NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Upgrade Readynas Pro 6
I'm a happy owner of a newly aquired elderly ReadyNAS Pro 6 running lates OS 6.10.3 in otherwise stock configuration: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @1.80GH 1 GB Installed Memory BIOS 08/20/20...
No, you cannot upgrade to either of those with your current BIOS. I'm not sure if the BIOS 1.5 can even be updated to 2.0. I know some of the early Pro units (yours is not a "Pro 6", it is a "Pro Business Edition" or "Pro Pioneer") had an earlier version of the motherboard that can't, but I don't recall if you can tell from the BIOS version. With BIOS 1.6, which I had, I believe the fastest was a Core2 E6700. I don't know about 1.5, and many of those old forum messages regarding CPU upgrades can't be located with a search.
If you are going to try to update the BIOS while still in OS6, then you should probably use DMIDECODE to verify the actual motherboard HW version before you do the upgrade. It should report FLAME6-MB for BIOS 2.0 to be appropriate. If you use the OS 4.2.x add-on, it'll check for you.
With the quad processor, you are going to have heat issues. There is no room to increase the size of the CPU heat sink or fan.
You can also gain a bit more speed if you use CL5 or CL4 RAM instead of standard CL6 (only if you do upgrade the processor). The motherboard cannot go faster than an 800MHz FSB, so anything faster than DDR2-800 is a waste, even with a processor that can support a faster FSB.
Hi Sandshark and thanks for kind input !
Bit of a bummer with the old BIOS. When I read the "bios_ver.log" file it read "08/20/2008 FLAME6-MB V1.5". Since I have already purchased both the Memory sticks and both processors (all found cheap second hand), I could just give it a try and see if it will work out with no BIOS upgrade.
Since I have not started to use the NAS yet, there are no data on it, so if none of the new hardware is accepted I gues I could do a factory reset to revert to OS 4, and then run "IOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin" to see if it will update BIOS.
The only thing I'm a bit worried about if I do a factory reset, is that I had the issue with incorrrect Serial Number being shown preventing me from logging on to ReadyCloud, which "JohnCM_S" kindly sorted out for me (fantasc help I got there). If I factory reset, will I then also delete the correct serial and end up where I were before JohnCM_S helped out....
Oh well, fiddeling with old stuff is not easy - but fun, and as I really like the unit I would love to extend the life of it...
Just to give you a heads up, the likelihood that the e7600 will work is very slim. The e7600 is of a different architecture and back in the lga775 days if the bios didn't support the newer architecture, it wouldn't work. :(
That being said, the x3230 you're looking at should work as long as the nas supports a 1066 front side bus. But I would expect your fan to run faster in order to cool it since it is a 100w processor vs 65w. I've done a lot of upgrades (on computers not nas units) like this and as long as the fan runs faster or 100% all the time, you won't have an issue with cooling.
But the real question on processor upgrade choice is what matters more--cores or single thread performance? Because if it's single thread performance, the e2220 has a very high chance of working and providing a serious boost:
Please report back if the e7600 works. :) It sucks that all this has been done before and is lost due to system transitions...seems like the entire Internet is only 10 years old because of all this data loss. :(
Hey SamirD. Thanks for your comments and advice. As I'm told that I can revert to os4 do the BIOS upgrade and revert to os6 without loosing the newly installed serial number 😉, the I will give the Bios update a try before installing new hardware.
Should all fail, the advice you give on the e2220 is great, I did not think of an upgrade within the same series as original 🙄, but now when you point at it it's obvious 👍🏻 Thanks.
These days we all have to think about giving stuff a second life for the sake of the planet, and the ReadyNAS Pro box I saved from the scrap yard (where our company IT wanted it to end it's short life) is way way to nicely build to go out like that. I hope it will serve a good many years to come in my home after a bit of surgery 😉.
I'll post my progress...
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
