Using this ReadyNAS with two drives inside it in a Mac system. It's exhibiting problems showing up on Raidar, etc. It finally booted up and I get this warning on Raidar:
I need to understand if this means that one of the two drives is dead. I don't know for sure if this was set up as RAID level 0 or 1. Is that obvious from the error info on the Raidar page? I can't interpret it and I'm not very technical, but I understand the basic concepts.
At the moment with what I know, I'm thinking that if I power down the chassis (correctly of course) and remove the left side drive, the system will work for now with the one healthy drive.
But this is based on two assumptions I'm making.
1. This set up is configured as RAID level 1, meaning it's fully redundant and pulling a drive and rebooting is safe.
2. The error message is telling me that the left drive is not functioning (dead) and the right drive is working and healthy (-ish)
Am I correct? Is there a way to verify which Raid level this is running? (since I have it up for now?)
Any help much appreciated. Please explain steps and locations in plain language if possible. I really dont' hack.
You already asked the RAID question on another thread. XRAID with two disks uses RAID-1. Disks are numbered left-to-right, so you are correct in thinking that the error is with the leftmost disk.
I'd log into the actual admin web ui using https://nas-ip-address/admin (substituting the actual NAS IP address), and also look in it's logs to see what's going on with disk 1. You can download the log zip file from the logs page, and look in disk_info.log and smart_history.log. That will also give you a more precise idea on what's failed. You can post back questions (and cut/pastes from those logs) if you aren't sure what they are telling you.
To replace the disk, you remove the disk, and take it out of the drive tray. Put the new disk into the drive tray, and then insert it into the NAS. Do all this with the NAS running.
The replacement drive is normally the same size as the failed disk (though it could be bigger if you are planning to expand the NAS later on). NAS-purposed drives (WDC Red or Seagate Ironwolf) are good choices for your ultra.
Thanks for the help. I'm unable to back up the drives because even though the array has successfully mounted to the desktop occasionally, it doesn't function for read or write. It just beachballs when I try to access any files.
I pulled the left drive out while the nas was running, as you suggested. I was hoping the remaining drive would mount, but it doesn't. If It could mount, I would back up the contents.
Instead, I suppose I'll buy a replacement drive for the dead one. I'll look for documentation on how to join the new drive with the existing one in a RAID 1 level set up.
Just wondering, is it possible that the single drive in the chassis can mount on my desktop temporarily until I add the new replacement for the dead drive? I tried mounting it but it doesn't. I'm leaving the nas powered up because I'm afraid to power it down with only one drive in it.
Also, will the new drive already be formatted? If not, will the chassis do that when I install the drive?
Thanks. Sorry for the questions. I just want to work.
Got the new drive and I basically just hot swapped it for the dead drive (on the left in the chassis). I left it running overnight and as of this morning, the Readynas doesn't seem to be doing anything with the new drive I installed. I use the app that launches (a recently downloaded "Raidar" download. See image in my first post in this message stream). The info in the window is identical and hasn't changed. Still says the left drive is dead and isn't recognizing the new drive. Anything I can do about this?
Did you remove the old disk/reinsert the new one with the NAS running?
Is there anything in the web admin UI's log page showing that the system "saw" the removal and insertion, and is resyncing?
The admin web ui is a better way to see what's going on than RAIDar. RAIDar is most useful for NAS discovery and for providing status when the admin web ui is not responding.
Did you remove the old disk/reinsert the new one with the NAS running?
Yes.
Is there anything in the web admin UI's log page showing that the system "saw" the removal and insertion, and is resyncing?
I don't know how to access web admin UI. I am using a Mac if that is relevant.
The admin web ui is a better way to see what's going on than RAIDar. RAIDar is most useful for NAS discovery and for providing status when the admin web ui is not responding.
Understood. How do I access web admin UI, please? I would have done it long ago if it was suggested anywhere in the Raidar UI where a link to it would make sense.
You do it from Safari (or whatever browser you are using).
https://nas-ip-address/admin or https://nas-name/admin RAIDar should give you the actual NAS IP address (and you likely already know the host name).
You'll get a user/password prompt. The username is admin, the password is whatever password you set on the NAS. The default password on your NAS model is password
I was able to access the admin page online. The drives are not mounting. I tried removing the new drive and re-inserting it. Still not mounting. The admin page has this data. (after the new drive was re-inserted)
So the NAS sees the drive removal, but not the insertion.
I am thinking that the power issue that you are having (12 volt power is actually 11 volts) might be responsible.
Do you know how long the power issue has been around? The NAS is likely not covered by warranty (which would be 3 years for the original purchaser) - but if you bought the NAS new in ~2014 you might want to check on the warranty status.
Unfortunately the ReadyNas is over six years old, so no warranty.
Would a new chassis be necessary? Or could I just try to replacing the power supply?
Is there another strategy to backup the data from the remaining good drive. Someone mentioned mounting the drive in a PC. I have a PC, but it sounds like it could be a technical process to mount and manipulate the drive there.
But I would like to back up the data before I do anything else.
Nevermind. The chassis was mysteriously powered down when I went to it today. I hadn't shut it off. But I reconnected it and now it says it has detected the new drive and is 'resyncing' from drive 1. So that's encouraging, I'll let it do it's thing. Thank you for your patient help.
