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Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Yoda1492
Luminary

Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Hello,

 

I have an ReadyNAS Ultra 6 (RNDU6000-100NAS) running RAIDiator 4.2.30.  It has 6 Seagate 3TB drives in it.  Since the system is out of warranty, I would like to replace OS 4.2.30 with OS 6.x (whatever OS 6 version you recommend). Here are my questions on this:

1.  Can someone point me to the procedures to do this upgrade? 

2.  Will I lose all data in doing the upgrade?  I can back it all up elsewhere if need be. 

3.  Does a Factory Default need to be performed? 

4.  Are there any limitations/shortcomings for the NAS after it has been upgraded?  For example, would apps be expected to work?

I see on this forum where several people have been successful in replacing the older NASs with the new OS. I hope to add this NAS to that list of happy people.  Thanks for any assistance with this task.

Model: ReadyNASRNDU6000|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Chassis only
Message 1 of 14

Accepted Solutions
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Basic instructions are

  1. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  2. Download PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin
  3. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  4. Download R4toR6_6.9.3.bin
  5. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  6. After you upload the addon/firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default. 

For links to files see OS6 now works on x86 Legacy WARNING: NO NTGR SUPPORT

 

As you can see it does a factory default, so all data on the NAS will be lost.

 

At the moment you can still purchase Netgear support (including per-incident support) even though you are out of warranty.  If you are running OS 6, that will no longer be an option for you.  Though you still could purchase Netgear's data recovery service if needed.

 

I haven't seen any posting about apps working differently on legacy NAS.  The Ultra has less memory than the current shipping x86, which could create issues I guess.  The main issue I've noticed here is that sometimes new firmware doesn't handle fans and temperature sensors correctly.  So far Netgear has resolved that during beta.

 

Disclaimer:  My pro-6 is running OS 4.2, so I haven't done this upgrade myself - although I do have several OS 6 ReadyNAS.

View solution in original post

Message 2 of 14

All Replies
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Basic instructions are

  1. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  2. Download PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin
  3. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  4. Download R4toR6_6.9.3.bin
  5. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  6. After you upload the addon/firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default. 

For links to files see OS6 now works on x86 Legacy WARNING: NO NTGR SUPPORT

 

As you can see it does a factory default, so all data on the NAS will be lost.

 

At the moment you can still purchase Netgear support (including per-incident support) even though you are out of warranty.  If you are running OS 6, that will no longer be an option for you.  Though you still could purchase Netgear's data recovery service if needed.

 

I haven't seen any posting about apps working differently on legacy NAS.  The Ultra has less memory than the current shipping x86, which could create issues I guess.  The main issue I've noticed here is that sometimes new firmware doesn't handle fans and temperature sensors correctly.  So far Netgear has resolved that during beta.

 

Disclaimer:  My pro-6 is running OS 4.2, so I haven't done this upgrade myself - although I do have several OS 6 ReadyNAS.

Message 2 of 14
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

@Yoda1492 what apps do you have installed currently, some will not work with OS6

Also what Bios Version are you running ? as this was an issue for me when upgrading my Pro 4 to OS6 (mdgm very kindly sorted this for me), you can check this by downloading your logs and finding something like  bios_ver.log (that's in OS6, not sure about OS4 now)

Someone more knowledgable than me will have to confirm you have the latest Bios

Having got all this sorted I am more than pleased my Pro 4 has a new lease of OS6 life

Message 3 of 14
Yoda1492
Luminary

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Stephen B - Thank you for the procedures and the process.

 

Bedlam1 - The only app that I have on this NAS is PLEX Media Server.  This NAS does not support transcoding natively on the NAS, but it does do a nice job storing the data and sharing the files as a network share. 

 

All - As to what version of BIOS is on the Ultra 6, according to the BIOS_ver file, my BIOS info is:

       05/26/2010 FLAME6-2 V1.1

Can someone please confirm that this is all that I need before starting this process?  If not, where do I get the newer BIOS from?  Thanks.

 

 

Model: ReadyNASRNDU6000|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Chassis only
Message 4 of 14
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6


@Yoda1492 wrote:

 

All - As to what version of BIOS is on the Ultra 6, according to the BIOS_ver file, my BIOS info is:

       05/26/2010 FLAME6-2 V1.1

 


The newest one is I know of is 6/10/10 - the download link is here:  http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin


@Yoda1492 wrote:

 

Bedlam1 - The only app that I have on this NAS is PLEX Media Server. 

