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Forum Discussion
Solved
RN104 firmware update bricked my unit
I have several netgear ReadyNAS units at work and home.
The newest one of our collection, the RN104, got bricked on a recent firmware update from Netgear.
On reading through the forum threads, this appears to be a widespread problem due to a faulty firmware release.
Problem:
RN104 turns on and shows only "Boot from USB"
If i don't put in a USB, it tells me "Boot from USB failed"
If i create a recovery USB per the support instructions, with the USB in the front port, the unit will boot, discover the USB and show "ReadyNAS USB Recovery".
http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29952
It appears to do something for a few minutes and then shutsdown as expected.
I remove the USB, and power on the unit. Once again, by itself, it enters "Boot from USB" mode.
Please comment on how i can possibly reload the firmware, or steps to RMA unit and replace with a working one.
Best regards,
Babak Banijamali
babakbani@gmail.com
I found the receipt, called back Netgear support, and they accepted to RMA the unit as it was within warranty period for hardware and having a hardware failure due to faulty Netgear issued firmware.
New unit arrived next business day, and the drives were put in and they booted up fine. The unit is working now. Thank you.
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One more thing to mention:
I press the reset button on the back on a reboot, but it does nothing. The unit insists on entering the "Boot from USB" and if i fail to put in a recovery USB in the front of the unit, it proceeds to fail with a "Boot from USB failed".
Similar cases:
The netgear support website is buggy.
On calling Netgear support at 1-888-638-4327, it instructs you that if you don't have a case number to go to http://support.netgear.com/contact .. which ends up at a dead link. No support ticket reference, and the system hangs up on you. Nice. Double nice.
I went to support.netgear.com and logged in, and attempted to create a support ticket. On the first several attempts, it kicked me to a page saying server error. I dug and found a way to create an email support ticket. Finally success.
Called in to support with this new ticket reference, only to get a nice guy reading off a script *repeatedly*. Each time i asked something new, I got the same script verbatim. They seem under-trained. All I need is a hardware RMA to take care of this buggy firmware update Netgear released that bricked this, up until now, lovely NAS device.
The netgear support website is buggy.
On calling Netgear support at 1-888-638-4327, it instructs you that if you don't have a case number to go to http://support.netgear.com/contact .. which ends up at a dead link. No support ticket reference, and the system hangs up on you. Nice. Double nice.
I went to support.netgear.com and logged in, and attempted to create a support ticket. On the first several attempts, it kicked me to a page saying server error. I dug and found a way to create an email support ticket. Finally success.
Called in to support with this new ticket reference, only to get a nice guy reading off a script *repeatedly*. Each time i asked something new, I got the same script verbatim. They seem under-trained. All I need is a hardware RMA to take care of this buggy firmware update Netgear released that bricked this, up until now, lovely NAS device.
That went nowhere. Netgear is not taking accountability, responsibility for the faulty firmware that has broken this unit. They hide behind a scripted support diatribe. They make it hard to open the support ticket in the first instance. And once you get someone on the phone, they are untrained and read off a script to troubleshoot. The guy faltered and repeated the steps a few times.
I thank you all for your kind assistance, but I for one will no longer be buying or recommending anything Netgear for our datacenters based on the scripted support I just received. No compassion. Simple solution, once you determine it's a hardware failure, RMA. Don't hide behind the excuse of asking for a receipt.
</rant> I might have more luck finding Hillary Clinton's lost State Department emails. Looking for receipt.
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