Ready Nas NV+ RND4000 Booting stalled

Hi,

I would say new to the forum but I had to register a new account as I have no idea what my previous login details were as they are stored on my inaccessible nAS :(

Ready Nas NV+ RND4000
(I believe it is a Version 1 unit)

Over the last year or two the firmware has been getting less stable and wouldn't accept the fw upgrade to the latest version.

More recently I can't even get into the admin web ui.

Yesterday one of the main directories of my files just magically disappeared. (Pretty sure I didn't delete it!)

So decided to risk a reboot to see if it would reappear.

But .... the NAS just sits there with Booting...... on the screen. Left it overnight for 10 hours... same status in the morning (and Raidar reporting the same Booting status).
The four HD green LEDs are lit and not flickering, the act LED is not lit and the blue power LED is constantly flashing on/off.

I have now tried a firmware reinstall using the little button on the back. Got a few messages about updating firmware and is now again sat at the Booting message.

Do I just leave it and wait several days to see if it comes back or is it stalled?

When I did firmware re-installs before the unit was up and running in 10mins.

(A second question is, if I have to throw the unit away can I buy a new one like the 104 and just put the 4 x HD disks in and have the data accessible or have I lost the lot?)

many many thanks for any responses
Daniel