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Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Max_1968
Aspirant

ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Hi,

 

my ReadyNAS Ultra 4 which i use as a backup for my primary NAS was showing increasing SMART errors on disk 4 since some weeks... As i was about to leave for vacation, it was "only" a backup system and the failing disk was from a different schedule as the other 3 unfortunately i decided to wait with the replacement...

 

Now I wanted to replace the disk (the Ultra was powered off for some days), just to find out disk 2 is no also reported as "dead", although i never received any SMART errors from this drive... It seems this drive just "vanished" into somewhere 😞

 

I'm going to check internal cabling and such tomorrow, perhaps also test the drives with vendor tools on PC (already tried unplug / clean the little bit of dust / replug while powered off) and such... But the question that came to my mind is this: If i were able to make a copy of one of the two drives on a pc or other system, would i be able to plug this copy back into the NAS and it would be recognized ? 

 

Any other hints what i could do to get #2 working again, i guess #4 is really dead as it was complaining for long...

 

Thx,

Max

Message 1 of 8
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

I would start with running disk diags on the drives in a PC (lifeguard for western digital, seatools for seagate).  Label the drives of course.

 

After that - you can contact Netgear about a recovery contract.  They might be able to remount the volume without too much effort.

 

You could also try cloning either drive 2 or drive 4.

Message 2 of 8
JennC
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Hello Max_1968,

 

If you haven't removed the disks yet, please download RAIDar 6.0 and install. This will give you an option to download the logs.

 

Regards,

Message 3 of 8
Max_1968
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Thanks both,

 

@JennC - I have downloaded the logs before i posted here, basically SMART logs for all disks except #4 were fine, and my volume was dead due to double disk failure. I didnt find anything about what happened to #2, but didnt look in detail

 

@StephenB - I followed your proposal, shut down the NAS, took out all disks, numbered them and run them through Seatools. Results as follows:

 

  • Disk #1 - SMART Test - PASS
  • Disk #1 - Short Test - PASS
  • Disk #2 - Did neither show up in BIOS nor (obviously) in Seatools
  • Disk #3 - SMART Test - PASS
  • Disk #3 - Short Test - PASS
  • Disk #4 - SMART Test - PASS (this surprised me as the Ultra reported it as failed due too to many SMART errors)
  • Disk #4 - Long Test - FAIL right at the start

 

I then did a "full repair" with Seatools on disk #4, followed by another long test on it - This time result was PASS

 

So it seems now I have the following situation:

 

  • Disk #1 OK
  • Disk #2 FAIL
  • DIsk #3 OK
  • Disk #4 seems OK from a PC perspective, but might either fail right away in the ReadyNAS or again after a short period of time, not tried yet in NAS after repair

(BTW, these are Seagate ST3000DM001 drives about 2.5 years old - I never liked them, but I got the Ultra with them at a very reasonable price and thought for a backup system they are OK...)

 

My plan now is to clone disk #4 on the PC to the one replacement disk i already have (same type), hopefully get the Ultra and the volume up again, and then replace all disks one by one with 4 TB WD red drives starting with disk #2 to regain redundancy asap. I'd also like to figure out what happened to disk #2, but that has no importance now...

 

Does that sound like a good plan, any other recommendations ?

 

Thx,

Max

Message 4 of 8
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead


@Max_1968 wrote:
 

 I'd also like to figure out what happened to disk #2, but that has no importance now...

 

 


About 35% of all disks fail with no warning (no SMART alerts, etc).

 


@Max_1968 wrote:
  

My plan now is to clone disk #4 on the PC to the one replacement disk i already have (same type), hopefully get the Ultra and the volume up again, and then replace all disks one by one with 4 TB WD red drives starting with disk #2 to regain redundancy asap.

 

 


Sounds right.  I agree that cloning drive 4 makes sense, the "repair" facilities in the diags reallocate the bad sectors, but really don't repair anything.  If the clone doesn't work you might need a recovery contract (or maybe per-incident support) with Netgear.

 

If it does work, then back up what you can before you add the WD Red.  Rebuilding the array will stress the remaining drives.

Message 5 of 8
JennC
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Hello Max_1968,

 

This appears it needs data recovery. Disk cloning is part of it but it does not end there as you will have to rebuild the RAID with the still working disks and cloned disk. It is best you contact support center. Data recovery contract is needed for this concern.

 

Regards, 

Message 6 of 8
Max_1968
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

@JennC: seems you are right, even with the cloned disk it still shows "dead" - I've opened a ticket through the link you sent me last Thursday, but have neither received a confirmation email nor a response. At the end of the ticketing process i was shown my ticket number and some phone numbers to call, am i supposed to contact them by phone and there is no support by mail ? As it seems you are working for Netgear - This NAS is a backup of a remote system and thus has less importance for me, i still do have the data on the main NAS. After looking at the logs and command line tools it seems i "just" need to add the cloned disk to the system using mdadm tools, after this it should be able to rebuild - Can someone please let me know the costs for this by PM ?

Message 7 of 8
JennC
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 dead

Hello Max_1968,

 

Try contacting NETGEAR support via phone.

 

To give you an idea, please see ReadyNAS Data Recovery Diagnostics - Scope of Service article.

 

Regards,

Message 8 of 8
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