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Forum Discussion
gery102
Feb 24, 2017Aspirant
ReadyNAS Duo V1 - Boot Problem (Power LED off)
When I power up my system (readyNAS Duo), it starts the its routine however the "Power LED" (blue one) never goes on. I cannot connect any more to the unit over web browser or file viewer like windows explorer.
The LED statues: both drive LEDs are solid green; ACT LED flashes; backup LED is off; Power blue LED (on button) is off.
During the booting process I can monitor the Duo using the RAIDar software for a certain while. The RAIDar finds the unit on network, displays correct name of the unit, detects 2 hard disks and places green checkmarks next to each drive icons. Interesting part is that the firmware info is never displayed. If I remember correctly the firmware on this unit is 4.1.14. Next, I can observe on RAIDar screen the status changing from “Checking file system”, to “Quota check”, and next to “System starting up…”. At the end the connection is broken and a message is posted “RAIDar could not find any NETGEAR storage on your network. Check that your storage device is powered on and connected correctly. For more help, visit http://my.netgear.com.”
Evidently the boot process fails. Based on some web research, I suspect the SODIMM to be defected but I not sure.
Please advice.
Ok... I resolved this matter successfully. It turned to be two separate things.
First, the power LED is broken. So, it never goes on. This can be resolved sometimes later if needed.
Second, if the system is booting (going through all the stages described in my original post) and dies at the end, this indicates that a problem is not the SoDIMM (as I suspected) but corrupted OS files. So, I decided to reinstall OS. This process is very simple and it took me about 5 min.
The tricky part was to determine the version of my ReadyNAS Duo unit. There are 2 labels on my unit contradicting each other. One white big label with serial number and model number RND2110-100NAS indicates version 1 (where 100NAS means v1), and second silver label says NETGEAR RND2110 v2. The second label has misleading “v2” pointing to version2. In my case the unit is version 1 and the back panel layout confirms it.
So, to reinstall OS on Netgear Duo version 1, I did the followings…
- Start with the power off unit
- Push and hold the reset button on the back panel, meantime
- Push power button on front panel
- Wait until both green disks LEDs flash
- Release reset button (on back panel)
- Let the system re-install OS (it will take about 5 min)
- System will reboot itself when done
When system rebooted, the RAIDar software shows the unit status as “Healthy” and the firmware as “4.1.13”. At this I was able to access my files over Windows Explorer. It made me happy again.
The next step was to try to communicate with the unit via web console called “Frontview”. This turned to be a problem at the beginning. I was aware that the OS reinstall resets credentials to a login “admin” and password: “netgear1”. However, I tried them but I was not able to log in to the Frontview. I rebooted the unit manually, sill no success with logging in. I left the system running over night. Next day, to my surprise, I was able to access Frontview without problem. Happy again.
Now using Frontview, I was able to verify my setting and as a matter of fact almost all values (as pre-install values) were there correct with exception of “IPv4 assignment” and “Speed/Duplex mode” on the “Network > Interfaces” page. I adjusted these and changed my admin password.
Next I decided to upgrade the firmware to the latest one - 4.1.15. For this purpose, I used a feature located on “System > Update” page. The upgrade went perfectly. Now, back in business…
This morning, I received a memory chip - Crucial 1GB DDR-333MHz, PC2700, 200-PIN SODIMM 2.5V CL=2.5 Unbuffered Non-ECC (CT12864X335), ordered at the point I suspected the SoDIMM to be defected. I plugged it in the place of original Apacer 256MB SOD PC3200 CL3. The unit booted without any problem. I tested it by accessing files and using web console. My Duo “flies” now.
I re-tested unit by rebooting it couple times and … it keeps working. The speed is noticeable faster than before (with 256MB). I can experience it loading and surfing the Frontview – web console and well accessing files.
Good deal overall and a good experience I want share with other who may be interested.
5 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Retired_Member
In case you have put the power plug into any kind of extension lead and/or behind a usv (uninteruptable power supply), now just directly plug it into a power socket in the wall and try again.
