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Re: How Bricked is this unit

bullfrog1
Tutor

How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Hi

I own 5 readynas NV+'s purchased from new, we also have 2100's,NVX's at work. I've taken a risk and purchased a second user 2100. When power is applied the USB and disk 2 lights come on solid and the blue circle light flashes and that's it. If I've a network cable attached, then I get no lights either on the network switch or on the unit itself. Attempting to hold in the sys button during power on results in the same led scenario as previously described, is there any hope?

I've tried looking for a list of led error codes in the documentation, also on this forum and also by googling, the only led codes I can find are those associated with accessing the boot menu and holding in the sys button.

Is there a list of error codes available, is there any other way of gaining assistance, i'm in the UK.

Thanks

Bullfrog
Message 1 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit

Just to confirm this is a 2100 (4-bay rackmount)?
Message 2 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit

Hi

Yes it is.

Thanks

Bullfrog
Message 3 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit

The blue power LED is still blinking? (edit: if it is this suggests it is stuck very, very early in the boot process I think before even the NAS attempts to boot from the internal flash).

Do you have disks installed? If so, can you access the boot menu if you attempt to boot with no disks installed?

If not, is the LED pattern any different? Can you see it in RAIDar?

Edit: Can you check to make sure the memory DIMM is properly seated in the NAS? It's possible it may have come loose in shipment.

Also can you check with the seller if the unit was working before it was sent to you? Was the seller able to access Frontview etc.?
Message 4 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit

mdgm wrote:
The blue power LED is still blinking?

Do you have disks installed? If so, can you access the boot menu if you attempt to boot with no disks installed?



Tried with no disks installed and with a disk installed.
Same sequence of lights on the front. I should maybe point out that the disk 1 light LED blinks once extremely briefly before disk 2 LED comes on, it's hardly perceptable and not long enough for me to surmise that it's a deliberate act.

mdgm wrote:
The blue power LED is still blinking?

If not, is the LED pattern any different? Can you see it in RAIDar?



This is the only pattern that has ever appeared. Raidar cannot see it , neither can the network switch.

mdgm wrote:
The blue power LED is still blinking?
Edit: Can you check to make sure the memory DIMM is properly seated in the NAS? It's possible it may have come loose in shipment.


I had previously looked at the simm and it appeared fine, however just for good measure I've removed and re-installed it.

mdgm wrote:
The blue power LED is still blinking?
Also can you check with the seller if the unit was working before it was sent to you? Was the seller able to access Frontview etc.?


The seller only claims that lights came on when he powered it up, he claims to have been unable to test it further.


I'm guessing that I'll not be able to call tech support for assistance on the basis that this is a second user item, and also I can't get into it to register, is my thinking correct here? However as we do have quite a few other readynas products purchased from new and also sell them would that go in my favour perhaps?
Message 5 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit

That testing by the reseller is poor, but pretty typical. Buying second hand is a bit like tossing a coin, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It is quite risky. If they sold it to you as is and if you are not protected by laws in your country in this situation then I don't think there's much you can do.

I don't think support would help you with a system purchased second hand.

You could perhaps check if installing a different memory module with the same specs allows the NAS to boot further.
Message 6 of 22
Marto731
Aspirant

Bricked 2100 unit

To Bullfrog,
Can I ask that you insert a single blank disk and Factory reset.
Does RAIDar find the NAS? Can you ping it?
If not, then 2100 chassis is 'bricked'. As a 2nd hand unit, it would not be covered
by warranty.

Regards, Marto
Message 7 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit

Marto73, bullfrog has already said that he can't get access to the boot menu. The light pattern he mentioned suggests it is probably getting stuck before the NAS has booted far enough for the boot menu to be used. This suggests a hardware issue (thinking it could be the memory DIMM might be wishful thinking but replacing it could be worth a try). I think for the boot menu to be usable, attempting to boot normally the blue power LED should go on solid before the boot process gets stuck.

Most likely the unit is bricked.
Message 8 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit

Hi

Yes I'm pretty sure the unit is bricked too, clearly Marty hasn't read my previous posts, and no one was ever suggesting it was covered by warranty.

I've videoed the light sequence for a working bootable 2100 which I'll give in a moment, I suspect either the processor is not actually running, or my flash memory is totally corrupted. The only glimour of hope is that there is a brief flick of light from the LED associated with disk 1, so there is a marginal change in led output.
Interestingly enough the scenario above listed by Marty, can you see it with Raidar or ping it, if the answer is no, then it's bricked. Um there are other conditions that would prevent that from working if you have a faulty cat5 cable or no cable inserted that would also prevent those 2 functions working, so it wouldn't necessarily be bricked.

Here is the correct lighting sequence for a working 2100 in case it is ever useful to others.

Press power button

Act comes on
Disks 4,3,2 come on
Network 2 comes on and the blue power light comes on
Act, Disks 4,3,2 go off, blue power light goes to full brightness
(At this point only the power light is on solid and network2)
Disk 2 comes on
Network 2 goes off
Blue light goes off
(at this point only disk 2 is on)
Blue light comes on (as it's now going on and off every 3/4 video frames it's clearly flashing)
Network 2 light comes on
Disk 2 goes off
Act light comes on
Disk 4 comes on
Disk 4 goes off - Blue light now remains on solid
Act light goes off
(we are now roughly 14 seconds into the boot)
Act light flicks on briefly
Act light flicks on briefly
Network 2 goes off
Network 2 comes on
Network 1 comes on
We now have flashing activity on networks 1 & 2
The act light comes on and now flashes randomly( we are roughly 23 seconds into the boot)
Act light goes off again
disk 1 comes on
disk 2,3,4 and act come on
(we are roughly 33 seconds into the boot)
Act light goes on and off showing activity.
Boot process is now well established.


