use my NAS for PLEX and to store my movie collection. I do know that I need te internet conection for the PLEX admin page but I think I can connect to that through the AT&T Wi-Fi card I have. Thanks!

Yes, for the firmware update a manual update is fine. If you don't want the nas to connext directly then of course you can continue to use a direct connection. You may need to change the network settings of the PC so that it still connects to the 4g card, or change the IP address of the nas so that it is still reachable from the PC . ( use a static IP address on the nas to achieve this.
If your PC can connexc to the internet, download the firmware file, unzip it if necessary, then do a manual update from the nas.