Forum Discussion

Aspirant

Jan 09, 2020

Solved

ReadyNAS Duo v1 NIC failure?

Hi there I have a ReadyNAS Duo v1 with 2x2TB drives. I have been unable to connect to it for a week or so.... and I have tried: - - connecting it to 2 different routers and different ports on t...

StephenB
Jan 09, 2020
JTJT wrote:

Any help or other options would be greatly appreciated

Let's start with this. If you have a USB adapter/dock you can power down the NAS and connect disk 1 of the NAS to a Windows PC. Then use R-linux for Windows to offload the data. https://www.r-studio.com/free-linux-recovery/

JTJT wrote:

1. Mount the old drives in the new chassis, but will that even allow me to get access to the data? Or is there a specific process I should follow to do this?

If there is no damage to the RAID array on the disk this is possible. If the firmware on the "new" chassis isn't the same as what is installed on the disks, then the "new" system will install whatever firmware it is running onto the disks when you boot it up. It would be good to avoid this (or at least eliminate the possibility that you are downgrading firmware).

So the first thing to do is get a scratch disk (not from the array), install it in the new Duo, and let it set up. After that, install the same version of firmware that was on the "old" Duo. If you don't know the firmware, install 4.1.16.

Note that if the working Duo runs 5.x.x firmware or 4.2.x firmware, then it isn't a Duo v1, and it can't be used for recovery.

After installing the firmware, power down, remove the scratch disk, and put disk 2 of the array into slot 2. Power up using the boot menu to skip the volume check, as you don't want the system to attempt to repair any damage (as it could result in data loss). See pages 15-16 here: http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RND2110/Duov1_NV+v1_HW_en_06Dec11.pdf

I'm suggesting disk 2 because

(a) it preserves one of the disks for other possible recovery attempts

(b) RAID recovery software and R-linux for Windows have trouble with the Duo v1's "parity" disk - which is usually disk 2. So it's best to preserve disk 1.

JTJT wrote:

2. Would it be better to take the NIC out of the working device and put it the old one?

I wouldn't do that. If you find after data recovery that the "working" device isn't quite working, then you could try it I guess.

StephenB

Guru - Experienced User

Jan 09, 2020

JTJT wrote:

Any help or other options would be greatly appreciated

Let's start with this. If you have a USB adapter/dock you can power down the NAS and connect disk 1 of the NAS to a Windows PC. Then use R-linux for Windows to offload the data. https://www.r-studio.com/free-linux-recovery/

JTJT wrote:

1. Mount the old drives in the new chassis, but will that even allow me to get access to the data? Or is there a specific process I should follow to do this?

If there is no damage to the RAID array on the disk this is possible. If the firmware on the "new" chassis isn't the same as what is installed on the disks, then the "new" system will install whatever firmware it is running onto the disks when you boot it up. It would be good to avoid this (or at least eliminate the possibility that you are downgrading firmware).

So the first thing to do is get a scratch disk (not from the array), install it in the new Duo, and let it set up. After that, install the same version of firmware that was on the "old" Duo. If you don't know the firmware, install 4.1.16.

Note that if the working Duo runs 5.x.x firmware or 4.2.x firmware, then it isn't a Duo v1, and it can't be used for recovery.

After installing the firmware, power down, remove the scratch disk, and put disk 2 of the array into slot 2. Power up using the boot menu to skip the volume check, as you don't want the system to attempt to repair any damage (as it could result in data loss). See pages 15-16 here: http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RND2110/Duov1_NV+v1_HW_en_06Dec11.pdf

I'm suggesting disk 2 because

(a) it preserves one of the disks for other possible recovery attempts

(b) RAID recovery software and R-linux for Windows have trouble with the Duo v1's "parity" disk - which is usually disk 2. So it's best to preserve disk 1.

JTJT wrote:

2. Would it be better to take the NIC out of the working device and put it the old one?

I wouldn't do that. If you find after data recovery that the "working" device isn't quite working, then you could try it I guess.

JTJT

Aspirant

Jan 10, 2020

Hi StephenB

Thanks very much for your detailed response. Unfortunately, I don't have a USB adaptor for the disks and not sure what I would be looking for to get one :(

For your second option, I don't know the firmware version on the old system, so I guess I would need to try to upgrade new one to v4.1.16 as you suggest, although it is just being delivered to me, so I guess I could check firmware version when I get it?.... but what if I don't have a 'scratch disk'? Is there any way to update the chassis without one?

