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Help needed: ReadyNAS NVX (RNDX4000) Restore to RAIDiator 4.2 - Empty /boot_flash
Hi everyone,
I’m reaching out because I made a major mistake while attempting to upgrade my ReadyNAS NVX (RNDX4000) from v4.2 to OS6. The upgrade failed, and now I'm trying to restore the unit back to its original RAIDiator 4.2 (x86) state.
The main issue is that my /boot_flash directory is currently completely empty. When I check the file system, I see the following:
# ls
bin dev init root sysroot var
boot_flash etc lib sbin tmp
data frontview proc sys usrThe error I'm stuck with is:
cp: cannot stat '/boot_flash/vpd': No such file or directoryI tried to manually recreate the missing file by creating the directory and adding my serial:
echo -n "22N193RA00131" > /boot_flash/vpd/vpd...but as expected, this didn't resolve the boot issue since the rest of the flash content is missing.
I am looking for a full backup or the contents of a working /boot_flash directory for this specific model running v4.2. Since official Tech Support is no longer available, I am just looking for any way to get the device functional again.
If anyone is willing to share the necessary files or a flash image but prefers not to post it publicly, please contact me directly at: oppo3d@gmail.com
Any help or guidance on how to properly reconstruct the boot environment for 4.2 would be greatly appreciated!
Do you see any possible options for recovering the NAS?Check your PMs (click on the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page).
21 Replies
First off, your NVX cannot be converted to OS6, It's a 32-bit unit, and OS6 is 64-bit. There are plenty of warnings in the forum and elsewhere that trying to do so can brick your unit. So it wasn't something you did wrong in the process, it's that you attempted it at all that caused your issue. So if you get this sorted out, don't try again.
Second off, the directory boot_flash is not your actual boot flash unless you have manually mounted the flash device to that directory. Unless you manually deleted it's contents, it should currently contain the non-bootable (by your NVX) OS6 image. It's been a long time since I used an OS4.2.x system, but I think that's where it temporarily stores the flash content before re-booting and installing it on the actual flash.
While the warning is that this can brick your unit, typically it does not and all that's needed is a USB recovery with OS4.2.31. If it really is empty, that will not restore your vpd file, so it still won't boot. But that's the first step. The vpd is an encrypted file that contains more than just your serial number, and there is no way to create your own.
I can't edit, but I realized I may not have been clear. The actual boot flash should still contain an OS6 image and your vpd while boot_flash is where the image is temporarily stored for an OS update.
Thank you very much for taking the time and giving attention to my issue — I truly appreciate it.
Unfortunately, the boot_flash is indeed empty. Mounting this directory confirmed that it does not contain any files.
Using RAIDiator 4.2 USB Flash Recovery, I install version 4.2.31. The NAS boots successfully and is able to perform both an OS update and a factory reset. RAIDar for Windows detects the running device without any issues.
At the moment, the only problem is that the administration panel is empty and shows only the graphical layout. All control buttons in the left frame of the web interface are missing. At the same time, the /shares/ web interface is displayed correctly.
My first assumption was a problem related to the certificate and SSL 1.0. However, I was unable to get a proper administrative interface even when using Windows XP with IE6, or Windows 7 with Firefox ESR 54. Even after disabling the HTTP→HTTPS redirect, the administrative interface still does not load correctly over HTTP.
My next thought was to look into the error during update: '/boot_flash/vpd': No such file or directory. This error appears in the serial console, which is connected to my computer via an ESP32. By the way, I came up with this bridge solution due to the lack of a dedicated cable, and it works reliably in both directions.
I suspect that the absence of files in boot_flash is preventing the administrative interface from loading its active content correctly.
I am also confused as to why USB Flash Recovery is unable to mount boot_flash, while I can successfully mount it in Tech Support mode using the root password you kindly provided in your article “Backup and restore of VPD file.” I am able to read from and write to the mounted boot_flash partition without any issues.
At this point, my (possibly incorrect) understanding is that the problem lies in the inability to mount boot_flash during the USB Flash Recovery process, and that some parts of the administrative interface may actually be stored there.
I'm still a little confused since you said you mounted the boot_flash directory. The actual boot flash is a hardware device (typically sde on a 4-drive unit, but likely something else if you are doing this without 4 drives installed) and is not automatically mounted. So did you mount the sde1 partition (or other device if it's different) to boot_flash?
Are you booting with drives installed? The OS has to install on at least one drive before the GUI works properly.
If RAIDar is properly showing the model name and serial number, then you do have an intact vpd file. I'm not sure how far OS4.2.31 gets in booting without a vpd file, so if RAIDar isn't showing that info, then the vpd may be the issue.
I believe I may have expressed myself incorrectly earlier when I mentioned mounting /boot_flash.
In fact, the mount operation does fail. Please accept my apologies for the inaccurate information.
Below, I will outline my actions and their results. I’m confident this will help you understand the current state of the NAS.
RAIDar does not display the NAS model or serial number.
This information was not shown before and is still not displayed after all the steps described below.
For the recovery process, I am using only a single disk. I understand that it is required for the OS.
For today’s experiment, I removed all partitions from the test disk and started from scratch.
I also cleared /boot_flash.
Unfortunately, I do not have enough experience to properly interpret these results.
The forum does not allow posting long messages with logs.
At the link below, you can see the current state of the administrative panel:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XaCzghWIvTweG7eqJX5ypN792Z37K3i_/view?usp=drive_link
3. OSReinstall
Creating RAID devices...done
Creating root filesystem...done
check disk format and do gpt conversion...
Extracting root image...done
Creating Volume Group...done
Creating data filesystem...done
Switching root to RAID device.
