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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS NVX (RNDX4210)
My ReadyNAS NVX (RNDX4210) no longer could boot up. After power up, the fan rev up in highspeed mode and staying in this mode forever, without going through normal boot up sequence. There's no display...
Hi Sandshark,
Thanks for the feedback. So Ultra or Pro 4/6 are later models than NVX and faster? I couldn't find any info on their backwards compatibility, so couldn't decide earlier. Are they also run on OS4, not OS6? Although my NVX is 4-bay, but I only need 2-bay for X-RAID2.
I hesitated to continue running with Netgear since they discontinued NAS and no longer support. Besides, my disks are also old and I don't know when they'll fail too. I was thinking of new options using SSD.
With the new RNDX4410, how critical is it to have the same OS version? Would it corrupt my existing volumes if OS version is different? I don't remember my old OS version and can't seem to find records of it. I'm now very concerned from what you said.
NightOwl2 wrote:
So Ultra or Pro 4/6 are later models than NVX and faster? I couldn't find any info on their backwards compatibility, so couldn't decide earlier. Are they also run on OS4, not OS6?
Pro 6 v1: Q4 2008
NVX: 2Q 2009
Ultra: Q4 2010
Pro 4/Pro 6 v2: Q4 2010
As far as performance goes, I think the NVX has about the same performance as the Ultras and first gen Pro 6. All are slower than the later Pro models.
The key limitation is that the NVX has a 32 bit architecture, the Ultra and Pro 4/6 have a 64 bit architecture.
Although not supported by Netgear, the Pro and Ultra systems can be converted to OS-6. NVX systems can't be converted, because OS-6 only runs on 64-bit platforms.
NightOwl2 wrote:
Although my NVX is 4-bay, but I only need 2-bay for X-RAID2.
Note the 2 in X-RAID2 has nothing to do with the number of disks. It's just a different implementation of X-RAID than what the older Sparc-based ReadyNAS systems used. They dropped that branding with OS-6, and just went back to calling it X-RAID.
In all ReadyNAS, X-RAID is just a management layer built on top of RAID. With two disks, you are just running RAID-1.
NightOwl2 wrote:
I was thinking of new options using SSD.
OS-6 has support for SSDs (trim, etc), but OS-4 does not. The hardware is also a problem, as none of the OS-4 ReadyNAS have disk trays designed to accept 2.5" drives. So you'd need to find a suitable 2.5 to 3.5 hard drive adapter.
NightOwl2 wrote:
With the new RNDX4410, how critical is it to have the same OS version? Would it corrupt my existing volumes if OS version is different?
It depends on the details. If the firmware in the flash of replacement is different than what is on the disks, then the NAS will automatically install the version in the flash. There is no problem when the flash version is newer. But if the flash version is very old, it can be a problem. The best strategy is to do an install using a single spare disk (not in the array), and then upgrade the firmware to the final 4.2.31 version. Then power down, remove the spare disk, and migrate your existing array to replacment. Then power up.
- Thanks Sandshark again for your very informative and helpful info!
OS 6 latest version was released in Jan 2024. Does it mean Netgear still supports it? Even so, I suspected they would terminate the support in not too distant future, given that they’re no longer in NAS business.
If I can recover my NVX data, and decided to get a Pro4 v2, can I migrate to OS6 without disk reformat?
NightOwl2 wrote:
OS 6 latest version was released in Jan 2024. Does it mean Netgear still supports it?All the ReadyNAS platforms that use it are end-of-life. Also, the verision of Debian Linux it uses (Debian 😎 is end-of-life. If you are looking for a supported NAS, you'll need to look at other vendors.
But if you are an existing ReadyNAS owner of a Pro or Ultra NAS (or some rackmounts that also run 4.2 firmware), then some of the benefits of converting it to run OS-6 are
- No limits on volume size
- Support for SMB 3.x and TLS 1.2
- Antivirus service
- Ok, thanks for the info StephenB!
That confirmed that I need to look at other vendor for current products.
Hi StephenB,
From your earlier advice:
"...The best strategy is to do an install using a single spare disk (not in the array), and then upgrade the firmware to the final 4.2.31 version. Then power down, remove the spare disk, and migrate your existing array to replacement. Then power up."I'm assuming you implied that firmware can only be updated if there's a disk present.
For the spare disk, can I use an old disk from my retired Window PC (which have unused window OS & data)?
I saw a " Factory Default" boot mode that would erase disk data. Would this reformat the disk?
It's been a while since I format a new disk in NVX, so I don't remember. Can't seem to find relevant info from manual.Thanks!
NightOwl2 wrote:
I'm assuming you implied that firmware can only be updated if there's a disk present.
While it is possible to do a USB recovery with 4.2.31 (diskless), that can be challenging with older NAS. They are often very fussy about which USB drives they accept.
Plus it is a good idea to check all the disk bays (See below).
NightOwl2 wrote:
For the spare disk, can I use an old disk from my retired Window PC (which have unused window OS & data)?
I saw a " Factory Default" boot mode that would erase disk data. Would this reformat the disk?Yes, you can do that. The factory default will reformat the disk, and install the OS partition on it. Then update the NAS to 4.2.31 if the firmware is older. You will need to use a browser that allows TLS 1.0 connections (otherwise you will get an SSL protocol / Cipher mismatch error in the browser). You can use Firefox, and set security.tls.version.min to 1 (browse to about:config and search for the setting). You'll browse to https://nas-ip-address/admin (using the real NAS IP address of course). The default NAS admin password for the NVX is netgear1
After that completes, I recommend checking all the disk bays before migrating your disks. Power down, and move the test disk the slot 2. Then power up, and make sure the NAS boots. Repeat for all the other slots.
Hi StephenB,
I followed your instructions and was able to recover my data. One of the disks got corrupted after 1st boot up, but it was successfully resynced. Thank you very much for your help!
Regards
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