We are about to purchase 2 ReadyNAS Pro 4's and would like to order a spare power supply (to be prepared and have on hand). I've searched around and I am not finding a power supply for this unit anywhere. Can someone tell me if it is available, where it can be purchased, and whether or not it is the same power supply used in the NV/NV+ units?
Garry, I haven't seen any power supplies for the Pro 4 available for purchase. They are different than the power supplies for the NV/NV+ units.
Unfortunately if a power supply does fail in one of these units, it is not deemed "field replaceable" by NETGEAR, so the main chassis would require replacement in that circumstance.
Well that's just stupid! Why on earth would the power supply not be user replaceable? Seems to me the replacement should be as simple as replacing the NV/NV+ units (which I have done on two units myself). If I had the time I think I'd be investigating another brand's offerings, but as it stands I am familiar with the ReadyNAS NV/NV+'s interface and don't have time to learn another one and learn it's "quirks" and "bugs". It's no wonder I am seeing retailers dropping the sales / support of the ReadyNAS's.
Garry, While many may be able to perform the installation of the power supply successfully, there are just a few ReadyNAS units that have the issue of the power supply as a full chassis replacement. As for the NV/NV+, and rack mount units all have "field replaceable" power supplies. I know that it may not seem like it's a wise thing that they don't deem the Pro 4's PSU "field replaceable", although I am sure that there is a definite reason why they have decided to do so.
GBunk - while you are apparently experienced enough to replace a PSU on an NAS, as I and anyone who has ever delved into the interior of a desktop computer or build one as I have, we are in the vast minority of the customer base. All of the rack mount units have field replaceable parts as that market is staffed by professionals, who if they are not familiar with the inner workings of the unit, will find someone who is or get trained. The desktop units on the other hand, even if they have pro features, are considered consumer grade devices. I would guess that they have had some very horrendous experiences with untrained individuals digging into the internals and then Netgear has to fix it. When the Pro Business and Pioneer first came out they had a list of spares that could be stocked, the trays, the PSU and the fan. They no longer list or offer them.
I have two NVX units and would love to have a spare PSU for them, but they have never been available. The PSU for the NV/NV+ is no longer available either. If it goes out and is under warranty, they replace the chassis.
I did find out that the PSU for the NV/NV+ is back in stock at Amazon. The NV+ (v1) is listed with a 120W PSU as is the Ultra 4 and Ultra 4 Plus as is the Pro 4. However, my recollection is NVX was listed as having a 220W PSU (the NVX BE is still listed on the Business comparison at 220W PSU) and the NV+ was listed at 200W (but is now listed at 120W). So who knows.
Update: I got my spare NV+ PSU out of my cabinet and removed the actual PSU from the chassis bottom plate that comes with it. (3 screws, 2 nuts) The original mfg label lists it as a 110W PSU. I have a feeling it would work in the Ultra/Pro 4 as they are only supposed to pull 48W. I'm sure it would void the warranty though. I had previously compared the plug wiring between the NV+ PSU and my NVX and they look the same.
Thanks PapaBear. Sounds like a case where Netgear is hiding the information that the NV / NV+ power supply would actually be compatible with the Ultra 4. I understand it would likely void the warranty to replace it yourself. Sometimes having the unit back up and running is much more important than maintaining warranty! This unit is intended to be our main "File Server" in a small to medium sized business environment. We need to be prepared to handle the common failures as they happen (in this case power supply & hard drives). Guess I better buy another NV/NV+ power supply from Amazon while their still available! (After I crack open the case for myself and compare the Ultra 4's power supply is the same.)
You know, Netgear not selling this power supply to the "public" seems to me like Toyota saying they won't sell you a starter for your Camry. You have to send the car back to the factory to have it replaced. How would you like that? We're not talking motherboard, we're talking a power supply - a component expected to fail at some time (might be 5 years later, but still). A component which Netgear can see would be a "frequently failing" part and is very likely easily replaced by any computer tech type person. We're not talking about Susie Homemaker replacing it! You don't expect Susie Homemaker to replace the starter in her Toyota Camry even though the part is available - she'll take that Camry to an "automotive tech" to have it replaced. And even then - when her starter goes bad it probably only affects her (and maybe another person or two who have to drive her around while the car is getting fixed). In this case, this Ultra Pro 4 may affect +/- 40 employees when it goes down! And apparently it will be down quite awhile as I ship it to Netgear to have it repaired. How long is that process going to take? I see minimum 3 days - overnight to Netgear, 1 day repair, and overnight back to us. And I'm sure there will be overnight (ie. "rush") shipping charges tacked on!
I can't disagree with much you say, but all policies and procedures come about as the result of a problem. I can see it on the consumer side, but on the professional side they should be available. The only problem is that the tech support staff is the same. Unlike HP when you are an enterprise installation, you have a different phone number to call than Susie Homemaker. I have had my NV+ almost completely disassembled at least once to clean out the dust that the fan pulls in. And, as I have said, I have built many a PC over the years. Actually the first one was an IBM PC-XT that came direct from IBM as the result of our corporate contract and arrived in pieces. Well, the unit was intact, but all the add in boards that were necessary in those days (printer card, memory card, video card among others) were in separate boxes, so we had to open the case and put all them in. That was in 1982. The last one I built was here at home about six months ago, not a gaming machine but just a fast home machine with the new i5-2500K CPU. Even on the rare occasion when I bought a manufactured machine the first thing I would do is open the case and check out the components. However, most, like Susie Homeowner, the concept of even removing the side panel of a case creates fear in their eyes that they may break something.
Somewhere, some one did something stupid and that put an end to us being able to maintain the ReadyNAS units in the field.
I am toying with the idea of getting another one as well, while the getting is good. They won't go bad sitting on the shelf. And my NVX Pioneer is half way through it's warranty. When it runs out, I will have no recourse if the PSU fails, and although 32bit, and a little slower than the Ultra 4, it still serves me well. My NVX BE still has 3 1/2 years on it's warranty. But, I gave a friend my old NV+ with the original 2007 PSU that is known to have problems eventually, so I will have a spare for him and one for me.