INIT: Entering runlevel: 2
Running ReadyNAS Universal Startup Script...
Starting the hotplug events dispatcher: udevd.
Synthesizing the initial hotplug events...done.
Waiting for /dev to be fully populated...done.
quitting on signal 15...
Setting disk write cache policy: sda.
awk: cannot open /proc/sys/dev/boot/info (No such file or directory)
Generating RSA key...done
Setting up LVM Volume Groups...done.
Checking all file systems...done
Setting kernel variables.
Mounting local filesystems...
/c
Checking quotas...done.
Turning on quotas.
Initializing random number generator... done.
Starting frontview boot scripts: frontview_rc.
Starting portmap...done.
Starting system log daemon: syslogd.
Starting deferred execution scheduler: atd.
Starting kernel log daemon: klogd.
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
Starting periodic command scheduler: cron.
Starting Samba daemons: smbd.
No ntpd found running; none killed.
RAIDiator 4.2.31 [192.168.1.137]
The administrative panel remains unchanged. The active content of the web page is not displayed at https://ip/admin/.
4. USB recovery with OS4.2.31 #2
SYSLINUX 3.73 2009-01-25 Copyright (C) 1994-2008 H. Peter Anvin
Loading kernel............................................
Loading initrd.gz...........................................ready.
[Hardware Error]: No human readable MCE decoding support on this CPU type.
[Hardware Error]: Run the message through 'mcelog --ascii' to decode.
ahci 0000:03:00.0: masking port_map 0x7 -> 0x3
Searching for external boot flash device...sdc
Searching for internal boot flash device...sdb
cp: cannot stat '/boot_flash/vpd': No such file or directory
Formatting USB boot flash device...
heads: 4 sectors: 62 cylinders: 1011 start 0
done
Writing internal USB boot flash device...done
Power down.
5. OSReinstall #2
check disk format and do gpt conversion...
Extracting root image...done
INIT: Entering runlevel: 2
Running ReadyNAS Universal Startup Script...
Starting the hotplug events dispatcher: udevd.
Synthesizing the initial hotplug events...done.
Waiting for /dev to be fully populated...done.
quitting on signal 15...
Setting disk write cache policy: sda.
awk: cannot open /proc/sys/dev/boot/info (No such file or directory)
Setting up LVM Volume Groups...done.
Checking all file systems...done
Setting kernel variables.
Mounting local filesystems...
/c
Turning on quotas.
Initializing random number generator... done.
Starting frontview boot scripts: frontview_rc.
Starting portmap...done.
Starting system log daemon: syslogd.
Starting deferred execution scheduler: atd.
Starting kernel log daemon: klogd.
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
Starting periodic command scheduler: cron.
Starting Samba daemons: smbd.
RAIDiator 4.2.31 [192.168.1.137]
6. Normal mode
Starting the boot process...
Loading kernel modules...sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 5:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
done
Bringing up RAID arrays...done
Bringing up network...eth0.done
Switching root to RAID device.
INIT: Entering runlevel: 2
Running ReadyNAS Universal Startup Script...
Starting the hotplug events dispatcher: udevd.
Synthesizing the initial hotplug events...done.
Waiting for /dev to be fully populated...done.
quitting on signal 15...
Setting disk write cache policy: sda.
awk: cannot open /proc/sys/dev/boot/info (No such file or directory)
Setting up LVM Volume Groups...done.
Checking all file systems...done
Setting kernel variables.
Mounting local filesystems...
/c
Turning on quotas.
Initializing random number generator... done.
Starting frontview boot scripts: frontview_rc.
Starting portmap...done.
Starting system log daemon: syslogd.
Starting deferred execution scheduler: atd.
Starting kernel log daemon: klogd.
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
grep: /proc/sys/dev/boot/info: No such file or directory
Starting periodic command scheduler: cron.
Starting Samba daemons: smbd.
RAIDiator 4.2.31 [192.168.1.137]
1. Tech Support mode.
telnet (root)
# ls
bin dev init proc sys usr
boot_flash etc lib root sysroot var
data frontview mnt sbin tmp
# cat /proc/partitions
8 0 488386584 sda
8 16 125440 sdb
8 17 125333 sdb1
# find / -name "vpd"
/boot_flash/vpd
/dev/vpd
# ls -lh /dev/vpd
crw------- 1 60, 0 Mar 19 16:21 vpd
# ls -l /boot_flash/vpd
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 Mar 19 16:36 /boot_flash/vpd
# cat /boot_flash/vpd
# mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime)
tmpfs on /dev type tmpfs (rw,relatime,size=10240k,mode=755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600)
# cd boot_flash
# ls -l
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 Mar 19 16:36 vpd
# cat vpd
# rm vpd
# ls -l
# find / -name "vpd"
/dev/vpd
1. Tech Support mode.
telnet (root)It doesn't look like you tried to mount the real boot flash.
mount /dev/sdb1 /mntIf that works, then try
ls /mntYou should see something like this:
csums.md5 kernel.up root.tlz version.txt
initrd.gz ldlinux.sys supplmnt.tlz vpd
kernel memtest syslinux.cfg
Let us know what you see there.
# mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
# ls /mnt
csums.md5 kernel memtest supplmnt.tlz version.txt
initrd.gz ldlinux.sys root.tlz syslinux.cfg
#
2. USB recovery with OS4.2.31 #1
sd 5:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
sd 6:0:0:0: [sdb] Assuming drive cache: write through
Fata1: COMRESET failed (errno=-16)
Searching for external boot flash device...sdb
Searching for internal boot flash device...sda
cp: omitting directory '/boot_flash/vpd'
Formatting USB boot flash device...
heads: 4 sectors: 62 cylinders: 1011 start 0
done
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