Having significant issues with my ReadyNAS RN104 after manually running a disk balance.
ReadyNAS RN104
Firmware 6.10.4 (had only just updated to this version)
3x 3TB WD Red hard drives
~9TB of disk capacity (unsure how much the unit deems usable space).
~2-3TB of stored data
I do not have a good backup of data.
I decided to perform disk maintenance due to the drive(s) sounding like they were continuously reading/writing. The disk activity light blinked accordingly. Troubleshooting which followed:
I turned off all devices which have access to the NAS however; continuous read/write continued.
Updated the firmware from 6.10.3 to 6.10.4. The upgrade completed successfully without issues. After the NAS rebooted itself, the continuous read/write activity continued.
I started searching these forums and found a suggestion to disable and re-enable the DLNA service. No luck.
Disabled the one app I had running. No luck.
I found some posts here about the continuous disk activity which suggested variations of Defrag, Balance, Scrub etc. I wasn't sure which order to perform them in so I searched some more and found this post which suggested to start with a Balance.
Timeline:
I manually started a balance around the middle of the day. Initial progress was quite fast. 20% was reached in a short time, maybe 30mins.
Stopped monitoring the status closely after this time and after what seemed a short time the balance had reached 40%.
Checked again later and it had reached 60%. At this point, from starting the balance to 60% was 2-3 hours. Now confident that the balance would be fine, I stopped monitoring, finished up at my desk and committed to return later to check progress/completion.
Around 8 or 9pm I returned to the NAS to check. It was still on 60%. I waited another hour and checked again, still 60%. The disk activity light is solid. No hard disk noise is heard.
All checks were via the screen on the front of the unit. I had not checked via the web interface.
I left the unit as is overnight, hoping progress may be seen. No change the following morning (today).
I had not recieved any email notifications, neither negative or positive during the disk balance or overnight.
I had not performed a scrub or defrag anytime recently.
The web interface no longer responds. It times out. I've never had this happen before with this device. The web interface has always worked.
I can ping the IP address of the device. The response time is as expected; 1-2ms.
Nothing happens when I single press the power button on the unit.I have not yet tried any other power button sequences or cold restart.
Repaeat from above: I do not have a good backup of data. Some data is not important (media) but other data is (pictures).
I have done further reading on these pages and seeing mixed results ranging from no issues after cold restart to disk volume issues. I really do not want to lose the data on this drive.
I am a novice home user. Whilst I can perform command lines with instruction, I do not know the commands myself. I am not even sure how to initially connect to the RN104 via command line.
I suppose I have come to trust the ReadyNAS system too much. I have never had any issues with it whatsoever. It has performed flawlessly for many years. Even when a physical drive failed, the system continued to run and restored the volume when the disk was replaced with a new one. Because of this trust, I do not have a good backup. I had recently started tinkering with a backup to OneDrive, but it is not configured on my important data folders. Hoping I do not lose any data.
Assistance would be appreciated immensely.
Model: RN10400|ReadyNAS 100 Series 4- Bay (Diskless)
If RAIDar can't find it, then I think you will need to hold down the power button until the system forcibly shuts down. That should take about 5 seconds. If it still doesn't respond, you will need to pull the plug. Then I suggest powering up the NAS read-only. Instructions are on pages 28-29 here: https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/READYNAS-100/ReadyNAS_%20OS6_Desktop_HM_EN.pdf
If the data isn't there after it reboots, then contact paid netgear support (my.netgear.com). It could be expensive, but it is the safest path to getting your data back.
If the data is there, then begin by backing it up (at least the irreplacable photos, etc).
If you have not done a balance in a long time (or ever), it can take a while. But yours does seem to be stuck, as that is way too much time. Unfortuantely, that can be an indication of drive errors that could cause a problem if your re-boot. Given you have an RN104 and nothing is responding, I think it is more likely you've run out of memory, which is quite limited on the 102 and 104, or the CPU is at 100%. If it's memory or the CPU use, then a reboot is less likely to cause a problem.
If you have SSH enabled, you can try and get in that way. If you can't, then a reboot is probably the only solution. If you can, then see what the results of the top command are.
BTW, none of those maintenance activities were likely to solve your issue. They could be the cause of it if they were ongoing.
@StephenB thanks heaps for the reply and suggestions.
A bad decision indeed to not perform backups.
RAIDar cannot see the device.
I'm not sure if SSH was enabled. If its enabled as factory default then it would be enabled still. I didn't ever disable anything from factory other than iTunes server perhaps.
I downloaded Putty to try an SSH connection but its not able to connect. I expect however its due to me not knowing how to use SSH command line. I attempted to use the connection wizard which is part of the standalone putty windows executable.
Therefore I must move onto force rebooting. Would you advise to try a regular reboot and see what happens or should I specifically try to boot in read only mode in the very first instance?
Do you happen to know if cloud backup options exist when booting in read-only mode? I.e. will the web interface be exactly as I am used to?