- StephenBGuru - Experienced User
gery102 wrote:
Next, I can observe on RAIDar screen the status changing from “Checking file system”, to “Quota check”, and next to “System starting up…”
Do you have a backup of the data, or do you need to extract it?
Note one of the disks is a "parity disk" (generally disk 2). The data is mirrored there, but it there is no partition structure that covers the data volume. So it is not possible to access it.
If you can connect disk 1 to a PC (either with SATA or a USB adapter) you can try reading the data with r-linux for windows. http://www.r-tt.com/free_linux_recovery/ If it doesn't see the C volume, try again with disk 2 - sometimes the parity disk and the data disk get reversed over time.
You could try
- running the memory test
- doing an os reinstall
but I suggest getting the data off the NAS (if needed) before experimenting/troubleshooting.
The boot menu options are on page 15 here: http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RND2110/Duov1_NV+v1_HW_en_06Dec11.pdf
Note the memory test will loop forever until it finds a failure.
gery102 wrote:
Please advise.
Another option is to get an up-to-date ReadyNAS and migrate the data with help from support. http://kb.netgear.com/29876/ReadyNAS-Migrating-disks-from-RAIDiator-4-1-or-RAIDiator-5-3-to-ReadyNAS-OS-6?cid=wmt_netgear_organic
An RN102/RN104 will be faster than your duo, but if your budget stretches to an RN212/RN214 then I'd definitely recommend upgrading to that.
- gery102Aspirant
Ok... I resolved this matter successfully. It turned to be two separate things.
First, the power LED is broken. So, it never goes on. This can be resolved sometimes later if needed.
Second, if the system is booting (going through all the stages described in my original post) and dies at the end, this indicates that a problem is not the SoDIMM (as I suspected) but corrupted OS files. So, I decided to reinstall OS. This process is very simple and it took me about 5 min.
The tricky part was to determine the version of my ReadyNAS Duo unit. There are 2 labels on my unit contradicting each other. One white big label with serial number and model number RND2110-100NAS indicates version 1 (where 100NAS means v1), and second silver label says NETGEAR RND2110 v2. The second label has misleading “v2” pointing to version2. In my case the unit is version 1 and the back panel layout confirms it.
So, to reinstall OS on Netgear Duo version 1, I did the followings…
- Start with the power off unit
- Push and hold the reset button on the back panel, meantime
- Push power button on front panel
- Wait until both green disks LEDs flash
- Release reset button (on back panel)
- Let the system re-install OS (it will take about 5 min)
- System will reboot itself when done
When system rebooted, the RAIDar software shows the unit status as “Healthy” and the firmware as “4.1.13”. At this I was able to access my files over Windows Explorer. It made me happy again.
The next step was to try to communicate with the unit via web console called “Frontview”. This turned to be a problem at the beginning. I was aware that the OS reinstall resets credentials to a login “admin” and password: “netgear1”. However, I tried them but I was not able to log in to the Frontview. I rebooted the unit manually, sill no success with logging in. I left the system running over night. Next day, to my surprise, I was able to access Frontview without problem. Happy again.
Now using Frontview, I was able to verify my setting and as a matter of fact almost all values (as pre-install values) were there correct with exception of “IPv4 assignment” and “Speed/Duplex mode” on the “Network > Interfaces” page. I adjusted these and changed my admin password.
Next I decided to upgrade the firmware to the latest one - 4.1.15. For this purpose, I used a feature located on “System > Update” page. The upgrade went perfectly. Now, back in business…
This morning, I received a memory chip - Crucial 1GB DDR-333MHz, PC2700, 200-PIN SODIMM 2.5V CL=2.5 Unbuffered Non-ECC (CT12864X335), ordered at the point I suspected the SoDIMM to be defected. I plugged it in the place of original Apacer 256MB SOD PC3200 CL3. The unit booted without any problem. I tested it by accessing files and using web console. My Duo “flies” now.
I re-tested unit by rebooting it couple times and … it keeps working. The speed is noticeable faster than before (with 256MB). I can experience it loading and surfing the Frontview – web console and well accessing files.
Good deal overall and a good experience I want share with other who may be interested.
- gery102Aspirant
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