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Forum Discussion
readynas pro6 boot freeze may need a flash dump
I have a ReadyNAS Pro6 (RNDP6000). After upgrading to OS6, the NAS worked for a month and a half without any problems. After transferring a large amount of data at the same time it failed, went int...
Sandshark wrote:
Is he saying the BIOS flash is empty, or the NAS boot flash? A flash file for the BIOS can be found in the BIOS update package Netgear distributed. Unfortunately, I don't have a link to it, maybe StephenB does.
The link I have is here:
7-zip can extract the files in it.
I never delved into this, so can't really give any guidance. You'll need to do some work looking at the install script.
The Pro-6 board is identifed at "FLAME6-MB", and is also referred to as an "NV6". So the ROM file you need is RN_NV6_072610.ROM
If the BIOS flash is the problem, then the install script in the update package won't help, as nothing will boot. So, I'm assuming your tech has a way to flash the BIOS chip with an external programmer.
Sandshark wrote:
If the BIOS flash is the problem, then the install script in the update package won't help, as nothing will boot.
FWIW, I was thinking that analyzing the install script would allow someone to understand what files needed to be put into the bios flash (including getting the file names correct).
OK, there is confusion. When I refer to the "BIOS Flash", I am talking about the actual low-level machine BIOS -- nothing at all to do with the OS. There are no "files", just an image. Files in the OS update package that aren't BIOS images are simply used to write the image, they are not put into the flash itself. But they still rely on a working system to load, so a system with a blank or corrupted machine BIOS has to have it programmed independently. It's a chicken-and-egg kind of thing.
It is unfortunate that the OS flash content has become known as a "BIOS", because it is not.
If the low-level BIOS is intact, then it should be possible to simply use USB recovery to restore the OS flash content, except for the vpd file, assuming it's simply empty and not failed.
Sandshark wrote:
OK, there is confusion. When I refer to the "BIOS Flash", I am talking about the actual low-level machine BIOS -- nothing at all to do with the OS.
Understood. The install still is useful in determining which of the ROM files is used for the Pro (as mentioned, I believe it is the NV6 one inside the package - but I didn't look at the script all that carefully). And it includes the linux command used to write the ROM file into the flash (which I agree is only useful if the NAS can boot).
There is also a flashrom binary in the package, which perhaps is the executable used by the install to write the flash.
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