I do agree it seems like the freeze could have been caused my exhausting memory. Fingers crossed simply this and no further issues. I decided to post here before just doing stuff. Someone with basic tech knowledge such as myself, can be easily lead to "just reboot it" as first troubleshooting. I wanted to make sure there wasn't something more I could do. Turns out 'something more' I could have done was back-up.
As per advice from @StephenB , I'll attempt a reboot into read only mode and see where things lead from there.
All going well, there will be a new discussion to be had about the initial issue which was the continuous I/O noise from the unit.
Therefore I must move onto force rebooting. Would you advise to try a regular reboot and see what happens or should I specifically try to boot in read only mode in the very first instance?
Read-only mode ensures that the NAS won't try to "repair" any damage. Attempts to repair could actually hurt, so I'd recommend booting up initially into read-only mode.
Do you happen to know if cloud backup options exist when booting in read-only mode? I.e. will the web interface be exactly as I am used to?
Many thanks once again.
The web ui will be normal, but you probably won't be able to enable any new services. The best way to back up the pictures is to copy them over the network to a PC (perhaps to a USB drive).
The power button did not provide a way to shut down. So I had to pull the cable. I reconnected the cable and prepared for the paperclip/powerbutton routine in the manual. The unit just powered up on its own instead. It did not wait for me to press the power button.
So now its performing a regular boot, but its taking its time from 39% onwards. It stayed on 39% for around 5 minutes and has progressed to 41%. When I single press the power button, the display changes from showing "booting" to "systemd-journald" its been like this for a further few minutes. Now when I press the button again it does not change back to "booting". The disk activity light is solid again. I do not hear any disk activitiy like I was when it was on 39%. Perhaps its frozen all over again? Will leave as is for a while and monitor.
Via a regular boot which I accidentally performed, it was stuck on 41% boot and became unresponsive again. Begrudgingly I pulled the plug a second time and started in read only mode.
SUCCESS! The NAS booted. I can reach the interface and also browse the data from my Windows computer. Time to back up! I'll back up to a NAS connected USB device in the first instance, then to cloud for important stuff.
Whats the advice for where I go from there? How do I get a regular boot up to occur when I'm ready to try that?
Time to back up! I'll back up to a NAS connected USB device in the first instance, then to cloud for important stuff.
Use NTFS formatting for the USB drive, so you can access it from the PC. Note that if you are using drag and drop, it will be faster to connect the USB drive to the PC. Ideally you'd use ethernet. If you are using a NAS backup job, then connecting the drive to the NAS makes sense.
Whats the advice for where I go from there? How do I get a regular boot up to occur when I'm ready to try that?
I'd start by downloading the log zip file, and look for disk-related errors. You can ask the mods ( @JohnCM_S and @Marc_V ) to analyze the log zip. You'd
put the log zip into cloud storage (onedrive, google drive, etc).
send them a private message (PM) using the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page.
include a download link to the log zip, and an link to this thread.
Don't post the log zip publicly.
If the disks are healthy, the likely next step would be to do a factory reset. You'd want to back up everything to local storage if you can (as cloud backup/restore is usually quite a bit slower than local storage).
Use NTFS formatting for the USB drive, so you can access it from the PC. Note that if you are using drag and drop, it will be faster to connect the USB drive to the PC. Ideally you'd use ethernet. If you are using a NAS backup job, then connecting the drive to the NAS makes sense.
I had intended to connect the USB drive directly to the NAS and then use the 'browse' function within the web interface to copy folders from the local volume to the USB3 drive connected to the USB3 port. I thought this would be the fastest way seeing as my windows computer (laptop) accesses the NAS via WiFi only. Please advise if I am incorrect with this logic.
I'd start by downloading the log zip file, and look for disk-related errors. You can ask the mods ( @JohnCM_S and @Marc_V ) to analyze the log zip. You'd
put the log zip into cloud storage (onedrive, google drive, etc).
send them a private message (PM) using the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page.
include a download link to the log zip, and an link to this thread.
Don't post the log zip publicly.
If the disks are healthy, the likely next step would be to do a factory reset. You'd want to back up everything to local storage if you can (as cloud backup/restore is usually quite a bit slower than local storage).
Ok great. Will do a backup first and then follow this advice. Thank you very much @StephenB
@Sheen wrote: I had intended to connect the USB drive directly to the NAS and then use the 'browse' function within the web interface to copy folders from the local volume to the USB3 drive connected to the USB3 port. I thought this would be the fastest way seeing as my windows computer (laptop) accesses the NAS via WiFi only. Please advise if I am incorrect with this logic.
I don't use the web interface that way very often, but I believe that will avoid copying over the network.
Setting up a backup job would also do that, and that would let you disconnect the PC while the copying is going on.
I don't use the web interface that way very often, but I believe that will avoid copying over the network.
