Does OS Reinstall *REALLY* reset the Admin password?

[MrPeteH]

I'm helping a nonprofit that has all their data locked up in a ReadyNAS NVX 4250... and no records on the recovery email or PW.

I've used the front panel to reload the OS. RAIDar does find it, and shows that it is running an older OS version -- 4.2.5

BUT... I can't log in to the admin interface. Supposedly, an OS reinstall will reset the admin pw. But neither of the defaults work: password, netgear1.

SO... does the Admin PW actually get reset on OS reinstall? Can I force an OS *upgrade* somehow (maybe using a USB memory stick and the front panel?) Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Pete

[JennC]

Hello Mr.PeteH,

Welcome to the community!

Yes, OS reinstall option reinstalls the firmware from the internal flash to the disks. Use the OS reinstall boot mode when the system crashes and corrupts some configuration files. OS reinstall boot mode also resets some settings on your unit, such as Internet protocol settings and the administrator password, to defaults.

Default login is admin for username and netgear1 for password, all lower case. You may try using another web browser or clearing cache if it does not log you in. But if you do not have any important data stored yet to the disks inserted to the NAS, you can try using the factory reset from the boot menu as this will format the disks where the files and settings are saved.

Regards,

[MrPeteH]

They have 100% of all of their valuable data for the last five years on the ReadyNAS so Factory Reset is not exactly an option.

Thanks for the confirmation, which tells me I did get the process and password correct, and it doesn't work. 😞

Question: I've heard there's an (old-style) "hack" to load the OS from USB...

  - Might it more fully reset the password?

  - Are there any issues due to the fact that this box is running 4.2.5? (I saw a note about not going back to 4.2.5 after updating to 4.2.7 and beyond... that nudges me to imagine there was a significant change after 4.2.5...)

Thanks!

pete

[StephenB]

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@MrPeteH wrote:

They have 100% of all of their valuable data for the last five years on the ReadyNAS so Factory Reset is not exactly an option.

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4.2.5 is very old.  You might try install an ancient (e.g. ~2007) version of firefox, and see if that allows you to log in.

If SMB access still works, you can offload the data before the reset.  Painful, but possible.

[mdgm-ntgr]

4.2.6 was special firmware for the 3200, the first of our 12-bay units.

We did start mounting EXT3 volumes as EXT4 on 4.2.7.

USB Boot Recovery is not meant to be used to update the firmware and there are some possible side effects from using it.