I bought my RN104 about 7 years or so ago and it's worked flawlessly until now. I just moved house and when plugging the power back in it's struggling for the connector to be in the right place to stay on. If I hold it it's fine and boots up, if I let go the connection is lost and the unit dies. I thought, no problem, I'll just pop on the internet and buy the latest home readynas but alas, the last model, the 214 was discontinued and no later model has been released. I don't want to buy the new base model as it's way more than I need and costs a serious amount of money.
My question is what can I do about it?
My setup is 2x4tb and 1x3tb in an xraid configuration.
My son has a 2 bay RN102 which he uses so I wonder if I could pull 2 of the disks and put them into his nas and the xraid would still work, at least enough to copy data over to another platform.
Alternatively is there some way I can get the power connector fixed so that it will last long enough to again get the critical data off.
Or, does netgear plan on releasing any more home priced 4 bay nas servers?
The final option I wonder about is does anyone know if there are any competitor devices that the array can be plugged into so that the data can be read. I guess x-raid is a protected algorithm so the chances are slim that anyone else would have this as a feature.
Is there some way I can get the power connector fixed so that it will last long enough to again get the critical data off.
Or, does netgear plan on releasing any more home priced 4 bay nas servers?
Have you looked at both the connector and the socket? If the connector is damaged, you can purchase a compatible adapter pretty inexpensively.
But if it's the socket, then you'd need to find a local PC repair shop, and see if they can fix it. (Netgear won't). There are a couple of folks here who were able to get theirs fixed that way.
My setup is 2x4tb and 1x3tb in an xraid configuration.
My son has a 2 bay RN102 which he uses so I wonder if I could pull 2 of the disks and put them into his nas and the xraid would still work, at least enough to copy data over to another platform.
That should work - though I think you should boot the NAS read-only.
If his NAS is running newer firmware, your disks will be updated to run his firmware. If you are running newer firmware, then his flash (and ultimately his disks) will be updated to run your firmware.
but alas, the last model, the 214 was discontinued and no later model has been released.
Or, does netgear plan on releasing any more home priced 4 bay nas servers?
New ReadyNAS are hard to find and often overpriced, but you have more options than just the RN214. You can migrate disks to any OS-6 NAS with enough bays (RN314, RN316, RN424, RN426, RN428, RN524, RN526, RN528, RN624, RN626, RN628). You could include used ReadyNAS in the search (including the RN204, RN514, and RN526 in that case). Though used models are also often (IMO) overpriced.
There are rumors here that Netgear will abandon the NAS business. Netgear hasn't said, but the long-standing lack of inventory, plus the long time it's been since a new platform was introduced does point in that direction.
The final option I wonder about is does anyone know if there are any competitor devices that the array can be plugged into so that the data can be read. I guess x-raid is a protected algorithm so the chances are slim that anyone else would have this as a feature.
Actually XRAID uses totally standard linux tools. With OS-6 it uses mdam software RAID combined with the BTRFS file system. Netgear has created a package on top of that which provides very simple RAID administration, and automatic volume expansion.
But if you are comfortable with the linux command line, you can mount the disks in any linux PC. There are also windows beta packages for both mdadm and btrfs, and some folks were successful in mounting their volumes in a PC. You would of course need a way to connect the disks (either enough SATA connections, or USB adapter/docks).
My setup is 2x4tb and 1x3tb in an xraid configuration.
My son has a 2 bay RN102 which he uses so I wonder if I could pull 2 of the disks and put them into his nas and the xraid would still work, at least enough to copy data over to another platform.
That should work - though I think you should boot the NAS read-only.
You need to use the two largest and do it with power off. The volume will show up as "degraded", but that just means you have no redundancy since you've only mounted two drives of a three-drive volume. The data will be fully accessible for recovery to a backup device.
New ReadyNAS are hard to find and often overpriced, but you have more options than just the RN214. You can migrate disks to any OS-6 NAS with enough bays (RN314, RN316, RN424, RN426, RN428, RN524, RN526, RN528, RN624, RN626, RN628). You could include used ReadyNAS in the search (including the RN204, RN514, and RN526 in that case). Though used models are also often (IMO) overpriced.
A legacy machine like an Ultra/Pro 4 or 6 converted to OS6 will also work. The performance of the newer Intel based units is better, and some of the legacy systems don't have USB3 (if you need that), but they are an option.
As for the connector, the motherboard 4-pin DIN of the 104 is a little trickier to find that the barrel connector of the 2-bay units. Replacing it with a "pigtail" that's hard soldered to the motherboard may be a better solution if it really needs replacing. But it could be a simple as re-soldering a broken solder joint. If it's the power brick side, be careful of the pin polarity. A supply stated to support the Synology 410/411/412 will have it right, and they are available reasonably priced on Amazon.
@Sandshark wrote: You need to use the two largest and do it with power off.
Definitely with power off. Using a 4 TB + 3 TB will work (not sure why Sandshark is suggesting otherwise), but 4 TB + 4 TB will of course work too. As he notes, the volume will be degraded (since a disk is missing).
