Re: can't reset my Readynas 316 password from boot menu
Damn, i was sure hoping I'd have Option A B C by now.
Hope you're not put off by "I forgot my password", the ultimate idiot crap.
Okay, here's the story. This was my brothers NAS and he passed. I'm trying to recover all his family pics for his wife and kids. It's all very sad and I'm not trying to push my sister in law about where the password might be.
I'm trying to recover all his family pics for his wife and kids.
Normally that wouldn't need the NAS admin password. Have you tried simply booting it up, and then accessing the NAS with Windows Explorer? Enter \\nas-ip-address in the address bar (using the IP address you see on the LCD panel after a normal boot). Be careful to use the correct slash (// will open your browser, which isn't want you want).
If you use one of their PCs, any credentials you need for access might be automatically applied (and could be seen using the Windows Credential Manager).
FWIW, there's also a reasonable chance that the NAS admin password is saved in the browser. If you have his browser and PC credentials, you should be able to export his saved passwords.
Moving the volume to another NAS with a functional display is an option. You'd only have to do it for the OS re-install, so borrowing one would work.
The problem with the display (assuming it's always dead, not just on boot-up) is likely the cable that runs from the main NAS into the door coming loose within the door (I had that happen on a 516). But opening the NAS up to see if you can fix it has its own risk, dependent on your skill set.
Have you tried attaching an HDMI monitor and see if you can see anything there? I've not been in your position to know if there is anything, but it's an easy thing to try. I know there is information there on my converted legacy systems, but they have a different boot-up system.
If nothing works and an alternate NAS is not an option, there is one last hope other than using recovery software. That will work best if the NAS has at least one open slot. What you can do (but don't just go trying it, get more details first) is to export the volume (which makes it unusable as a primary volume, so really is a last ditch effort) and then import it into the NAS with a new volume (that can be a single-drive volume). If the NAS does not have a free slot, you can import a degraded (5 of the 6 drives, assuming RAID5) volume. But all this is touchy, so you should try other means first. AFAIK, if it fails you would still be able to use recovery software, but don't risk it right off and jump to this.
