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Forum Discussion
timbck2
Feb 18, 2023Tutor
No IP Address message on ReadyNAS 214`
I have a ReadyNAS 214 (FW 6.10.8) that has been running with no issues for quite a while (a few years). I decided to tinker and tried adding a cable from my network switch to the second Ethernet port to see if I could get a performance increase. I chose the Round-Robin bonding method based on some discussions I read here, then saved the configuration. There was a spinning wheel on my browser screen indicating it was saving. I waited, and waited, and finally after about two minutes I just shut the NAS down using the button on the front.
When I booted it back up, everything seemed fine - I was able to access the web config page (once I checked the IP address on the unit's display - it is assigned via DHCP and changed after the reboot). Then I clicked over to another page and got a "Server not responding" message in my browser. I checked the IP address from the NAS display and saw the dreaded "No IP address" message. I tried unplugging the Ethernet cable, changing ports, etc. but it could not get an IP address. The router showed that an address is assigned, but I pinged the address and got nothing. RAIDar can't see it either.
So I searched these forums and found bedlam1's reset procedure in this thread: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS-in-Business/ReadyNAS-204-shows-quot-No-IP-Address-quot/td-p/1127708
I followed the procedure (remove the drives and reinstall the OS from the Boot Menu) and everything worked ... until I put the disks back in and booted up. Now I'm back to "No IP address" again.
If my understanding of how it works is correct, I'm guessing that my attempt at network interface bonding somehow screwed up the ReadyNAS configuration, which was written to disk. I fixed that in the NVRAM or wherever it's stored in the NAS chassis, but the configuration that's stored to disk is overriding or overwriting the NVRAM copy.
Is there a way to wipe the network configuration without wiping the data on the drives? That would be preferable. But to be honest, there's no data of any particular importance on the drive at the moment, so I wouldn't be too upset if I had to start over from scratch; however, if there's a fix that will allow me to keep it I would prefer that.
- >FWIW, that is a complete waste of time. The >system boots from the disk, so doing a factory >default or an OS reinstall with no disks in place >does nothing.
Im not trying to be argumentative, I just want to understand - if it boots from the disk, then how did it boot at all with no disks installed?
>Did you try removing one of the ethernet >cables? That usually works.
That was actually the first thing I tried. It made no difference.
>If not, do an OS reinstall with the disks in place
Okay, I’ll do that and report back.
4 Replies
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- StephenBGuru - Experienced User
timbck2 wrote:
I followed the procedure (remove the drives and reinstall the OS from the Boot Menu) and everything worked ... until I put the disks back in and booted up. Now I'm back to "No IP address" again.
FWIW, that is a complete waste of time. The system boots from the disk, so doing a factory default or an OS reinstall with no disks in place does nothing.
timbck2 wrote:
Is there a way to wipe the network configuration without wiping the data on the drives?
Did you try removing one of the ethernet cables? That usually works.
If not, do an OS reinstall with the disks in place.
That will
- reset the network configuration to DHCP with no bonding
- reset the admin password to password
- disable volume quota (which is re-enabled on the volume settings tab).
Other settings are preserved, and it should not affect the data.
- timbck2Tutor>FWIW, that is a complete waste of time. The >system boots from the disk, so doing a factory >default or an OS reinstall with no disks in place >does nothing.
Im not trying to be argumentative, I just want to understand - if it boots from the disk, then how did it boot at all with no disks installed?
>Did you try removing one of the ethernet >cables? That usually works.
That was actually the first thing I tried. It made no difference.
>If not, do an OS reinstall with the disks in place
Okay, I’ll do that and report back.- SandsharkSensei - Experienced User
timbck2 wrote:
Im not trying to be argumentative, I just want to understand - if it boots from the disk, then how did it boot at all with no disks installed?On an Intel unit, the flash contains the boot loader (Syslinux). An ARM unit uses UBoot. If the reset button is not pushed, It looks for an OS on the drive and transfers boot to it if it exists. If there is no OS on the drives but drives are installed, it loads a very reduced OS into RAM and then boots to it, where it performs an initialization of the drives and installs the OS to a small partition on them from a compressed version of the OS in flash. If there are no drives, it just reports "No disks" and stops. If the reset button is pushed, it executes the reset menu and then loads as you direct it through the menu.
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