Ultra 2+ Powers On - No ethernet activity - Corrupt Firmware ? - USB Boot Recovery NOT Working

For whatever reason this additional info did not get posted on the thread, could be operator error, so let's try again.

More testing and troubleshooting since my first post.  I appreciate the replies, will implement the suggestions and report back.  Plugged an ethernet cross-over cable directly between the ReadyNAS Ultra2+ LAN port #1 (then LAN #2) and my MacBook-Pro LAN port after manually setting the Mac to the assumed Ultra2+ default IP subnet (192.168.168.x) => result, no active ethernet channel, no packets, nada.  Without changing the Mac network settings I moved the cross-over cable to a known good NAS ethernet port and immediately saw an active ethernet channel registered, even on different subnets ... as one would expect.

So it appears the ReadyNAS Ultra2+ internal firmware is not configuring the PHY ethernet channels.  Based on replies to this post, this does not seem normal if the firmware was OK, even when no hard drives have been installed/configured in the Ultra2+ it is supposed to communicate status info with RAIDar over ethernet, however other users report non-functioning LAN ports in situations where corrupt firmware is suspected.

I wish Netgear support staff would post updated USB boot recovery info on the website as I found the 2017 dated page hard to follow or inaccurate.  Not good for a delicate procedure many on the web have resorted to after citing that a ReadyNAS RAIDiator OS update bricked their box.  Several posts on NewEgg and Amazon mentioned this and users returning units when Netgear procedures did not resolve the issue.  The USB recovery procedure listed did not integrate how the firmware image was coupled to the USB boot creation utility.  Also, it would be very useful to know exactly what files are supposed to be present on the USB memorystick boot device created by the utility - eh ???

Lastly, but I think very important: many Netgear ReadyNAS support articles are extremely vague when describing how the ReadyNAS units respond physically to troubleshooting and recovery procedures, saying: .... if after 20 minutes or so nothing good happens procedure XYZ probably wasn't processed by the ReadyNAS.  Can anyone on the forum report what files exactly are on the firmware USB boot recovery memory stick they used successfully or how a ReadyNAS box responds: lets the user know the recovery procedure was being processed by the ReadyNAS, other than well it fixed things.   Without this information you can't know if the USB boot recovery didn't have the result you were seeking because that wasn't the source problem, or if the USB firmware was not properly made available to the ReadyNAS so that has to be addressed first... very frustrating for users.

Before I started purchasing Synology NAS's (4 so far) I owned a ReadyNAS NV+ 4 drive unit.  I liked it alot, very good build quality, never caused me any significant issues, a workhorse machine.  Then friends I recommended newer ReadyNAS boxes to began having issues including now my friend with his Ultra2+ which I am trying to get working at all.   This forum seems very active and supportive of users, which is a big plus.  With only a few datapoints my experience can't be considered significant as there are many satisfied users including myself with the old NV+ , but I would like Netgear support to take recovery from bricked events more seriously.  It is not acceptable for Netgear to say, as they and some users do in online postings - "if the FAT32 formated USB memory stick you tried didn't seem to work during the USB firmware boot recovery .... try several more, especially older ones, maybe they will work .... maybe."  And without providing a clue as to how the ReadyNAS properly reacts DURING the recovery procedure, except to say ... well after some long period of time if the ReadyNAS doesn't fix itself, powercycle it and ... maybe try again.