Upgrading the BIOS on the ReadyNAS Pro 6

[SolwayMist]

I have a ReadyNas Pro 6 which runs on Radiator 4.2.31

I am in the processing of backing up my files before upgrading to OS6

Someone suggested that I need to check and upgrade the BIOS before I upgrade.

Q1 - How do I check the existing BIOS

Q2 - If my BIOS needs upgrading then how do I do it

Thank you

[Sandshark · Accepted solution]

If your unit is really a "Pro6" (last version, model number ending in -200), not an older "Pro" (Business Edition or Pioneer), then it has a Pentium Dual-Core E5300 @ 2.60GHz and the additional speed of the processor upgrade is not really a lot unless you go Quad.  The Pro BE and Pioneer models have a 1.8GHz processor and see a lot more improvement.  The RAM upgrade is going to give you better performance and is a lot easier.  I've upgraded the processor on my Pro BE's but not Pro 6's and find all work well with 2 or 4 GB of RAM and OS6.  I have 4GB on the active devices and 2 on the backups.  As far as I can tell, the motherboard is not dual channel, so you don't gain as much with a second RAM stick as you would on most PC's.

[cpu8088]

this forum/web page  has a search for answers facility

just type "pro 6 bios" or similar and there should be links pop up for your info

[SolwayMist]

Yes I had already tried the search facility. There are details of where to get the BIOS file from and how to install it, but I wanted to know how do I actually check what version of the BIOS I am running. I can't see it on any of the Frontview panels etc.

Thanks

[StephenB]

You download the log zip file and look in bios_ver.log.

Note that what matters is the date.

[SolwayMist]

OK got it thanks...

My BIOS is  07/26/2010 FLAME6-MB V2.0   Am I correct that this is the current version?

Just one other thing...

I have 1024 MB [6-6-6-18 DDR2] of Memory. Is this suffiicient or will I need to upgrade?

Also I note that some others have upgraded their processor to Core 2 Duo E7600. Is this a good idea or will the existing processor be ok?

Thanks

[StephenB]

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@SolwayMist wrote:

My BIOS is  07/26/2010 FLAME6-MB V2.0   Am I correct that this is the current version?

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Yes.

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@SolwayMist wrote:

I have 1024 MB [6-6-6-18 DDR2] of Memory. Is this suffiicient or will I need to upgrade?

I think it is sufficient, but the closest OS6 NAS (RN526) has 4 GB.  Maybe plan for a memory upgrade post-migration if you see any out-of-memory symptoms.

New DDR2 memory is getting expensive, as there isn't much volume there anymore.

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@SolwayMist wrote:

Also I note that some others have upgraded their processor to Core 2 Duo E7600. Is this a good idea or will the existing processor be ok?

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The processor is enough for OS-6, but of course it would boost plex transcoding performance.   Not as simple an upgrade as uplifting the memory.

[Sandshark · Accepted solution]

If your unit is really a "Pro6" (last version, model number ending in -200), not an older "Pro" (Business Edition or Pioneer), then it has a Pentium Dual-Core E5300 @ 2.60GHz and the additional speed of the processor upgrade is not really a lot unless you go Quad.  The Pro BE and Pioneer models have a 1.8GHz processor and see a lot more improvement.  The RAM upgrade is going to give you better performance and is a lot easier.  I've upgraded the processor on my Pro BE's but not Pro 6's and find all work well with 2 or 4 GB of RAM and OS6.  I have 4GB on the active devices and 2 on the backups.  As far as I can tell, the motherboard is not dual channel, so you don't gain as much with a second RAM stick as you would on most PC's.