"factory reset" advice given WAY too often...

garyd9 wrote:
I realize that a "factory reset" (or "factory default") might resolve many issues. However, I think people on this forum are suggesting it entirely too often.

It is a way that can be useful to resolve some issues.

Having said that many users run their NAS units quite happily for several years without doing a factory default e.g. my Ultra 6 was last factory reset back in 2010.

garyd9 wrote:
(Equally as annoying (if not more so) is the followup of "You DO have a backup, don't you?" question. )

Important data should no be stored on just the one device. I'd rather stress this too much and someone gets this message and it helps them, than to not say it enough. Many users don't understand the difference between RAID and backup.

garyd9 wrote:
Think about this for a moment: The readyNAS (any model) is first and foremost a network STORAGE device. A "storage device" isn't serving it's primary purpose if you have to erase it every few weeks or months to resolve firmware issues. That would be like a watch that you had to reset the time on every few hours.

You shouldn't need to reset it except in rare cases, but it can be a useful troubleshooting step. Our x86_64 models e.g. 300 series don't have the expansion limitations that legacy devices have so factory resets should be necessary less often that they used to be.

TeknoJnky wrote:
I've repeatedly suggested/requested that need to have a 'factory reset keeping data' option, which would satisfy most people's issues with the whole 'factory rest' thing.

An issue I see with this is that if used inappropriately this may wipe important logs and make data recovery more difficult.

StephenB wrote:
One reason is that it is a method that works predictably. People who post problems here have very different skill levels, and sometimes a reset/restore gets them back up and running more quickly and with less stress than trying to do step-by-step diagnosis on the forum.

+1

vandermerwe wrote:
The number of times you see factory default recommended is alsmost certainly a reflection of the fact that the forum sees the most challenging of problems, and in fact these form a minuscule proportion of the total users of readynas.

Yes, both the forums and support will get some challenging problems.

StephenB wrote:
Of course, posters are free to give the advice they consider appropriate. So if someone has an alternative to a reset that they think should be tried, they are free to post that alternative.

YEs.