NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
MrPeteH
Dec 22, 2015Aspirant
Does OS Reinstall *REALLY* reset the Admin password?
I'm helping a nonprofit that has all their data locked up in a ReadyNAS NVX 4250... and no records on the recovery email or PW.
I've used the front panel to reload the OS. RAIDar does find it, and shows that it is running an older OS version -- 4.2.5
BUT... I can't log in to the admin interface. Supposedly, an OS reinstall will reset the admin pw. But neither of the defaults work: password, netgear1.
SO... does the Admin PW actually get reset on OS reinstall? Can I force an OS *upgrade* somehow (maybe using a USB memory stick and the front panel?) Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Pete
4 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- JennCNETGEAR Employee Retired
Hello Mr.PeteH,
Welcome to the community!
Yes, OS reinstall option reinstalls the firmware from the internal flash to the disks. Use the OS reinstall boot mode when the system crashes and corrupts some configuration files. OS reinstall boot mode also resets some settings on your unit, such as Internet protocol settings and the administrator password, to defaults.
Default login is admin for username and netgear1 for password, all lower case. You may try using another web browser or clearing cache if it does not log you in. But if you do not have any important data stored yet to the disks inserted to the NAS, you can try using the factory reset from the boot menu as this will format the disks where the files and settings are saved.
Regards,
- MrPeteHAspirant
They have 100% of all of their valuable data for the last five years on the ReadyNAS so Factory Reset is not exactly an option.
Thanks for the confirmation, which tells me I did get the process and password correct, and it doesn't work. :(
Question: I've heard there's an (old-style) "hack" to load the OS from USB...
- Might it more fully reset the password?
- Are there any issues due to the fact that this box is running 4.2.5? (I saw a note about not going back to 4.2.5 after updating to 4.2.7 and beyond... that nudges me to imagine there was a significant change after 4.2.5...)
Thanks!
pete
- StephenBGuru - Experienced User
MrPeteH wrote:
They have 100% of all of their valuable data for the last five years on the ReadyNAS so Factory Reset is not exactly an option.
4.2.5 is very old. You might try install an ancient (e.g. ~2007) version of firefox, and see if that allows you to log in.
If SMB access still works, you can offload the data before the reset. Painful, but possible.
Related Content
- Jul 15, 2018Retired_Member
NETGEAR Academy

Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!