I have a failed 424 chassis running OS6. Can I move the disks to an old but operating Ultra 4, running RAIDiator 4.2 in order to retrieve the data on the 424? Thanks.

Only if you first convert the Ultra to OS6. It's not a one-way trip, so you can revert to OS4.2.x later, if needed. Just use a drive that's not a part of either NAS's array to do the conversion process. The conversion process has been posted many times to the forum. Do a search (I recommend Google rather than the forum's own search), and choose a recent posting from StephenB that explains the process. The reversion process is not as well documented, as few go that route. But I can help if you get to that point.

Just out of curiosity - what happened to the RN424? The warranty is 5 years, so if you are the original owner you might look into getting an RMA from paid support (via my.netgear.com). Netgear won't provide paid support on a converted NAS, so that is one consideration. There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again. If you do decide to leave the Ultra running OS-6, then you should also consider increasing the RAM. Your RN424 has 2 GB of RAM, your Ultra only has 1 GB. Some folks who've done the conversion with just the stock memory have had problems with out-of-memory conditions. The upgrade to 2 GB is inexpensive, and is simple to do. If you skip this step, be careful to only enabling services you need - e.g., don't enable file search, antivirus, etc. (Optionally) make sure the latest BIOS is installed before you do the conversion. To do this you install http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin as an add-on and reboot the NAS. Do this after you backup the NAS. This isn't necessary, but if you so want to update the bios it is easiest to do it prior to conversion Basic instructions for the conversion itself are BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets) Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default. Go through the setup process on the converted NAS Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work). Restore files from the backup. Of course if you don't care about the data on the Ultra, you can skip steps 1 and 7. If you want to go back to 4.2.31 later on, you can remove the Ultra disks (labeling by slot), and install a temporary disk. Then set up the NAS on 4.2.31, and execute the conversion. You will need to reverse the conversion afterwards, so you will need the temporary disk again when you do that. Post conversion, you can power down the NAS, and migrate your disks (preserving slot order). Then just power up, and the system should boot on OS-6, with your data and apps intact.

whartonw wrote: I don't mind paying Netgear for repairs, so that's probably what i'll do. It's a quality piece of hardware. They don't do repairs, but they will replace your NAS under warranty - which again is 5 years for the original purchaser. Since the RN424 was launched in Jan 2017, the warranty should still be valid. This does assume you purchased from an authorized reseller. whartonw wrote: Spontaneously, a few weeks ago, all the wired connections in my LAN were completely disconnected. Many, many hours of trail-and-error troubleshooting later, I determined that the 424 connected to the Orbi router was the issue. I can't imagine how this is possible, We'd be happy to help a bit here. I suggest removing all the disks (labeling by slot), and powering up the NAS while connected to the router. Then see if you get the same symptoms. My guess is that you won't. Then install RAIDar on a PC, and see if it finds the NAS (reporting a no disks status). You should also see the NAS on your Orbi's device list. https://kb.netgear.com/20684/ReadyNAS-Downloads Let us know how those tests go.

whartonw wrote: It's sorta mind boggling to me that one connected device can cause the router to disconnect dozens of wired devices! I am thinking that your NAS might be generating a packet storm (flooding your network with traffic). That could be a result of something installed on the NAS - a misbehaving app for instance. Another possibility (hopefully not one you are dealing with) is that your NAS might have been hacked. A similar scenario is if your NAS is set up to do cloud sync (google or onedrive for example) - a big upload or download could be taking away all your internet bandwidth. That wouldn't cause any disconnections, but it would result in none of your devices being able to reach the internet. Connecting the NAS diskless will let us know if something installed on the NAS is destabilizing your network, or whether it is an unusual chassis failure. BTW, after the test you want to make sure that you reinstall the disks with the NAS powered down. Are you using only one of the ethernet connections to connect to the Orbi? Do you have any ports forwarded to the NAS (or alternatively did you put in into the Orbi's DMZ)? What apps (if any) have you installed on the NAS?

