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Restart a ReadyNAS NV+ RND4000 after many years of downtime
Hi folks,
after many years of downtime I try to reactivate my NV+ (RND4000) NAS server for nostalgic reasons. I took it out of service after some big trouble with the firmware of the seagate Barrac...
4.1.13 should work with 2 TB disks, but still you should upgrade to the current firmware, which is 4.1.16. You can try the check-for-updates feature in the web ui, or you can download it manually from here: https://kb.netgear.com/000038792/RAIDiator-Version-4-1-16-Sparc
If you do a manual install, then you need to unzip the download and install the binary image. Installing the zip file won't work.
Documentation for your NAS is found here: https://www.netgear.com/support/product/RND4000v1_(ReadyNAS_NV_plus_v1).aspx
Although you didn't ask about disks, I do want to point out that the hardware compatability list for your NAS hasn't been updated in many years now. The best option is to use a NAS-purposed drive (the 2 TB WDC Red or Seagate Ironwolf). Enterprise-class drives are overkill, your NAS isn't fast enough to take advantage of them. I don't recommend using desktop-class drives in any NAS.
Also, if you are using the NAS with Windows 10... Microsoft is deprecating the SMB 1.0 client that is needed to access the NAS through file explorer. You can manually enable it - try entering "turn windows features on or off" in the windows search bar.
My own NV+ is still in service btw - though I am only using it as a secondary backup. I plan to continue to run it until it fails, but I won't invest more money in it. It's been very reliable for me, but it's capacity and performance isn't enough anymore.
Are you sure the drives are dead, or might the NAS just think they are? "Green" drives can be problematic in a NAS. And mixing them with non-green ones can be worse. The green ones often take longer to spin up and the NAS will mark them as "dead", even though they are not. And once marked "dead", it won't unmark them unless you remove them, unpartition, and re-inset as a new drive. Then, it will reformat them and add them back to the volume. Of course, that only works if one goes "dead" at a time.
If the drives really are damaged, as determined by manufacturer's diagnostic software, then it sounds like there is a good chance that something is vastly wrong with one of the power supply voltages, and you shold stop what you are trying to do before you kill more drives.
Thanks for the hint that the "greens" might be recognized wrongly as bad. That fits to the experience, that I can put one of the "bad" ones into the system later without any problem at first. But with one of the next reboots the NV+ may stop with the message "bad disk fond". So the period given to the drives by RAIDiator 4.1.16 to spin up is somehow too short. Another 5 second might be fully enough. The whole device is extremely slow anyway. So those 5 seconds won't be a disadvantage. It's really annoying, that in such case the NV+ can only be shut down by switching the power button on the back side.
I can't imagine it would have been complicated to overcome this status with some programming.
With the 500 GB Barracudas from Seagate the problem must have been much worse. They crashed the file table soon as they used all sectors for the first time.
I will let all my disks be checked by some expert. I doubt any of those is really broken. It's the ReadyNAS, that can't deal with ordinary disks.
I understand that the disks should be comparable for the RAID functionality. But more than a comparable capacity should not have any bad influence on operations. Otherwise the product has never been worth the money it once had cost. It simply doesn't make sense to exclude almost every common disk by means of specs. Why does almost every PC get along with almost any HD and a NAS doesn't need to? That's what I would logically call a really bad product.
I guess you don't realize that the "green" drives didn't exist when the NV/NV+ was designed. So saying that they cannot handle "common" drives that came later is like complaining that an early 70's muscle car won't run well on unleaded gas. Netgear did continue to test later drives while the NV+ was a current product, and almost none of the green ones were on the compatibility list. Even the drive manufacturers said they were not suited for RAID (any RAID -- any brand of NAS, server, or computer). But, you think that's Netgear's fault, not that of the person who failed to do his homework and purchase the right drives?
If you want help, we'll continue to give it to you. If you just want to complain, please take it elsewhere.
Yes, I must admit that I wasn't aware of chosing wrong harddrives for my ReadyNAS. And yet, I can't accept that I could do anything wrong when putting drives into the slots which fit perfectly on hardware level. If the product asks me to do "homework", it is definitely not the product I want to have. It is simply not able to fit my expectations and guess what happens with a product which was far too expensive for what it helps to solve compared to how much attention it asks from its user: Such a product does not support any trust into the brand written on it. There is no second chance to get that right anyhow later unless I get my money back.
All companies do the same? No, I can't agree on that. I tested other products meanwhile and they were way simpler to use and fit my expectations a lot more. Those brands earn my respect and loyalty. Thanks for pushing me the right way for better purchasing decisions.
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