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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS Ultra4 - what can I do with it?
HI, I have a ReadyNAS Ultra 4 purchased in early 2013. I have been away for 2+ years (in the UK) and came back to find that I can not communicate with the NAS. Security issue I think. When I left it...
Glenn3193 wrote:I have a ReadyNAS Ultra 4 purchased in early 2013. I have been away for 2+ years (in the UK) and came back to find that I can not communicate with the NAS. Security issue I think.
Likely you were running 4.2.x firmware. The security issues can easily be worked around - generally by enabling SMB 1.0/CIFS in Windows, and by installing an add-on to add TLS 1.2 support (eliminating the SSL protocol version/Cipher mismatch browser error).
Though a better option is to convert the NAS to run OS-6 firmware, which doesn't have either problem. Part of that process is to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB (from the stock 1 GB), which is inexpensive and easy to do. If you want more specific instructions on conversion, we can provide them here.
Hi StephenB,
" If you want more specific instructions on conversion, we can provide them here."
Yes, I would like that.
Thanks,
Glenn
I recommend increasing the RAM before you begin. Shipping OS-6 NAS have at least 2 GB of RAM, your ReadyNAS only has 1 GB. It might work, but there have been folks who have run into out-of-memory issues after converting. The upgrade is inexpensive, and is simple to do. If you aren't sure what to purchase, you can open the chassis and examine the RAM that's already installed in order to find something compatible.
Also, if you have the skills, you should probably back up the VPD before conversion. There are some cases where users have needed to restore the VPD post-conversion. More information on this is here:
The conversion steps are:
(Optionally) make sure the latest BIOS is installed before you do the conversion. To do this you install http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin as an add-on and reboot the NAS. Do this after you backup the NAS. This isn't necessary, but if you do want to update the BIOS it is easiest to do it prior to conversion.
Basic instructions for the conversion itself are
- BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
- Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
- Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
- After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
- Go through the setup process on the converted NAS
- Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work).
- Restore files from the backup.
There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again.
Note that if you ever need to do a USB recovery later on, you will need to use the procedure for 4.2 systems - substituting an OS-6 image for the 4.2.31 one.
Thanks Stephen,
I have factory default reset the Ultra4. Raidar has found the unit, I can locate and browse (backup, c:, home, media). I can place files in backup and media, but cannot access c or home. I get the box "enter network credentials", but it comes up with the warning "access is denied" even before I enter credentials. I have input "admin" with "password" and "netgear1", but cannot access.
When I hit admin page, my browser comes up with:
"Secure connection failed
An error occured.......Peer using unspupported version of security protocol...
This website might not support TLS 1.2 protocol"
I have tried with 3 browsers (Chrome, Edge and Firefox). I am running Windows 11, software up to date.
Any ideas on how to access the Ultra4 to install what you recommend?
Appreciate your time on this, and your reply.
Best,
Glenn
Glenn3193 wrote:
Any ideas on how to access the Ultra4 to install what you recommend?
The first step is to make a temporary change to the FireFox settings so you can access Frontview. That change is to set security.tls.version.min to 1 (browse to about:config and search for the setting).
Once you can get into Frontview, you have two options:
The first option is to keep using 4.2.x firmware. If you do that, then you should first update the firmware to 4.2.31 (if it is running something older), and then install this add-on:
The second (and IMO better) option is to convert the NAS to run OS-6, using the instructions in the the 4th post of this discussion thread.
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