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RN102 power led keeps blinking after update to firmware v.6.5.1
Attempt to update the firmware in my RN102 (by clicking on the button in the web interface) failed. Previous version was 6.2.5. The update routine first showed v.6.4.2 being installed and immediately thereafter it offered and installed the still newer version 6.5.1. But not without serious problems, because since then:
1. the power led of the NAS is blinking with 1 sec. intervals - and has been doing so for four days already. (The leds for ACT, drive 1 and drive 2 are on permanently).
2. the web interface has become inaccessible ('access denied' according to the Chrome browser)
3. Access to folders and files on the NAS is still possible, but extremely slow (several minutes for a small Word document)
4. RAIDar 6.1 recognizes the RN102 but only reports 'system is starting up', even after four days - all other functionality of RAIDar is missing (no buttons).
5. The RN102 can't be switched off gracefully with the power button - I had to pull the power plug.
6. The RN102 is noisy, probably as a result of the hard drives and/or cooling fan spinning continuously.
By using the boot menu, I tried to restart the NAS in 'normal' mode. This had no effect whatsoever (power led began to blink endlessly again etc.
Again using the boot menu, I rebooted in read-only mode - and suddenly everything was fine: no blinking leds, web page accessible, and quick access to folders and files from my desktop pc which is running Windows 7 Ultimate. I also succeeded in downloading and saving the log files. The web interface shows the NAS is running formware 6.5.1. Status is 'no harmful software detected'. All buttons are visible. Both hard drives show a green checkmark. The only thing missing is the free and occupied storage space on the 2x 3TB discs (RAID 1): for hours, it just says 'calculating...')
I'm not running any apps on the NAS. Antivirus was always switched off. Logs show that snapshot files were removed automatically after 30 days.To my best estimate, about
So my data is safe, for now. But of course I want a fully working NAS to store new data on, not just access the existing data.
Fortunately there's an external USB 3.0 drive (4 TB WD Elements) - formatted with EXT4 - connected to the RN102 which has made daily backups of the entire volume until the firmware update on July 5th. But I understand Netgear deliberately omitted a restore functionality from ReadyNAS OS 6, which seems odd, to say the least.
I've searched this forum extensively but haven't found the "golden solution". Hopefully another ReadyNAS 102 user, support agent or moderator has a solution or workaround? Or might it be best to just revert the NAS to factory defaults by means of the boot menu and then copy all the data back onto the empty NAS by attaching the USB backup drive to my pc using an ext3/4 file system driver for Windows 7?
Re restoring from the external backup drive: I'm not sure what you mean by 'home shares'. Do you mean the shares (a.k.a. shared folders) in the root directory of the NAS? I've got a very simple setup with only nine shares in the directory tree, mostly following the original NETGEAR names (e.g. Backup, Documents, Photos, Movies, Music) and added a few of my own. I'm the only user and accessing the RN102 as admin.
Each user has a private "home share" folder that matches that username. If you are accessing the NAS as admin, then you should see an "admin" folder - that would be your home share. If you are using guest access you won't see that.
And why is it difficult to get the data back into the home shares, anyway?
One reason is that the file permissions and owners can't easily be reset by the administrator. Sometimes what is needed is to access the NAS as each user from a PC, and then drag/drop the files. I don't use home shares, and it's possible there some improvements in the newer firmware here - perhaps other users who have run into these challenges will comment. But if you don't see the admin folder, then it doesn't really matter to you.
As you suggested, the next logical step seems to be to bring the RN102 back to its factory-new state by means of the boot menu. Although I wonder if there's any certainty that the RN102 will accept firmware update v.6.5.1 after that procedure.
Futhermore, what puzzles me is why the RN102 locked up in the first place during a (hopefully) tried and tested firmware update. It makes me very wary of ever updating the ReadyNAS system software again in the future, not in the least because many other ReadyNAS users seem to have experienced similar incidents with earlier updates (e.g. 6.4.0, 6.4.1, 6.4.2) over the last year.
I think it might actually be running 6.5.1 when the procedure completes. Though we will have to see.
I agree that too many users have had problems with some of the firmware updates. Though on balance I think it is wise to keep up with them anyway (maintaining proper backups), if only to stay up to date with security patches.
