Ready NAS not booting - Boot from USB Failed

[Tommsy]

Hi have a readynas 10400 Model RN10400 which has stopped working with the following error on the LCD Screen

'Boot from USB

Failed!'

I have downloaded the Netgear Storage USB Recovery Utility

Formatted 2 USB drives as Fat 32 (via PC) then formatted them via the application

I then selectted the RN 104 in the model drop down list

Selected the Firmware that I downloaded from https://kb.netgear.com/000055199/ReadyNAS-OS-6-Software-Version-6-9-3

This runs and shows that the USB is ready for recovery

I put in the USB into the front port of the NAS, boot it up 

The NAS boots to the recovery showing the message 'ReadyNAS USB Recovery'

But then after a few minutes shows a message 'DEBUG: $PORT $IP Recovery'

But it wont let me to continue....

I have tried it with different USBs, I have rebooted and it goes back to the initial failed error, try it again - the same effect

Please help

Thanks 

Tom

[StephenB]

The NAS can be finicky on which USB drive it will accept, so if you have a third one you might try that.  Usually older drives work better than newer ones.  If there are multiple partitions on the USB drive, you should remove them and create a single new one.

You could also try paid support via my.netgear.com.

Was there any trigger for this failure (for instace, a firmware update???).

[Tommsy]

Hi tried third USB, still no joy

I am going to try a fourth....

What should be done for it - network connected, disconnected??

Drives in / out etc?

[Tommsy]

Hi Stephen

4th USB - this time still no joy the same error 😞 and it is a very old USB this time 😞

also - cant think of reason, we had a power failure but no updates etc...

Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance

Tom

[StephenB]

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@Tommsy wrote:

Any other ideas?

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Maybe paid support (my.netgear.com).  Can the system boot into tech support mode?

[Tommsy]

Thanks - just looking at the paid support - it is €86.99 I wouldnt minds paying it - but will they get it working?? There is no point in paying if it hopeless......

[Tommsy]

How can I boot it into Tech Support Mode?

[Tommsy]

Doesnt seem to be able to go to tech support menu at all

[StephenB]

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@Tommsy wrote:

Doesnt seem to be able to go to tech support menu at all

---

If it is under warranty (3 years for original purchaser) then it could be RMAd. 

If the memory or some other component on the system board failed, then the system can't be repaired.  If it's just corrupt flash, then it can be.  Since you can't get the system into tech support mode, you'd probably have to ship the NAS to a Netgear Support center.

Options are to

(a) RMA the NAS if it is covered by warranty

(b) Contact support even if it isn't covered, and hope they can fix it

(c) replace the NAS with another ReadyNAS and migrate the disks to it.

The RN104 is no longer shipping - a new RN214 would cost about €380 (Current Amazon price in Germany).  So that is a pretty expensive option - though it would outperform the RN104.

A long shot would be to replace the power brick (hoping that it is causing the problem).  But I think that is unlikely.

Perhaps @JohnCM_S or @Marc_V might have other suggestions.

[Tommsy]

Thanks Stephen

Very helpful

Yep - I was looking at another NAS but pretty expensive for a replacement

Is there any way to check the drives, I could go down the route of getting another and adding the drives if I was sure it would work

[StephenB]

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@Tommsy wrote:

Is there any way to check the drives, I could go down the route of getting another and adding the drives if I was sure it would work

---

If you boot the NAS without drives it should give you a "no disks" status.  So try that.

You can test the drives in a Windows PC using vendor tools (seatools for seagate, lifeguard for western digital).  You can connect the drives either using SATA or a USB adapter/dock.  Windows can't handle the format, but the vendor tools can still discover the drives and test them.

Label the drives by slot when removing them from the NAS.

[Tommsy]

Good idea to test the drives thanks

I also came across the following https://www.reclaime.com/library/netgear-recovery.aspx

Has anyone tested it with drives from ReadyNas?

[StephenB]

Several folks here have reported success with ReclaiMe.  You can see what it can recover for free, and only pay if you think it can recover.

If you can connect the drives to a linux PC, you could also try to mount the data volume (which would be completely free if your data volume is undamaged).