After the upgrade, you'll download plex for OS-6 x86 directly from https://www.plex.tv/downloads/  You'll then install the deb filel by going to the apps page of the web ui, and then use the "upload" control on the top right side of the page.  It installs in the background, and it will take a couple of minutes - long enough that you might feel like it didn't work.  So be patient on that step.  There will be a notification, and there will be a log message when the install actually completes.

Message 5 of 14
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

The BIOS update fixes WOL if I recall correctly.

 

Plex hasn't released add-ons for RAIDiator 4.2.x for a while now.

 

Once you're running OS6 you'll be able to run the latest version of the Plex Media Server app.

Message 6 of 14
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6


@Yoda1492 wrote:

 

 

All - As to what version of BIOS is on the Ultra 6, according to the BIOS_ver file, my BIOS info is:

       05/26/2010 FLAME6-2 V1.1

Can someone please confirm that this is all that I need before starting this process?  If not, where do I get the newer BIOS from?  Thanks.

 



That's the bios version on my Ultra6 running OS6.

Message 7 of 14
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

The Bios update add on for Raidiator 4 (NOT OS6) is here http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin

As posted by StephenB earlier in this thread, may as well do it even if you are up to date.

Just upload in apps in Frontview

Message 8 of 14
Yoda1492
Luminary

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

All,

 

Thank you for the guidance on how to upgrade the NAS to OS 6.  I did the firmware update first in OS 4.  Previously my BIOS version was:

     05/26/2010 FLAME6-2 V1.1

and now it is:

     06/10/2010 FLAME6-2 V1.1

 

I installed that via the addons section of OS 4 versus the System->Update->Local firmware section, but the process said it completed and seemed to be the same process.

 

Then I followed the procedures to put on OS 6.  I watched the LED display during the process.  There was one error about not being able to do something "properly", but I forgot to film it and now forget what it said.  Regardless, it did multiple reboots and installed OS 6.6.0 and setup the NAS.  The NAS did a factory reset as expected.  It is currently RSYNCing.  I will let that finish and then complete the setup.  For the most part, this seems to be a very typical upgrade so far.   

 

Model: ReadyNASRNDU6000|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Chassis only
Message 9 of 14
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

V1.1 is the latest BIOS for the Ultra6 (Flame V6-2 motherboard).  V2.0 is the latest for the various Pro6 versions and the Ultra6Pro (all Flame V6 motherboard), except for a very few early ones I have only heard about that have an earlier motherboard (I forget the board version).

Message 10 of 14
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

The BIOS dated 06/10/10 is the latest BIOS for the Ultra 6. You can tell if you have the latest BIOS for a legacy x86 ReadyNAS by looking at the date, not the version number.

Message 11 of 14
Yoda1492
Luminary

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Thanks for the BIOS information.  Based on all of that I have the latest version of the BIOS for this NAS.  The RSYNC finished and I setup the NAS via ReadyCloud.  Everything worked as expected and there was no surprises.  For completeness, I ran diagnostics via RAIDar and it showed the below which shows that everything (including the drives) is good:

     Successfully completed diagnostics
     System
     No errors found.
     Logs
     No errors found.

 

I added a user, enabled RSYNC, and will put data on the NAS next.  This was all straight forward.  Thanks for all the support and guidance.  I will wait a day for any last thoughts and then accept this as the solution.  Have a great day!

Model: ReadyNASRNDP600U|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus Chassis only
Message 12 of 14
Yoda1492
Luminary

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

Plex Media Server is installed and running on the NAS.

Model: ReadyNASRNDP600U|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus Chassis only
Message 13 of 14
Yoda1492
Luminary

Re: Ultra 6 OS Upgrade from 4.2.30 to OS 6

All is well.  Thanks to all that helped with this upgrade.  Stephen B - I encourage you to upgrade your Pro 6 to OS 6.  OS 6 is night and day from OS 4.  Everyone have a great day.

Model: ReadyNASRNDP600U|ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Plus Chassis only
Message 14 of 14
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