readynas offline but still visible in explorer

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Tim99 wrote:

 

is it worth trying to reset to factory default ?  or will that delete all my data ?

 

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A factory reset will delete your data.  So if you want to keep it, you will need to back up the files to external storage.  Since the web ui is not responding, then the best way to do that is to copy it over the network (either to internal disks on the PC or USB drives connected to the PC).

A factory reset (after a firmware upgrade) would also give you better performance.  Netgear has made some adjustments to the file system setup that help with performance, but they only come into play with a fresh installation.  So if you go down this path, I suggest doing the reset, then upgrading the firmware and doing a second reset.

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Tim99 wrote:

but i do actually want to delete a few old backups, which i can do in explorer, but they must be going into a hidden recycle bin, as the free space is staying the same !

 

Then you might have enabled snapshots on the shares.  However, "free space" is a slippery concept in the BTRFS file system that the NAS uses, and there were some bugs in the way space was reported in some of the early firmware.  I'm not sure if they were with your particular firmware or not.

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Tim99 wrote:

 

am sorely tempted to buy a different make and just copy it all across and send this little beggar to the scrapheap ! 

 

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It's up to you of course.  Note I don't work for Netgear (this is a community forum).  It's pretty clear that you have more-or-less ignored your NAS (otherwise the firmware would be much newer).   That's not good practice with any NAS from any vendor.   

You do need to keep log in from time to time, update the firmware, etc.  There are also maintenance tasks that can be scheduled in the current OS-6 firmware that can help keep the file system on the NAS in good shape, and give you earlier warning on disk issues, etc.  Setting up the email alerts on the NAS is also a good idea, as they can provide warnings when things aren't right.

In general - RAID is not enough to keep your data safe.  It is safer than not using RAID, but the main benefit is that your data is preserved during routine disk replacements and volume expansion.  You can still lose data as a result of device failures, user errors, malware on your network, theft, etc.  Anything you care about should be backed up to another device.  This applies to all vendors and models.

Your NAS was entry-level (and Netgear's current entry-level model is the more capable RN21x series).  However, it should still serve well as backup storage.