How to read data from ReadyNAS usb backup disk

[jonesbf]

I have a RNDP2000 with two 300GB drives in it. Sadly it has died. It won't power on at all. It was set to Raid1 and nightly differential backup to a 300GB USB connected SATA drive. The last email I got from the ReadyNAS said the last backup was okay. I would very much like to read the data from any of those drives. I have a Windows 10 Pro machine, but when I plug the USB backup SATA drive into my PC USB port it tells me I'll have to format the disk which of course is no bueno. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 

[Mauser69 · Accepted solution]

If you are going to format a USB disk as NTFS, just connect it to your Windows machine and do the format there.

[StephenB]

It sounds like you choose EXT formatting for the USB disk.  NTFS would have have been a better choice for you.

You can try using R-Linux for Windows - that should be able to access it, so you can copy the data to other storage.  https://www.r-studio.com/free-linux-recovery/Download.shtml#win

[jonesbf]

Would there be any chance I could read one of the Raid1 disks from the NAS using a USB SATA adapter? 

[StephenB]

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@jonesbf wrote:

Would there be any chance I could read one of the Raid1 disks from the NAS using a USB SATA adapter? 

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Were you using the normal 4.2.x firmware or did you convert the NAS to run OS-6?

Yes, you could also do that (or connect the disk to the PC using SATA directly).  With OS 4.2.x firmware, you'd still use the r-linux for windows freeware I linked in above.

With OS 6 firmware, you'd need to do something different (it uses btrfs as the file system, which r-linux can't handle).

[jonesbf]

I don't know what Firmware version it was on when it died. I had done a few of the recommended upgrades, but I just don't recall what the last one was. 

I noticed the light on the power brick was not lit when I brough the NAS down to inspect it. I've ordered a new power cord for it in the hopes that that will get it up and running. I'll report back if I decide to continue with trying to read the data on the backup disk with my PC. 

[StephenB]

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@jonesbf wrote:

I don't know what Firmware version it was on when it died.

You'd certainly know if you'd upgraded the NAS to run OS-6.  So you must be running 4.2.x firmware.

[jonesbf]

The new power supply is in and the NAS is back online. I checked the the file system on the backup drive was EXT4. I formatted it to FAT32, but the backup failed saying there wasn't enough room on the disk. It's the same disk I was using before. Any ideas why the backup might fail? 

[Sandshark]

Do you have any files larger than 4GB?  That's the max file size for FAT32.  If that is the case, NTFS is a better choice (and, maybe, even if it's not).

[jonesbf]

I don't see NTFS as an option on the NAS interface. My NAS firmware is 4.2.31

[Mauser69 · Accepted solution]

If you are going to format a USB disk as NTFS, just connect it to your Windows machine and do the format there.

[Mauser69]

Here is a note from one of the Netgear backup articles:

Note 2. A USB disk formatted in EXT4 file system will not be detected by a Windows PC by default. To view the contents of the disk from a Windows PC, you can connect the USB disk to the ReadyNAS and access it via the ReadyNAS or you can use an EXT driver for Windows such as http://www.ext2fsd.com/

[jonesbf]

I did this and it worked. I didn't realize the firmware version I had would recognize NTFS since it didn't offer it as a format option. Thanks! 

Since the NAS is up and running on the new power supply, and I can format to something my windows machines can read in case of another failure, I'm going to consider this a success. I may install an EXT reader in Windows as well just to have that as an option. 

Thanks for everyone's support.