Firmware Update from 6.7.1 to 6.7.3 Has Failed

I'm having exactly the same problem as mentioned here.

I've even removed all my drives and can't get in to the boot menu.

Also, if I try and boot off USB it says "booting off USB", then "booting", then "mount_block_root + 1f1"

What can I try from here?

I believe if it can't boot off the USB key it falls back to trying to boot off the disks.

Not all USB keys are compatible.

Our script expects a syslinux bootable USB key using the MBR partitioning scheme with the recovery files on the first partition.

A common reason I've seen for USB Boot Recovery failing is configuring a USB key with no partitions at all. The script looks for the first partition and can't find one so it cannot find the USB Boot Recovery files.

As has been mentioned elsewhere you can try using Rufus, you can try using syslinux 6.03 directly and you can try an alternative initrd.gz and kernel I've prepared that boot the NAS into a tech support mode like state.

Thanks mdgm.

As I mentioned, I've removed all the disks so I assume the FW on the chassis itself is stuffed.

I've tried using Rufus (just ran the program, clicked Start and then afterwards running Netgear USB Recovery) but that doesn't seem to work either

There's only one partition, FAT32

It appears that creating a bootable USB disk is like winning the lottery.

Your odd's of actually getting it to work are 1 in a million.

It's not something that is done very often if at all by most users.

There must be a better utility that Netgear can create that will create a bootable USB drive without having to use 3rd party software like Rufis to format a USB drive.

The utility should also automatically grab the latest firmware version from your desktop and put it in the correct place on the USB drive.

Updating your firmware on a NAS should never be this difficult.

Just another opionion.

This error relates to the firmware on the flash, yes.

In Rufus you could select to create a syslinux 6.0.3 bootable USB key with a MBR 0x80 put on the USB key. You can manually copy the files from the x86 folder from the USB Recovery download (except for the syslinux.exe)

I've sent you a PM with links to some custom initrd.gz and kernel files that you can use instead of the default initrd.gz and kernel. With these custom files the NAS will attempt to boot into a tech support mode like state and it won't matter if the USB key has a partition table on it or not.

Also the tool should be run as an Administrator (right click and select Run as Administrator)

Sorry to appear to be daft, but I'm pretty much a novice at this stuff. I just did a firmware upgrade and now my NAS is broken and I'm a bit lost as to how to fix it. I did an hour's chat with Support but that didn't really get me anywhere they just said to do an RMA which will mean weeks without my files. You said "In Rufus you could select to create a syslinux 6.0.3 bootable USB key with a MBR 0x80 put on the USB key" but there are no dropdown options that say anything about syslinux??

Under format options you can choose to create a bootable disk using Syslinux 6.03.

Under Advanced Options there's the BIOS 0x80 option. Note you need to right click on Rufus, and select Run as Administrator when opening it to get the maximum amount of options.

The partition scheme should be MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI

Filesystem FAT32

Cluster Size should be the default

In addition to what Rufus puts on the USB key you'd need to add:

initrd.gz

kernel

syslinux.cfg

ReadyNASOS-6.7.4-x86_64.img

NTGR_USBBOOT_INFO.txt

These should be in the x86 folder of the USB Recovery tool already if you've followed the process correctly.

Note if you downloaded the firmware zip you'll need to extract the contents of the zip folder. You'll get the .img file and also the Release Notes. The .img file needs to go on the USB key.

If you use the custom initrd.gz and kernel I sent you links to the NAS will boot into a tech support mode like state  (instead of doing USB Boot Recovery) enabling a remote fix. It's worth trying those if you can't get USB Boot Recovery to work with the standard initrd.gz and kernel.

As for RMA you should be able to select an Advanced RMA where we send you a unit first. This wouldn't take anything like weeks. Certainly fixing your unit with USB Boot Recovery is the best way forward if possible to get the fastest resolution. Where things work smoothly you can be back up and running pretty quick.

To offer my experience, I tried every permutation of USB Recovery drive I could find (e.g., different thumb drives, different versions of syslinux, with and without Rufus). Nothing worked. I RMA'd my 314, and I had a new unit in a few days' time. They bumped me to "Advanced" as a matter of course, which I was grateful for.

The replacement 314 booted instantly from the first USB Recovery drive (a Patriot 8GB) that I had been trying to use with the defective 314, and I was able to upgrade the firmware to 6.7.4 that way right out of the box. So, in my case, this "+1f1" problem was not solvable by the USB Recovery method and could only be addressed by an RMA.

For me our USB Recovery Tool works fine and is very straightforward to use. There are circumstances where a 3rd party tool such as Rufus can help.

Brilliant.

This post did the trick, now appears to be booting up properly - thanks heaps.

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/Firmware-Update-from-6-7-1-to-6-7-3-Has-Failed/m-p/1297776#M131641