As you can see from the above, the light sequence of my faulty unit never appears above.
So I suspect it is actually trying to convey an error code.

I've also discovered if i hold in the power button the unit will also turn off, so there is some intelligence still present in the unit.

I don't have a suitable memory dimm to hand, however I have found a procedure for recovering from partial flash corruption using a USB memory stick, as I've nothing to lose, I'll try that.

Thanks

Bullfrog
Message 9 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit

Hi

Just bringing you up to speed. I had a readynas NVX kicking around , I was able to borrow the SO Dimm from it, it's the same make/part number as the one in the 2100. The 2100 boots successfully.

Tried again with original SO Dimm , same fault code on the front. Incidentally with no SO Dimm fitted this is the same fault code.

So result - well happy. New Dimm ordered.

If USB and Drive 2 lights are stuck on with all other lights off with blue power light flashing, with no other response from switch on, suspect duff or missing SO Dimm in a readynas 2100. Perhaps someone could update the FAQ's so that this sequence is recorded somewhere more accessible.

Thanks to mdgm for his help.

mdgm 1 tech support nill

Bullfrog
Message 10 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit

It just goes to show that if the NAS is getting stuck in the BIOS boot process that it is worth checking the memory.

The NVX, 1500 and 2100v1 all use very similar CPUs. So it's not surprising that they would use the same memory.
Message 11 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Hi

The plot thickens - the replacement memory arrives is promptly installed and we have the same error code.
Now after further investigation it appears that the memory that was installed may in fact be the incorrect type and therefore my replacement memory which was ordered is probably also the incorrect type.

The 2100 which turns out to be a 2100v2 which was fitted on it's arrival with PC2-6400 CL6 memory.
The memory I tried from the NVX is actually marked PC2-6400 CL5 i hadn't noticed the slight difference. With this memory fitted in it's original NVX the status page reports itself as 1024MB 5-5-5-24 DDR2.
When this CL5 memory is installed in the 2100v2 which then boots - it just reports itself as 1024MB [DDR2].

So the question is what type of memory should be installed in a 2100v2 - CL5/CL6?, ECC/Non-ECC?, buffered or unbuffered? So I can order the correct replacement part.

On a totally unrelated note, how do I change the password for my login on this forum, following a password reset, and logging on using the machine generated password, I don't seem to be able to find an account settings link to set it to something sensible.

Thanks

Bullfrog
Message 12 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

This thread may be of help: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=70272

Can you download the logs (Status > Logs > Download all Logs) and confirm the CPU model that is in your NAS?

You can change your forum password. See User Control Panel > Profile > Edit Account Settings
Message 13 of 22
bullfrog1
Tutor

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

mdgm wrote:
This thread may be of help: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=70272


Doesn't appear to be any answers in this thread only 2 posts.

mdgm wrote:
Can you download the logs (Status > Logs > Download all Logs) and confirm the CPU model that is in your NAS?



According to the kernel.log
Dec 31 16:30:54 nas-C0-C2-DA kernel: CPU0: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D510 @ 1.66GHz stepping 0a

mdgm wrote:
You can change your forum password. See User Control Panel > Profile > Edit Account Settings

Clearly old age is creeping in - couldn't see User control Panel until you mentioned it.

Thanks

Bullfrog
Message 14 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

That is definitely a v2. Memory that works in the Pro 4 should work in the 2100 v2, I think. You could have a look around the community compatibility list for memory for relevant threads.
Message 15 of 22
adirtymonkey
Aspirant

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Any further news on this issue.

It seems that I'm now in the same boat as the OP. My 2100 however booted out of the box updated and installed drives no problem. Whilst looking at possible memory configurations I wasn't to see if I could replace the installed Samsung 1Gb 2Rx8 PC2-5300S with anything bigger I power downed and removed the sodimm, so that I could read the specs.

On re-installing and powering up I now get Disk 2 and a blue flasher? In the mean time I've ordered a replacement identical sodimm.
Message 16 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Try reseating the memory again.
Message 17 of 22
adirtymonkey
Aspirant

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Have reseated a couple of times but that didn't do the trick.
Found a 1Gb stick of CL5 5300 DDR2 in a laptop, swapped that over and up and running again. The quest now continues for a definitive answer to memory specs for the V2 2100's.
Message 18 of 22
django1
Aspirant

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

Hi All,
I have come across the same problem with my machine. I have tried to test it by using a 512mb CL5 PC2-5300 DDR2 SO DIMM chip and it is giving me the same response.

Does the chip need to be a minimum of 1GB or does it need to be ECC?

Not sure if the unit is entirely bricked.
Message 19 of 22
StephenB
Guru

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

django wrote:
Hi All,
I have come across the same problem with my machine. I have tried to test it by using a 512mb CL5 PC2-5300 DDR2 SO DIMM chip and it is giving me the same response.

Does the chip need to be a minimum of 1GB or does it need to be ECC?

Not sure if the unit is entirely bricked.
What NAS model do you have?
Message 20 of 22
django1
Aspirant

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

StephenB wrote:
django wrote:
Hi All,
I have come across the same problem with my machine. I have tried to test it by using a 512mb CL5 PC2-5300 DDR2 SO DIMM chip and it is giving me the same response.

Does the chip need to be a minimum of 1GB or does it need to be ECC?

Not sure if the unit is entirely bricked.
What NAS model do you have?


I have the same as the others a ReadyNas 2100. Tried to ring up support all they can say it that it is faulty and needs to be changed, but I think mine might be out of warranty
Message 21 of 22
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: How Bricked is this unit - SOLVED - bad memory

The 2100 came with a 5 year warranty so if you bought it brand new it is likely it could be still under warranty.
Message 22 of 22
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