when are drives needed for a ReadyNAS NV+?

mrjohnsmithe wrote:
1. do i need drives installed to boot the unit?

The NAS will boot up without drives and that is an indication that the NAS chassis is fine (a way of troubleshooting the NAS chassis). For you to be able to initially set up and use the NAS, there should be drive/s inside it.

mrjohnsmithe wrote:
2. do i need drives installed to a usb update to the firmware?

Do you mean to update the firmware of the NAS? If yes, it is required to have drives installed. Also, drives should be installed if ever you will perform USB boot on it.

mrjohnsmithe wrote:
3. is the unit smart enough that if it doesn't like the format (e.g. NTFS or FAT32) that it will recognize and still boot or do the drives have to be a specific format?

I use drives that are on NTFS format. Some users have their drives on EXT3 or EXT4. Also, consider checking the list of compatible drives for the NV+v1 or v2 here: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20641