Setting up a backup job would also do that, and that would let you disconnect the PC while the copying is going on.
I feel like a locally connected USB3 drive is the fastest (and possibly most reliable) way to transfer a large amount of data. Happy to be told otherwise.
I do have a question about using it using the built in 'backup' function;
Having never used it, does it backup in its own format or does it use a traditional format onto an NTFS formatted drive which can then be read natively by other devices? (My windows computer for example).
Also, does it recognise different physical portable drives? I'm imaginging i'll have two portable USB3 drives for different NAS folders. It would be great to simply connect one, push the backup button and have it recognise which physical drive it is and copy the folders specificed in the backup task I've created for it.
In any case, I have performed manual backups now and ready to start tinkering on fixing the initial issue (and resulting issue).
I would use a backup job (or multiple ones), too, whihc can go to a USB drive connected to the NAS. It will go at least as fast as a drag-and-drop and is less interactive. Also, you can save your NAS configuration if you want to restore it later. If you have any apps installed, just be sure to re-install them before restoring the configuration. If you use user home folders, those will not be recreated with restoring the configuration, just as they aren't right when you create a new user. The user needs to log in, or you can go to SSH and use mkhomedir_helper.
I would use a backup job (or multiple ones), too, whihc can go to a USB drive connected to the NAS. It will go at least as fast as a drag-and-drop and is less interactive.
Yes. I am hoping the backup scenario mentioned in my previous post is possible. As I don't have enough portable disk capacity to back everything up to one disk, I'd really value being able to run separate, manual backups to two different USB3 portable hard drives simply by connecting and pressing the backup button. Otherwise I will probably fork out for a larger capacity portable drive so it all fits on a single disk. A SATA hard drive and enclosure might be the most cost effective solution. I'll see whats possible.
If I did end up with a single disk for backups, I could simply automate via scheduling which might be even better.
If you have any apps installed, just be sure to re-install them before restoring the configuration. If you use user home folders, those will not be recreated with restoring the configuration, just as they aren't right when you create a new user. The user needs to log in, or you can go to SSH and use mkhomedir_helper.
Will the user accounts at least be restored? If so thats fine. Good to know the folders won't be there initially.
I won't be able to use SSH. No idea about any of that stuff.
User accounts will be restored when you restore the config backup. If you aren't using ssh, then the user needs to access the NAS using File Explorer or Finder using their username/password. That will recreate an empty home folder. After that you can restore data.
Personally I don't see much need for home users to use the home folder feature. I just disable file sharing on home in the web ui, and keep all the files on normal share.
As far as backup goes, you can also have the backup jobs run on a schedule, so there is no need to push the button. Though that would require having both USB drives connected to the NAS all the time.
I've been away so left the NAS in Read-only mode. No issues using it in this mode. Obviously I am not able to add data to it though.
Yesterday I shared the logs with yourself and the moderators mentioned. I'll wait longer for them to respond. Its almost noon Thursday here in AU so I might wait til sometime over the weekend and then try a graceful shutdown and boot regularly and see what the boot-up disk-checks make of things now.
Just floating this back to the top of notifications for the moderators whom @StephenB advised might be able to help.
@JohnCM_S@Marc_V PM sent to you both on the 10th Feb, AU time. PM contained a link to NAS logs. If you do have any time to help it would be greatly appreciated.
Update: Following advice from helpful forum members, we know that the NAS simply ran out of memory when performing the disk balance. We do not yet know why the disk balance caused it however the fact there was at least one app running at the time may have contributed.
With the NAS still running perfectly in read-only mode I performed a graceful shutdown, then waited a couple of minutes before booting back up in normal mode. Currently it seems stuck on "Booting" at 76%. Has been this way for about 45minutes. I will monitor for the day and see if it makes any progress.
I will gratefully accept any advice as to what to do if this booting issue persists. Thanks again for your help everyone.
Update: Almost 24 hours later. There is no change from my previous post. Stuck on "Booting" at 76%.
Unfortunately I will need to pul lthe power cord to turn it off. My intentions from here is to boot back up in read-only mode and see if it will allow me to perform any kind of disk maintenance such as a defrag or scrub. Being read-only mode, I'm guessing not.
Failing this I see no other choice than to factory reset the unit. I have all of my data backed up as well as my configuration.
I'll await any advice for the remainder of the work day and go ahead with the reset this evening or tomorrow.
Out of interest, I returned to the boot menu and tried the memory test. It only prgresses to 00:00:01 and stops. So I pulled the power cord again and booted in read-only mode. The NAS works fine in this mode. I just can't save anything to it understandably.
Can you boot the NAS in Tech Support mode so we can check? After booting it to that mode, please provide me via private message the 5-digit code found on the front panel of the NAS or in RAIDar.
As what has been discussed via private message, one of our L3 experts was able to fix the issue in the volume and he was able to mount it with read/write access.
The NAS has now been rebooted back in Normal mode.
