HELP. RN Pro Pioneer Edition) Not turning on, but...

winger13 wrote:
FastFwd - I am unsure if you are familiar w/ this ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer unit, but am wondering whether you know if it is pretty straight forward removing the Power Supply assemble or have instructions. The screws and nuts on this unit seem pretty solidly tightened throughout and I would hate to strip any screws heads just to find out later I tried loosening the wrong screw(s).

I've removed the power supply from my Pro Pioneer; it was a while ago, but I don't remember it being particularly difficult. I think you might have to remove both side panels first (and maybe the top panel? I forget, but it should be obvious once you're in there) in order to remove the back panel. And the case fan is mounted to that back panel, so you'll have to unplug it from the motherboard in order to remove the panel.

I also just remembered that the AC cord doesn't plug directly into the power supply; it goes to a switch panel on the back of the NAS, and then three wires from the power supply connect to the panel with push-on spade connectors. So you'll have to disconnect those wires at the switch in order to remove the power supply.

I think I'm making this sound more complicated than it actually is. Just go slowly, keep track of which screws go where, and if necessary take cellphone photos of connectors for reference before you unplug them.

And while you're in there, blow all the accumulated dust out of the fans and heatsinks with compressed air, or maybe with a small vacuum cleaner. Hold the fan blades to keep them from turning while you do it, though; spinning them really fast will damage their bearings.

winger13 wrote:
BTW, does it sound conceivable parts like this fail so fast?

It's early, but not at all inconceivable. There was a huge problem about ten years ago when the market was flooded with millions and millions of defective capacitors -- the web search for "capacitor plague" that I recommended earlier will tell you all about it -- and they failed very soon after being put into service. I doubt that your power supply contains any of those caps, but even caps from reputable sources have a finite life, and some just fail earlier than others.