This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
This was posted as a reply to another message, but is reposted here for easier searching.
I have now confirmed that a mini-ITX, aka Flex ATX, supply will work as a replcement for the NV, NV+ (v1), NVX, Ultra 4, and Ultra 4 Plus, and I assume Pro 4. Be attentive of the amount of +12V supplied, as it needs to be at least 7A to meet the spec of the original. The 250W supply I got provides 13A, and I wuld expect all 220 or 250W supplies would have enough. One 150W one I saw advertised had only 5A. The connector has to be re-wired per the diagram here: http://www.readynas.com/download/archive/pdf/ReadyNAS_PSU_pinout.pdf. One way to do that is to remove the two pins that are changed to +12V and replace them with the +12V from the 4-pin CPU connector. They are the same type of pin. On mine, the cables are the same length, too. If you have trouble removing them (there is a special tool that makes it easier), you could cut and splice, but that will void the power supply warranty. Either put the removed pins into the 4-pin connector or cover with shrink tubing to prevent them from shorting to the case You will also need to rig up a way to install the air deflector. Some good aluminum tape ought to do it.
The vent holes in the one I got are not very large, so I would not recommend removing the fan unless you are willing to take it apart and drill a lot of extra holes in it. Being only a 40mm fan, it has a rather high pitch when fully spun up, but the one I got does have automatic speed control. The orignal Infrant NV I have shipped with a power supply with fan, and it could get a bit annoying. But since many are relegating their older units to backup that only powers up when needed, it would be tolerable unless in a bedroom or something.
I have seen these supplies new on eBay for around $30 and elsewhere for a bit more to a lot more.
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
One very important thing I somehow left out and just noticed:
Unless you want to drill holes in the chassis for the fan to exhaust, you need to mount the supply about 1/2 inch from the original location, away from the rear of the case. Aluminum duct tape works well for that. Some air will get through the AC cord hole, but that doesn't seem to make it run too hot. If your results vary, you could use tape or foam to seal around it.
But the main reason I wanted the thread unlocked is for two very important things:
First, I have found that many 250W and up supplies and all those that are "80 Plus" rated have two 12V busses (labeled 12V1 and 12V2). Do not get one of those. Though one bus may be rated with enough current to handle the entire NAS, leaving one bus without a load can be problematic. And you absolutely should never tie the two together.
I have also found that Amazon now sells the (unmodified for NAS use) same power supply as the one in my NVX, a Seventeam ST220FUB, so the top cover can be swapped and the fan removed. A Kentek KT-FATX250, also available on Amazon, is cheaper but with a higher current rating and a close enough fit for the cover swap, and others may be as well. The first one I got made by FSP Group was not able to have the cover swapped because the screw holes didn't line up. I suppose you could use the aluminum tape to hold on the orignal cover instead of mounting the supply with it.
I'm going to mark this as a solution so it shows up immediately after the original.
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
Just want to add...
You can get a short 20-pin extension cable quite inexpensively, and rewire that. If you're feeling uncertain about that step, it ensures you won't wreck the connector on the supply.
I've also attached the pinout pdf to this post. The readynas archive links are starting to get tempermental.
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
Stephen, can you confirm the Pro 4 uses the same pin-out. I assue it uses the same backplane as the others and thus must use the same pin-out, but I've never owned one. It would be great if somebody can confirm.
Stephen, can you confirm the Pro 4 uses the same pin-out. I assue it uses the same backplane as the others and thus must use the same pin-out, but I've never owned one. It would be great if somebody can confirm.
I don't have pro-4 either, so I can't confirm this for you. Hopefully someone from Netgear can.
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
Many thanks to both of you for taking the time to post your info and suggestions.
I'm away from home working currently but will be able to act on suggestions next week when I'm back home.
I'm thinking that:
- first effort would be to swap in NVX drives for those in my Ultra 6 (numbering them carefully!) to copy off the files not covered by the previous backup
- if this fails then I will look to try out the power supply options again as described above
If I am able to extract the remaining data in the first step then it may make more sense for me to bring forward my plan to upgrade the NVX to a newer model rather than repair it. I do hate to let potentially useful hardware go to waste though!
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
Thank you for this information. I'll take a closer look at the option of upgrading the supply as per your suggestion. I accept this is at my own risk etc. But then is desoldering blown parts for a manual repair of the original uncooled supply. Thanks again, Cheers.
Re: Inexpensive power supply replacement for legacy 4-bay Readynases
One very important thing I somehow left out and just noticed:
Unless you want to drill holes in the chassis for the fan to exhaust, you need to mount the supply about 1/2 inch from the original location, away from the rear of the case. Aluminum duct tape works well for that. Some air will get through the AC cord hole, but that doesn't seem to make it run too hot. If your results vary, you could use tape or foam to seal around it.
But the main reason I wanted the thread unlocked is for two very important things:
First, I have found that many 250W and up supplies and all those that are "80 Plus" rated have two 12V busses (labeled 12V1 and 12V2). Do not get one of those. Though one bus may be rated with enough current to handle the entire NAS, leaving one bus without a load can be problematic. And you absolutely should never tie the two together.
I have also found that Amazon now sells the (unmodified for NAS use) same power supply as the one in my NVX, a Seventeam ST220FUB, so the top cover can be swapped and the fan removed. A Kentek KT-FATX250, also available on Amazon, is cheaper but with a higher current rating and a close enough fit for the cover swap, and others may be as well. The first one I got made by FSP Group was not able to have the cover swapped because the screw holes didn't line up. I suppose you could use the aluminum tape to hold on the orignal cover instead of mounting the supply with it.
I'm going to mark this as a solution so it shows up immediately after the original.
