Readynas DUO: Second WD20EARS drive never works.

Additional information:

I just put the one disk is and it now says Corrupted Root.

What version of RAIDiator (operating system) are you running. It will show up on the first page of Frontview (configuration application) as well as in the right hand column of RAIDar (ReadyNAS discovery application that runs on the PC).

BTW - the two things that go in the NAS and hold the drives are called trays.

Since it is new and has no data, I would do a factory default with just the drive in slot 1. For temporary use, you do not have to put an empty tray in slot 2, just set it to one side with the questionable drive to one side.

The factory will wipe the drives of all data, reinstall the OS from the flash drive and install the default configuration.

To perform an OS Re-install or Factory Default, this is managed via the Reset button on the back of the chassis.

Locate the reset pinhole.
ReadyNAS Duo/NV/NV+: the pinhole is next to the USB port in the back.
Get a straightened paper clip and depress the hidden switch in the pinhole while the power is off, and then power on the ReadyNAS.
After 5 seconds you will get the first flash of the LED's for the OS Re-install
At 30 seconds you will get the second flash of the LED's for the Factory Default.

If it still gives you a corrupt root error, you should call Netgear Technical Support. You have 90 days of free telephone support from the date of purchase. When you open a case with them, note the case number, and then edit your first post in this discussion and add the case number to the header.

Thanks for your reply. While waiting for answers I tried several things and now I am pretty sure I messed up the whole NAS. I made a case with the new problem:

I got a Corrupt Root error with one of the disks in the NAS. These were new disks and the NAS is new as well.
I browsed the forums and found several things I could do to maybe fix this. This included a OS reinstall and a TFTP boot recovery. I think it went wrong with the last part cause now, no matter if I reset it or not, the blue led keeps blinking and the drive led blink every 2-3 seconds. I kept the NAS like this the whole night and it kept doing the same thing when I woke up this morning. RAIDar doesn't recognize the NAS. I made my problem worse by trying to solve it cause it was working with one of the disks.

Boot Recovery should only be done if tech support or a Jedi recommends it.

If just one of your disks was having problems it could perhaps have been a bad disk or simply needed to be hooked up to a PC and have the partitions deleted off it.

mdgm wrote:
Boot Recovery should only be done if tech support or a Jedi recommends it. If just one of your disks was having problems it could perhaps have been a bad disk or simply needed to be hooked up to a PC and have the partitions deleted off it.

Did not know that. The disk that was bad had no partitions on it as it was new. I hooked it up to a PC later to check if it was corrupt but it worked fine. I had no clue about the boot recovery but that probably messed up my ReadyNAS Duo. I hope the Netgear support can help. Otherwise I will return the product.

Since the unit is so new and you do not have any data on the drives, I would attach both (one at a time) to a PC and delete all partitions. Do Not Format it, just delete the partitions. This will basically return the drive to the status of all the space is unallocated. Then I would put one in the Duo and see it it will boot. If not, try the other one (after removing the partitions as well).

While you have the drives attached, it sure wouldn't hurt to run WD Data Lifeguard tools on them. It should not matter whether you run it before or after you delete the partitions. Run the long test, it will take up to several hours per drive. However, once a drive has passed, you can reinstall it in the Duo and try a factory default.

Remember that the NAS is a specialized computer and it is very difficult to do anything to the software that will permanently harm the unit. It is possible that the firmware on the flash memory can be corrupted, but this is also something that tech support should be able to fix. A factory default is akin to reformatting the hard drive on a PC and reinstalling the operating system. It cures a lot ills, but also destroys any data, which is why it is normally a last resort.

Please post back with the results.

Thanks for the advice all. After talking with the NETgear support we decided it would be best for me to send the NAS back. The problem might've been that one of the drives wasn't compatible due to having a different firmware.

Next time I am going to be more careful trying to fix this stuff myself. ;-)

Hey Guys,

Today I got a new Readynas DUO as I've bricked the other one. I've done a hard reset with the "corrupt" drive in the NAS only. That drive will be working but when I add the other drive which was working before, it won't recognize it.
When I do it the other way around it doesn't work with two drives. Also when I put the two drives in during the hard reset the second drive doesn't work.

I've got two identical WD20EARS 2TB drives. Can I maybe buy and add a different kind of drive in the second slot to see if this works? I'm getting quite desperate now.

Funny...
Deja Vu story for me. Bought Ultra 2 Plus with two WD20EARS. Mounted both drives and ran the device. The second disk reported dead.
Fortunately the store replaced the disk (wasted one week).
Then I couldn't get Ultra 2 to work and ended up with "Corrupt Root".
Tried all the magic with hard reset, etc.
Finally contacted support and they replaced the device. I got new Ultra 2.
This time I used only one HDD. The second landed in external enclosure as a real backup (not RAID 1).

The story is not going to happy end. Ultra 2 is horribly noisy. Cannot stand it in neither my bedroom not living room. I guess I will sell it soon.

I have just bought and RND2000 Duo with two Caviar Green 'WD-20EARX' 2TB disks.

I added one disk in slot 1 and that worked fine. I then powered off unit and added the second disk in slot 2.

The units powered up ok but seemed unable to recognise the additional disk.

I then removed the disk in slot 1 and put the second disk in slot one. That worked and the disk was formatted and booted from ok.

I then put the original disk in the second slot (slot 2) and booted device. It looked at both disks and chose to boot off the original disk now residing in slot 2 and again was unaware of the disk in slot 1.

So I proved both disks were good and I proved that both slots were good.

Reading the compatibility issues it sounds like the Netgear O/S has been sorted now to accomodate these disks. I am running version 4.1.6 [1.00a043].

Can anyone provide any more help in trying to set up a second disk or do I write this device off as resiliant and run with one?