Disk 2 really dead? Seeking guidance - ReadyNAS Duo V1

Backup your data first.
Then replace disk 2.

Thank you for the quick reply, vandermerwe.

Regarding the backup, I would like to request your advice:
The only computer that I have available is quite old (i.e. USB2 and 10/100 Ethernet) (the other one is company owned and requires any external drive to be encrypted)
In that case, does it make sense to connect the USB drive to the computer or is it better to connect it directly to the Duo? (I understand either one will be quite slow for today's standards).

Question 2: Any recommendation regarding an external 2TB drive for backup purposes?

Thank you!

In that case it would depend on which filesystem you wish to use on the USB disk. For the Duo it might still be quicker to connect the USB disk to your laptop and use 100Mbit ethernet.

mdgm wrote:
In that case it would depend o which filesystem you wish to use on the USB disk. For the Duo it might still be quicker to connect the USB disk to your laptop and use 100Mbit ethernet.

I'd go with NTFS - so you can access the backup data from the old PC - and back up to the old laptop. That should run about 10 MB/s. This will likely take 1-2 days (depending on how full the NAS volume is).

If you connect the drive directly to the DUO and use NTFS, then it will be a lot slower (~2.5 MB/s - 4x longer to back up). Linux formats run 10-14 MB/s - about the same amount of time as backing up to your PC.

Thank you guys!

I've got about 1.7TB of data to be backed up so I assume it will take a little over 2 days to get it done. (I will go with NTFS with the disk attached to the 'slow' Ethernet)

A final question about portable/external disks. I see a bunch of seagate and WD models available, all in the $90 range. Any advice on what to look for in terms of specs? (I know USB3 is desirable even if my laptop only has USB2)

Thank you again!

It's been a while since I've bought a USB drive.

If you'd like to connect it to the duo later on (for automatic backups), then I'd suggest getting one that is not powered from the USB port.

Also, google the specific model for USB 2 compatibility issues before you buy. Most USB 3 drives have no problems in when connected to USB 2 systems, but I think it is still worth a check.

BTW- if you are connected the USB drive to your work laptop, you could encypt it - since it would only be connected to that laptop. If you have gigabit (both in the laptop and the router), then that would speed up the data transfer to 15-20 MB/s.

Hi Stephen.

I will look into reviews to see if there are any compatibility issues.

Regarding the work laptop, I rather not use it for my personal stuff. I prefer to keep the demarcation point very clean on that one. Now something that got me thinking. If down the road my laptop fails, can I still connect the external drive directly to the Duo for a potential restore operation?

Thank you, Roberto

The duo can read/write ntfs-formatted drives. It doesn't do it very quickly, but it does do it.

I have done some research and I found lots of complaints from Mac users about WD external drives. Since my family does use Mac laptops (I'm the only PC user) I will try my luck with a Seagate Backup Plus 2TB portable drive.

Will perform the backup over the weekend.

Update 1: The backup is going at 5.6MB/s. It is going to be a looong weekend.

Update 2: For the most part the backup went OK. I have one large folder (500GB) that is not backing up. In the middle of the file transfer, it hangs and displays this message: 'copy my-file-name: The specified network name is no longer available'. No more access to Admin. The only way to bring it back is to disconnect the power supply (not even pushing the power button works). I've done some research and will try to direct connect my Duo to the PC to which the USB drive is attached. Will have to wait until next weekend though.

Final update: Even with a direct connection between the PC and the Duo, the result was the same. It only copied 30GB out of the 500GB and presented errors for the remainder. So I finally gave up. Proceeded to replace the failing disk and resync'd the the two drives which went fine. I have not tried to access the folder that didn't back up but I am assuming that data is lost. For the most part, the task was successfully completed.





Thanks!