When I spoke to Netgear support, they said that I could just plug the old disks into a duplicate chassis and they would work, I am guessing from what you explained that won't work....

Thanks very much in advance for your help

Jonathan

Sandshark
Sensei - Experienced User
Jan 10, 2020
JTJT wrote:
Hi StephenB

I guess I could check firmware version when I get it?.... but what if I don't have a 'scratch disk'? Is there any way to update the chassis without one?
When I spoke to Netgear support, they said that I could just plug the old disks into a duplicate chassis and they would work, I am guessing from what you explained that won't work....
You cannot check or update the OS version without putting in a scratch drive. It can be any old, small, SATA drive containing no data you need to retain.

If the replacement NAS has really old firmware, then just putting in the drives has risk. Unlike an OS6 NAS, where "the newest version wins" (in flash vs. on drives), the flash version always wins on older NAS. And there are certain steps in the OS update process that should never be downgraded, which will happen if the flash image is older. By putting the newest OS in the replacement chassis, you are insuring that the OS on your drives will stay the same (if they are the same already), or update (which should be safe if the volume is intact).
StephenB
Guru - Experienced User
Jan 11, 2020
JTJT wrote:

but what if I don't have a 'scratch disk'? Is there any way to update the chassis without one?

There's no way to update the chassis without a disk installed.

JTJT wrote:

Unfortunately, I don't have a USB adaptor for the disks and not sure what I would be looking for to get one :(

Something like these should work:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-5-25-INCH-Converter-Activity-USB-DS12/dp/B0758RP5V8/

https://www.amazon.com/Benfei-Adapter-Compatible-Optical-Support/dp/B07JGT17B8

I use one both to test drives before I put them in the NAS, and to check them when I see issues. They are less expensive than getting a replacement chassis, and in my opinion is a better investment than getting an ancient used NAS.

JTJT wrote:

When I spoke to Netgear support, they said that I could just plug the old disks into a duplicate chassis and they would work, I am guessing from what you explained that won't work....

Sigh... They really should give more complete answers.

Any duo v1 you buy now is at least 8 years old, and you have no idea when you purchase it what firmware is on it, or even if the chassis works. Since it is used, Netgear won't provide paid support.

Confirming that the chassis actually does work before you trust your data to it is prudent. A chassis with failing hardware could possibly do some damage to the file system on the disks.

As I said earlier, if the firmware on the replacement doesn't match, the NAS will attempt to install what's on it's flash onto the OS partition. That usually works. But if the firmware is very mismatched, there could be a problem. In some cases the firmware updates also updated the on-disk structures on the data volume - and there were warnings that you couldn't downgrade after you applied those updates.

It's a bigger deal with the NV+ v1, since it's a much older platform than the Duo. Still, if it were my data I wouldn't just migrate my disks blindly to a used NAS. I'd purchase a disk to test it with if I didn't have one handy.
- JTJT
  Aspirant
  Jan 17, 2020
  StephenB, Sandshark
  
  OK, so I have a scratch disk, installed it in the ReadyNAS and it boots up fine.
  Raidar can see it and I can browse the disk fine.
  It's on firmware v4.1.16 so that is all good.
  
  I now have two more problems: -
  1. When I tried to go into setup, it wouldn't accept factory login details (User=admin password=password).
  
  2. StephenB I followed your advice and installed Disk2 from the old system into slot2 and booted skipping the volume check, but now Raidar can't see the ReadyNAS and on the front Disk 2 is solid green, but Disk 1 is flashing green (assuming it wants it's mirrored pair int here).
  
  Any ideas?
  - StephenB
    Guru - Experienced User
    Jan 17, 2020
    JTJT wrote:
    
    I now have two more problems: -
    
    1. When I tried to go into setup, it wouldn't accept factory login details (User=admin password=password).
    
    Default password for the Duo v1 is netgear1
    
    JTJT wrote:
    
    2. StephenB I followed your advice and installed Disk2 from the old system into slot2 and booted skipping the volume check, but now Raidar can't see the ReadyNAS and on the front Disk 2 is solid green, but Disk 1 is flashing green (assuming it wants it's mirrored pair int here).
    
    Hopefully Slot 1 was empty.
    
    If you're getting the USB adapter, you should wait for that and use R-linux for Windows. If you aren't getting it, the next step would be to rty booting the NAS with only disk 1 - also skipping the volume check.