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I've been using my ReadyNAS 204 for 2.5 years now with no problems however after going away for the weekend (and nobody else has been here), it's sitting there completely frozen. I was surprised it was even on because I have it automatically turning on and off various days during the week and Sunday it shoudl be off totally. I tried pressing the on/off button and no response whatsoever. I've pulled the power cable out, waited for a min or so, replugged in and it just sits there with lights on but nothing on the LCD and I can't hear any spinning etc which I usually do when I starts up.
If anybody can pls help, I'm pretty lost with what to do and not very technical. When I logged into this portal I'm told I've got no call / phone support however looks as though I've got about 6 weeks (out of 3 years) hardware warranty left.
Where on earth do I start? I do hope I've not lost all my data? A lot is backed up but not all.
With the unit off, remove the drives and mark which slot they go into. Then power on diskless. If RAIDar shows the unit with status "No Disks", then it is likely the chassis is OK. If it does not, it is likely dead and you need an RMA.
If you got the "No Disks" status, turn the NAS off again and insert a spare drive (any size SATA you don't care about the data on it) and see if the unit initializes properly.
If that works, check the drives with a PC and manufacturers tools to see if one has gone bad. A really bad hardware issue on the SATA port can take down the whole NAS. If you have no way of doing this, you can skip to the next step.
Last, assuming you were using XRAID, RAID1, or two independent volumes, so each drive can be used independently, insert the good drive from the drive test (or both, one at a time, if both tested good or they are untested) with power off and see if it boots. If you were using JBOD or RAID0, you are likely in a data recovery position -- hope you have a backup.
At each step with the NAS, note the status from RAIDar, then come back with the results. Maybe we can get you going or at least confirm that the chassis is bad.
Use the "replace my defective product" on the support portal. The "no phone support" status is because you don't have a support contract, but the warranty still applies.
Thanks for responding Stephen. Would you mind my asking if you don't think there's any hope / anything worth trying first? Or do they just sound totally dead? e.g., if I took it to a local computer shop might they be able to do something wiht it? Or even get the discs out and get data off etc?
I went to the Replace Defective Product / support portal and entered all my details. It said to contact by phone and pls provide case number when doing so. Next to the "case number" was a red empty square so looks like programming error. I read about someone else having a similar problem and to just call the support number. I did this and spent 2.5 HOURS ON HOLD. When I was finally answered by SIMTE she told me there was nothing she could do because she didn't know much about NAS drives and she would have to put me through to appropriate team. I told her how long I'd been waiting and I couldn't wait any longer because I had kids about to arrive home and she assured me there was no queue on the NAS service line. I asked her to double check and she said it would be fine and I would be answered straight away - well, I've waited another 40 mins and hung up :(:(:(. So I've wasted half my work day and have gotten absolutely nowhere. I have no idea what to do now. I've not received any confirmation email from Netgear so not even sure if my ticket went through. I can't believe how terrible the service is - over 3 hours and nothing and no idea where to go.
Can somebody pls provide advice on what to do. I'm seriously at the end of my tether with this.
With the unit off, remove the drives and mark which slot they go into. Then power on diskless. If RAIDar shows the unit with status "No Disks", then it is likely the chassis is OK. If it does not, it is likely dead and you need an RMA.
If you got the "No Disks" status, turn the NAS off again and insert a spare drive (any size SATA you don't care about the data on it) and see if the unit initializes properly.
If that works, check the drives with a PC and manufacturers tools to see if one has gone bad. A really bad hardware issue on the SATA port can take down the whole NAS. If you have no way of doing this, you can skip to the next step.
Last, assuming you were using XRAID, RAID1, or two independent volumes, so each drive can be used independently, insert the good drive from the drive test (or both, one at a time, if both tested good or they are untested) with power off and see if it boots. If you were using JBOD or RAID0, you are likely in a data recovery position -- hope you have a backup.
At each step with the NAS, note the status from RAIDar, then come back with the results. Maybe we can get you going or at least confirm that the chassis is bad.
Thanks Sandshark for taking the time to provide those trouble shooting steps.
I've removed disks, plugged in power and exactly the same situation i.e., all lights on but no info on LCD, no booting up noises etc. So sounds like box is dead and I will proceed with the RMA.