Re: RN102 power led keeps blinking after update to firmware v.6.5.1
@StephenB: First of all, thank you very much indeed for your speedy response!
Because the situation doesn't seem hopeless (yet) -- I still have a recent, full back-up and the NAS is still functioning in read-only mode -- I won't try paid support for now. That seems to me like a last resort if everything else fails.
As you suggested, the next logical step seems to be to bring the RN102 back to its factory-new state by means of the boot menu. Although I wonder if there's any certainty that the RN102 will accept firmware update v.6.5.1 after that procedure.
Re restoring from the external backup drive: I'm not sure what you mean by 'home shares'. Do you mean the shares (a.k.a. shared folders) in the root directory of the NAS? I've got a very simple setup with only nine shares in the directory tree, mostly following the original NETGEAR names (e.g. Backup, Documents, Photos, Movies, Music) and added a few of my own. I'm the only user and accessing the RN102 as admin.
And why is it difficult to get the data back into the home shares, anyway?
Futhermore, what puzzles me is why the RN102 locked up in the first place during a (hopefully) tried and tested firmware update. It makes me very wary of ever updating the ReadyNAS system software again in the future, not in the least because many other ReadyNAS users seem to have experienced similar incidents with earlier updates (e.g. 6.4.0, 6.4.1, 6.4.2) over the last year.
I will keep you informed about my attempts to implement your solution. In the meantime, thanks again for your help!
Re restoring from the external backup drive: I'm not sure what you mean by 'home shares'. Do you mean the shares (a.k.a. shared folders) in the root directory of the NAS? I've got a very simple setup with only nine shares in the directory tree, mostly following the original NETGEAR names (e.g. Backup, Documents, Photos, Movies, Music) and added a few of my own. I'm the only user and accessing the RN102 as admin.
Each user has a private "home share" folder that matches that username. If you are accessing the NAS as admin, then you should see an "admin" folder - that would be your home share. If you are using guest access you won't see that.
And why is it difficult to get the data back into the home shares, anyway?
One reason is that the file permissions and owners can't easily be reset by the administrator. Sometimes what is needed is to access the NAS as each user from a PC, and then drag/drop the files. I don't use home shares, and it's possible there some improvements in the newer firmware here - perhaps other users who have run into these challenges will comment. But if you don't see the admin folder, then it doesn't really matter to you.
As you suggested, the next logical step seems to be to bring the RN102 back to its factory-new state by means of the boot menu. Although I wonder if there's any certainty that the RN102 will accept firmware update v.6.5.1 after that procedure.
Futhermore, what puzzles me is why the RN102 locked up in the first place during a (hopefully) tried and tested firmware update. It makes me very wary of ever updating the ReadyNAS system software again in the future, not in the least because many other ReadyNAS users seem to have experienced similar incidents with earlier updates (e.g. 6.4.0, 6.4.1, 6.4.2) over the last year.
I think it might actually be running 6.5.1 when the procedure completes. Though we will have to see.
I agree that too many users have had problems with some of the firmware updates. Though on balance I think it is wise to keep up with them anyway (maintaining proper backups), if only to stay up to date with security patches.
Re: RN102 power led keeps blinking after update to firmware v.6.5.1
Hi StephenB,
A factory reset of the RN102 did the trick! The system rebooted with firmware v6.5.1 and the continuous blinking of the power led was finally over.
After that, I was able to set up the necessary backup procedures in the ReadyNAS OS web interface to restore all the data from the connected USB 3.0 harddisk, share by share.
Re: RN102 power led keeps blinking after update to firmware v.6.5.1
You're right, it's not the ideal solution but still I'm glad the system is working again.
In hindsight, I suspect the problem was caused by trying to implement two firmware updates in rapid succession. When it began, the RN102 was running v.6.2.5. Update 6.4.2 had already been downloaded a couple of months ago but was not yet installed because normally I leave the NAS switched on 24/7. The web interface said something like "firmware 6.4.2 is downloaded and will be installed after a restart." I finally dared to push the restart button and right after this restart, the latest update 6.5.1 was presented to me and I accepted that also. Probably not such a good idea.
