ReadyNAS NV+ and 2TB disks?

nv+ has supported 2tb disks for a long time.

the main problem people seem to have is with either bad disks or problems with western digitals 4k sector (advanced format EARS series disks).

with the latest 4.1.7 betas and a factory default, the WD disks work fine, I have been using with no problems even with 4.1.6

Yep, with the new beta bios. 4.1.7 T60. I have four new Seagate 2GB LP's also flashed with the new CC35 firmware in the drives and no issues so far with my NV+ but I still have a bunch of testing to do before it goes into production. I originally bought 4 x 2GB WD drives but after reading all the hassles people had to go through to disable the constant head parking on the WD's I returned them (unopened) to my supplier and bought the Seagates. So far so good. Very quiet, very cool, no vibration and no clicking heads that I can detect using the new CC35 drive firmware.

I haven't tested automatic drive spindown yet after xx hours of no activity but I'll post back once I've confirmed it's not a problem. My original Samsung 1GB drives spun down with no issues in my other NV+ so I'm hoping the same for the Seagates in the new box.

You'll have to do a factory reset once you flash the new NV+ firmware and then install the new drives (and of course making sure you have a backup of your data from the old drives). If you go with the Seagates I highly recommend you update their firmware to CC35 if they don't already have that. Cheers!

James

The factory reset can in fact be done in any version of Frontview as the problem with the 2TB drives (excepting the WD drives) is the attempt to expand the volume. The expansion needs the 16K block size which was introduced with 4.01c1-p1. Those NV/NV+ units shipped before Frontview 4.x must have a factory default in order to use 16K blocks.

Ownaish - if you install the 2 x 2TB drives in addition to the 2 x 750GB drives the 2TB drives will be recognized as 2TB but only 750GB will be used. This means you will have with X-Raid a redundant volume of about 2 GB after overhead. If on the other hand you replace the 2 x 750GB with the 2 x 2TB drives, you will have a redundant volume of about 1.8 GB after overhead. (Overhead runs about 7%)

The process for either is to use one of the 2TB drives installed in a PC to back up the current volume.

Then in case 1, with the current 750GB drives in place, do a factory default with 4.1.6. This will update the system to use the 16K blocks. Then you can restore the data from the 2TB drive back onto the current volume. Then you can hot add the two 2TB drives to the unit. Hot adding will wipe the drives and resync the volume each time you add the drives. Note: this will take a while to process each time.

Then in case 2, after the backup, install the 2TB drive not used for the backup when the unit is off. Then after it has initialized the drive and the volume is ready, copy the data back from the backup drive to the NAS. Once all the data has been restored to the NAS, you can then remove the second 2TB from the PC and hot add it to the NAS. This will wipe the drive and after the resync it will be part of the redundant volume.

In case 2, you can then use the 750GB drives as backup targets when installed in a PC.

Once 4.1.7 is released as a final version, then you can upgrade to that version. Another factory default would only be needed if you were going to use some of the Advanced Technology Western Digital drives that use the 4K sectors (not the same as the blocks) which must be aligned in order to get normal file transfer speeds.

Yes, the SeaGate 2TB disks are not 4k sector disks. But, the 3TB drive they'll release (hopefully soon) will be.

Hello,
I intend to buy an NV+ and 4 x 2 TB drives, for home use (back-up, audio/video server,..) with a variety of Mac and PC (Win XP) computers.
Looking at the HCL and considering cost, the drive options are down to:
- Western Digital WD20EARS
- Seagate Barracuda LP

I read about early issues with the EARS, which seem to be sorted out now (but is there an issue with respect to Win XP?).
Any advice offered about the above choice?

TIA,

Pier

PS Unfortunately the HCL does not include any Samsung drive, with which I had good experience (as PC drives)

I think any issue with respect to Win XP would be if it were installed into an XP based PC. Yes it is an Advanced Format drive but some of the postings I have seen state that XP 32bit has a 2.19TB limit (I do not know if this is correct or not). That would however, apply to the PC with XP and not to the NAS. We already know that there are NAS's out there with far more than 2TB connected to a network and accessed by XP.

I believe there are still issues with both the WD20EARS and the ST32000542AS drives. If you can physically lay eyes on the drives and know that the Seagates are FW version CC35 or higher, then you should be ok. If the drive is CC34, there is a firmware upgrade to CC35 but there have been some difficulty in getting some drives to accept it. Spend some time reading through and you may want to use the search to search for posts about the ST32000542AS for more info.

The WD20EARS was settled down, until they went from 4 platters to 3 platters and changed the extension on the drives. Then there are some problems again.

Just keep in mind that the 2TB drives are still the leading edge. If you need that much storage, then you have to make a decision. If you don't foresee your need for that much storage for a few years, you might want to consider the 1TB drives. They seem to be rock solid when compared to the 2TB models.

PapaBear wrote:
The factory reset can in fact be done in any version of Frontview as the problem with the 2TB drives (excepting the WD drives) is the attempt to expand the volume. The expansion needs the 16K block size which was introduced with 4.01c1-p1. Those NV/NV+ units shipped before Frontview 4.x must have a factory default in order to use 16K blocks.

How can I tell if I'm operating with 16K blocks? I can't recall if I've factory defaulted this unit - and being an NV I've had it a while! Currently have 4x750s and need to upgrade them soon.

Cheers, --Kip

You revived a thread that's been dead for months. It would've been better to open a new thread. I'd recommend having a read of Why you might want to factory reset a Sparc ReadyNAS

I have recently purchased the NV+ and purchased my first HDD for the unit, however the retailer has shipped me the wrong model. But before I have to contact the retailer and jump through the hoops to try and return the HDD I was wondering if anyone knew if the NV+ now supported the WD20EARX 2TB drive? I actually purchased the WD20EARS 2TB drive, but when it turned up it was the WD20EARX model. I know the list of supported drives lists the WD20EARS only, but it appears as though the list has been updated for quite awhile. Hence I am just trying to find out it the WD20EARX will work, thus saving me a lot of time and effort to try and return this drive for the correct model (the model that I actually ordered but wasn't sent).

Cheers in advance for your assistance.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=WD20EARX

from the results it looks like EARX is an EARS with a sata3 controller (6gbs)

as for whether it works, about the only thing your gonna be able to do, is try it and tell us if it works for you.