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That is a good idea - something I generally recommend and do myself. Not only does it offer some protection against power surges, it also allows the NAS to shut down cleanly when the battery in the UPS drains. That avoids losing writes in the cache - which can result in corrupting the file system.
You could move the drives to another used Duo, but I don't recommend it. You cannot move the drive directly to a current ReadyNAS and use them as-is, but there is a procedure, with Netgear paid assistance, to access the files on the drive using a current NAS and back them up, if you don't already have a backup from which to restore the files on your new NAS.
there is a procedure, with Netgear paid assistance, to access the files on the drive using a current NAS and back them up, if you don't already have a backup from which to restore the files on your new NAS.
You can also connect disk 1 of the NAS to a Windows PC (either with SATA or a USB adapter/dock) and access the data with R-linux for Windows (free). https://www.r-studio.com/free-linux-recovery/
Thanks very much Sandshark and StephenB for your replies and tips.
I'll take a look at R-Linux for Windows and hopefully it won't exceed my technical abitlities and might help.
In the meantime I've tried taking a look at getting "NETGEAR paid assistance" in the event I need to try and get my files back. Would anyone know how to arrange this?
It's not clear whether I should go for the Gearheads or NETGEAR Premium? Do I pay for a one-off incident or 6 months or 1 year?
In the meantime I've tried taking a look at getting "NETGEAR paid assistance" in the event I need to try and get my files back. Would anyone know how to arrange this?
It's not clear whether I should go for the Gearheads or NETGEAR Premium? Do I pay for a one-off incident or 6 months or 1 year?
It worked really well, was suprisingly straightforward in use and I managed to get all my files back! Which I've copied to a portable hard drive. So thanks again for that tip.
Hope you won't mind if I ask your advice on a replacement for the Duo?
I initially, because of the potential unreliability of mechanical drives, went for the Duo for the peace of mind of mirroring my data to two drives. Even though the Duo has given pretty good service, I'm aware I haven't taken into account unreliability of the disk presenting/serving hardware.
I haven't got the budget to go to a proper business class storage array but I was wondering if there was a platform where I could have just removed the drives from my existing device and put them in a new one without data loss?
I haven't got the budget to go to a proper business class storage array but I was wondering if there was a platform where I could have just removed the drives from my existing device and put them in a new one without data loss?
The currently shipping ReadyNAS all support direct migration of drives between all OS 6 platforms. The entry level model is the RN212 (arm based); the entry Intel plaform is the RN422.
Though prices are very high at the moment (likely due to the impact of the virus). So you might be better off going with a USB drive right now, and then purchase a new NAS when prices drop back to normal. Then use the USB drive to back up the NAS.
Of course, as was the case with your Duo, you hope it is years before you need to replace your next NAS, and the ReadyNAS OS may have moved beyond OS6 by then. Fortunately for you this time, the file system didn't get corrupted by whatever failed in your NAS, so recovery was easy. That may not be the case next time.
So, the lesson to be learned is that RAID alone is not sufficient to insure the safety of your data. You need a true backup plan, and that USB drive you used for data recovery is probably a good place to implement that once you do get a new NAS.
When I get the replacement, as well as a USB drive, I'm going to factor in the cost for a small UPS, since it was a power outage that seemed to kill my Duo.
That is a good idea - something I generally recommend and do myself. Not only does it offer some protection against power surges, it also allows the NAS to shut down cleanly when the battery in the UPS drains. That avoids losing writes in the cache - which can result in corrupting the file system.
