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Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Retired_Member
Not applicable

OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Hi All,

 

I have been reading the forum and came across the upgrade thread (OS6 now works on x86 Legacy). I have a couple quick questions so here they are.

 

Is it stable at this point without requiring too many patches/work arounds to get things to work and do you get all the OS6 functionality?

 

Is the process as follow?

#1) Backup all data

#2) Download the current R4toR6 bin

#3) Upgrade firmware in Frontview 4.2 (with above file)

#4) Reboot & factory default via boot menu (does this get me to OS6.2?)

 

Any good suggestions on efficently backing up 1.5TB of data?

 

Thanks

Message 1 of 30

Accepted Solutions
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

1- Backup all your data since the upgrade will factory reset everything and wipe the data

 

2- download "PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin"

 

3- install it like an add-on, then DON'T REBOOT yet.

 

4- download R4toR6_latest.bin 

 

5-install it like a normal firmware upgrade.

 

At the t reboot, it will install OS6  6.3.5, it will take some times (10-15mins) so no worries. You can check when your readynas is ready with raidator, as usual.

View solution in original post

Message 6 of 30

All Replies
dsm1212
Apprentice

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Works great on my pro 6. Highly recommend the switch. You need to reload your data as it's not an upgrade per se, but a fresh install.

 

steve

Message 2 of 30
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

There is an add-on you can install before installing the firmware update. The add-on allows you to avoid the need to do a manual factory default as it triggers one at the appropriate time.

Message 3 of 30
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

You can go directly to 6.3.5 btw, it works great on our legacy products.

 

For me, the major gain was smb writing speed. OS6 brings SMB3, my writing speed was about 85-90mb/s under OS4, now I saturate my 1gb link and write at 110-115mb/sec on my Pro 4. It's not a game changer, but it's a free 😄

Message 4 of 30
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

What is the file/add-on that does the automatic update? Do I put the lates OS6 bin file over that or does it go right to 6.3.5.

 

Thanks

Message 5 of 30
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

1- Backup all your data since the upgrade will factory reset everything and wipe the data

 

2- download "PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin"

 

3- install it like an add-on, then DON'T REBOOT yet.

 

4- download R4toR6_latest.bin 

 

5-install it like a normal firmware upgrade.

 

At the t reboot, it will install OS6  6.3.5, it will take some times (10-15mins) so no worries. You can check when your readynas is ready with raidator, as usual.

Message 6 of 30
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

You could reboot at Step 3 if you wanted to but it would be a waste of time. The factory reset would not be triggered till after you instal the upgrade image to 6.3.5.

Message 7 of 30
ifixidevices
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

So is the 6.3.5 RC2 the end of the line for legacy products? Ever since the forum switch it's really hard to find information and someone said you shouldn't put 6.4.0 on a legacy device but didn't explain why...

 

Any clearer answers?

Message 8 of 30
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

The end of the line was 4.2.x 😄

 

6.x version are not supported on ours old devices. It works great, but not supported by netgear.

 

Once you have flash with 6.3.5, your can upgrade to the 6.4.0 beta if you want, it works.

Message 9 of 30
ifixidevices
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Yes, I realize that OS 4 was the end however I've been using os 6 on legacy products for quite some time. I can't justify paying for a 316 or a 516 when I can buy 3 PRO 6's for the same price as one 516.

 

I already tried 6.4.0 on a PRO 6 and it was a disaster and read somewhere else that it wasn't supposed to go on legacy hardware. it's actually really confusing these days about what's what...

Message 10 of 30
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

I'm sorry to read that you had trouble with 6.4.0.

 

I run it (beta 2 then 3) on my 2 readynas, no problem here. Well, it's a beta, so...

Message 11 of 30
StephenB
Guru

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6


@ifixidevices wrote:

Yes, I realize that OS 4 was the end however I've been using os 6 on legacy products for quite some time. I can't justify paying for a 316 or a 516 when I can buy 3 PRO 6's for the same price as one 516.

 

I already tried 6.4.0 on a PRO 6 and it was a disaster and read somewhere else that it wasn't supposed to go on legacy hardware. it's actually really confusing these days about what's what...


Well, you've asked the same question several times and got the same answer. 

 

From Netgear's point of view 4.2.x is the end of the line. Once you have moved into unsupported waters, you are on your own - and there is no other clear answer.

 

But if you have installed OS 6 on your NAS, then there is no reason to think that 6.4 won't work on it.  Several people found the early beta a bit rocky (not just legacy NAS owners).

 

 

 

 

Message 12 of 30
ifixidevices
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

I get it, netgear wants to sell new products. I've bought a few RN102's and a few RN104's... I'll just skip the beta route from here on out and wait until it tells me there's an update or keep using what I currently have installed and hope it continues to work as best as it can.

Message 13 of 30
Supertramp11
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Hi StephenB,

 

Many thanks for your answer. I understand that Netgear is not supporting OS6 on legacy devices and that we rely on the great support from the people on this forum, like you.

 

The fact though that OS6 does appear to work on legacy devices gives me the impression that Netgear tweaks its official OS6 firmware in such a way that it runs on let's say a Pro 6. My question then would be: if my Pro 6 tells me there is a new version of the firmware available, then how would I know if that version still has the necessary Pro 6 tweaks.