Fortunately, the red does show up when I quote your post :smileyfrustrated: whartonw wrote: Someone on the Orbi forum suggested something similar, that a device might be sending a stop frame; he suggested perhaps a disconnected USB-to-network adapter. As I mentioned, I am not conversant enough with the inner workings of networking to evaluate this, but taking the 424 off the network is what solved the issue. Yes, I saw that. That would be a bug related to ethernet flow control. If that is the problem (which I don't think is likely), the network won't misbehave when you power up the NAS diskless. whartonw wrote: Scary thought... but I have a ton of devices on the network, and nothing else is misbehaving. Understood. Though if the NAS were in the Orbi DMZ (or had ports forwarded) then it is a possibility. It wouldn't necessarily spread to the PCs. whartonw wrote: The cloud backup service (CrashPlan) pulls the data from the NAS, through one of the networked computers. Also, the bulk of the data has long since been uploaded and just the changes are going back and forth now -- not a huge volume. And, none of the dozen or so wireless devices, including laptops and smart phones, were disconnected. I use CrashPlan in a similar way (with the NAS volume mapped to network drive on a PC). I don't think it's fast enough to disrupt your wired network. whartonw wrote: Are you using only one of the ethernet connections to connect to the Orbi? Yes. The router is connected only to an unmanaged 16-port switch (which is new; my first trouble shooting step after the "outage" was to replace this switch, thinking this the quickest and easiest first step). Then there are smaller switches downstream, for example, a 5-port switch to which four NAS units are connected so they can talk to each other on their own shelf. I don't think you fully understood my question. The RN424 has 2 LAN ports. Did you connect both of them? Or just one? You should just connect one. BTW, it's worth trying the diskless test using both adapters (one at a time, not together). An ethernet loop can cause a packet storm (for instance, if you had two switches that were connected to each other, and also were both connected to a third switch or the router). So you might want to double-check that you haven't accidentally put in a loop. whartonw wrote: What apps (if any) have you installed on the NAS? I am only using a couple of apps on the NAS, both of which are part of the NAS OS, the backup and the built-in anti-virus. I haven't installed any third-party apps. I use the backup app to pull data from the networked computers, taking that load off the computer processors. That's useful to know. Have you enabled ReadyCloud?

Migrating disks backward from OS 6 to RAIDiator 4.2

35 Replies

Sandshark
Sensei
Apr 26, 2021
Only if you first convert the Ultra to OS6. It's not a one-way trip, so you can revert to OS4.2.x later, if needed. Just use a drive that's not a part of either NAS's array to do the conversion process.

The conversion process has been posted many times to the forum. Do a search (I recommend Google rather than the forum's own search), and choose a recent posting from StephenB that explains the process.

The reversion process is not as well documented, as few go that route. But I can help if you get to that point.
- StephenB
  Guru
  Apr 26, 2021
  Just out of curiosity - what happened to the RN424? The warranty is 5 years, so if you are the original owner you might look into getting an RMA from paid support (via my.netgear.com).
  
  Netgear won't provide paid support on a converted NAS, so that is one consideration. There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again.
  
  If you do decide to leave the Ultra running OS-6, then you should also consider increasing the RAM. Your RN424 has 2 GB of RAM, your Ultra only has 1 GB. Some folks who've done the conversion with just the stock memory have had problems with out-of-memory conditions. The upgrade to 2 GB is inexpensive, and is simple to do. If you skip this step, be careful to only enabling services you need - e.g., don't enable file search, antivirus, etc.
  
  (Optionally) make sure the latest BIOS is installed before you do the conversion. To do this you install http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin as an add-on and reboot the NAS. Do this after you backup the NAS. This isn't necessary, but if you so want to update the bios it is easiest to do it prior to conversion
  
  Basic instructions for the conversion itself are
  
  BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  
  Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  
  Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  
  After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
  
  Go through the setup process on the converted NAS
  
  Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work).
  
  Restore files from the backup.
  
  Of course if you don't care about the data on the Ultra, you can skip steps 1 and 7.
  
  If you want to go back to 4.2.31 later on, you can remove the Ultra disks (labeling by slot), and install a temporary disk. Then set up the NAS on 4.2.31, and execute the conversion. You will need to reverse the conversion afterwards, so you will need the temporary disk again when you do that.
  
  Post conversion, you can power down the NAS, and migrate your disks (preserving slot order). Then just power up, and the system should boot on OS-6, with your data and apps intact.
  - whartonw
    Guide
    Apr 26, 2021
    StephenB wrote:
    Just out of curiosity - what happened to the RN424?
    Since you asked, StephenB...the short answer is that I don't know yet.
    
    Spontaneously, a few weeks ago, all the wired connections in my LAN were completely disconnected. Many, many hours of trail-and-error troubleshooting later, I determined that the 424 connected to the Orbi router was the issue. I can't imagine how this is possible, but then all I know about the inner workings of LANs would not take up a lot of disk space. I got no usable help from the Orbi forum, (although a lot of attempts and commisation).
    
    Anyway, I am rapidly losing faith in Netgear over usability issues and the lack of sortware updating (I've got an Ultra that hums along like a Swiss watch, but needs software patches for network communication security so Windows will talk to it). I have been researching a replacment for the 424. Once I get the 424 off the my network, I plan to connect it directly to a computer via the network port and see if I can see if I can figure what's going on.
    
    I don't mind paying Netgear for repairs, so that's probably what i'll do. It's a quality piece of hardware.
    
    I have the data on the 424 backed up, but it's a cloud backup, so if I could just put the disks into another chassis to retrieve the data, it would be quicker.
    
    Probably more than you wanted to know, but I appreciate your interest.
- whartonw
  Guide
  Apr 26, 2021
  Thanks, Sandshark.
  
  I appreciate your reply. If the 424 is beyond resusciaition, I think that's what I'll do.
  
  w

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Migrating disks backward from OS 6 to RAIDiator 4.2

35 Replies

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