how long should I expect "booting" to show? (NV+ V2)

If its been booting for more than 5 minutes or so, then I would try powering down, removing drive 1 and rebooting.

If that works, then drive 1 is the bad drive. If not, power down again, re-insert disk 1, remove disk 2, and reboot again.

If you have a Windows PC you can confirm the dead drive using vendor diags (seatools for seagate, lifeguard for western digital). You'll either need to use an internal SATA slot+power, or use a USB adapter/enclosure.

IF the drive is under warranty, you can RMA it to the manufacturer - they will return a recertified drive. Probably not the best replacement for a NAS, but it could be used somewhere else.

Hi Stephen, many thanks for the advice! I'm on a Mac, I'll see what tools I can dig up to see if the drive really is pooched (I have a nice USB dock for SATA drives).

One question: I don't seem to be able to power down the NAS (neither a press of the Power button, a double press, nor or a long-press, have any effect). Should I just pull the plug in the back? (that seems rather drastic).

Cheers!

Chas

Right, by process of elimination (and by just pulling the plug to enable reboots), I've determined which is the faulty drive (grr, it's the biggest one: Seagate 3TB). Your help was invaluable, thanks again!

I didn't know that, with one drive gone, all the data would still be available (I should have, now that I think of it). No redundancy left though, right?

Cheers!

Chas

chasg wrote:
I didn't know that, with one drive gone, all the data would still be available (I should have, now that I think of it). No redundancy left though, right?

Correct. So it would be a good time to create/update your backup!

Well, that would be "create a backup", and that's an uh oh, as I have nothing else that large.

I have a replacement disk on the way (a 4TB Seagate NAS certified disk), when I put that in the ReadyNAS will incorporate it correctly, I understand, and I'm back to redundancy. Of the two drives left in the NAS, one is a WD Red (NAS certified), the other is identical to the one that failed (a Seagate Barracuda, which I now know, after much research, is not NAS certified).

So, I'm taking a big risk by not backing up, I know, but it's the only option I have (without buying a second NAS and enough drives to back up the first!).

A second, related question for you: can the data on that failed disk be read?

You see, it's still under warranty, and the place I bought it from is going to take it back for testing (with possible replacement). Some of the data stored on the ReadyNAS is personal (finance stuff), and only lightly encrypted. Without a ReadyNAS, can the data on that single dead disk be easily read? (e.g if the platters are pulled and mounted into another mechanism).

You've been really helpful, you have my thanks.

Cheers!

Chas

chasg wrote:
A second, related question for you: can the data on that failed disk be read?

Given the noises and the boot failure, it seems unlikely that someone could get data off of it. But it possibly could be done. You can try connecting it to a PC and writing zeros to it. Seatools and (if I recall correctly) Lifeguard both have advanced tests that do that.

On backup - you could back up the more critical data (finances for instance). That would be better than no backup at all.

Oh dear, I didn't reply to your last message, my apologies!

I ended up sending the drive back to the place from which I bought it. The credited my paypal account (how I paid for it in the first place) and didn't send me a replacement, as I'd asked. So, nothing I can do about it now :-)