 

I guess the answer is to check this forum :-).

Message 14 of 30
Rootax
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

I think there is no tweak for OS6 to still work on Legacy device. I think the techies just "allow" it to run without checking the device ID or something like that. After all, as long as the drivers are here and the architecture is x86_64 ... it should run.

Message 15 of 30
StephenB
Guru

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6


@Rootax wrote:

I think there is no tweak for OS6 to still work on Legacy device. I think the techies just "allow" it to run without checking the device ID or something like that. After all, as long as the drivers are here and the architecture is x86_64 ... it should run.


Clearly they have been making some small hardware-specific bug fixes for legacy based on feedback they get here (you can see that by looking through the beta release changes).

 

There are no guarantees that will continue, but no indications that it will stop either.  So yes, tracking the forums is the only way to follow this.  

 

Also, it is important that users provide feedback here on OS 6 on legacy betas - there's no other channel for developers to learn about any bugs.

Message 16 of 30
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Hi,

 

Quick thanks to those who help. The process was very easy and worked like a charm. Very excited to try new features!

 

Thanks Again!

Message 17 of 30
viperhansa
Virtuoso

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Hi guys,

maybe the wrong tread, i made a post log time ago related to upgrade the below and i cannot find that post again.. Smiley Embarassed

I even think it was un-answered too.

Hostname: xxx-nas-Pro
Model: ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition [X-RAID2]
Serie: xxxxxxA001CF
Fast programvara: RAIDiator 4.2.27 
Memory: 4096 MB [4-5-5-18 DDR2]
IPv4-adress: 1: Not connected
IPv4-adress: 2: 192.168.2.199
Volym C: Online, X-RAID2, 6 diskar, 51% av 13 TB använt

 

1. Can i upgrade this to OS6?

if so i do the following:

2. Install  PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin from frontview

3. install R4toR6_6.3.5.bin (Or should i install something else?)

4. Start over with putting all my backed up data .... sigh.... 😉

 

Which is the last working version for me? Do anyone anticipate any problems?

 

The reason why i want to do a upgrade is that lately my RN starting to behave and dont let me install/remove "apps" or accessing them, giving me a "connection refused"

on for example sickbeard/sabnzbd but all other web based site on the nas works.

 

Something is wrong but with my level of knowledge on the os i cannot find what causing it.

 

Best regards

 

Hans, Sweden

 

Message 18 of 30
Retired_Member
Not applicable

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

I think the business is the same as the PRO6. I followed the solution from Rootax and everything worked well. I am running latest version of 6.3.5 (not the Beta 6.4) and it has been solid.

So to answer:

 

Can i upgrade this to OS6? YES

 

I had to do a reboot after the R4toR6 add-on. You might want to do it anyway even though not everyone has reported to need it. It would have saved me an hour and some stress.

My first attempt I installed the add-on and then the update to R6.3.5.bin but the update did not go. I did a reboot and then installed the R6.3.5.bin again and the update worked. 

 

Process

1. Back up your files! (I used the USB port on the RN and the back-up commands) 

2. Install  PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin from frontview 

3. install R4toR6_6.3.5.bin (Or should i install something else?)

4. Start over with putting all my backed up data .... sigh.... 😉

 

Not sure why your apps are not working currently...

 

Good luck

Message 19 of 30
dsm1212
Apprentice

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

So it seems that 6.3.5 will run on a pro 6. Will 6.2.4 ever suggest that as an upgrade? I expected to wait for it to tell me when it is good to upgrade but maybe that is never going to happen again?

 

steve

Message 20 of 30
StephenB
Guru

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6


@dsm1212 wrote:

So it seems that 6.3.5 will run on a pro 6. Will 6.2.4 ever suggest that as an upgrade? I expected to wait for it to tell me when it is good to upgrade but maybe that is never going to happen again?

 

steve


6.3.5 is released on the RN200 series but is "early access" beta on the other platforms.  Since it is beta, it doesn't come up as an upgrade.

 

I suspect Netgear will upgrade both 6.2.x and 6.3.x  to 6.4 (which is also in beta now).  So my guess is that at some point you'll see a 6.4 upgrade prompt, and never get the 6.3.5 one.

 

 

Message 21 of 30
dsm1212
Apprentice

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

And of course immediately after I asked, I was offered 6.4.0 :-). Need to look at the release notes.

 

thanks

Message 22 of 30
dsm1212
Apprentice

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

Hmm. I'm a little wary of the release note that says you cannot downgrade after upgrading to this. I'm running 6.2.4. If someone upgrades from 6.2.4 to 6.4.0 on a pro 6 please let us know how it goes. I might bite the bullet on the weekend.

 

steve

Message 23 of 30
viperhansa
Virtuoso

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

maybe @mdgm-ntgr can help out with what he thinks?

 

Pro 6 running 6.3.5 (originated from 4.2.xx) ota update to 6.4.0 ??

 

Thoughts??

Message 24 of 30
Supertramp11
Luminary

Re: OS6 upgrade question on legacy Pro 6

I'm successfully using OS 6.3.5 on a Pro 6 and got the 6.4.0 upgrade prompt yesterday. Reading elsewhere on this forum about the booting issues others have after upgrading an officially supported device, I think I will wait a while before clicking the upgrade button on my officially unsupported device.

Message 25 of 30
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