There was no response to 1) or 2), the LCD remained stuck on ReadyNAS.
I removed the hard drives with the data on before doing any of the resets. I should have labelled that as the first item in the list.
The attempts to do a recovery via USB drive met with no response at all. It remains stuck on "ReadyNAS" screen. There are no network lights when the RJ45 cable from switch is plugged in. Its simply not booting at all.
I checked voltages as this was a common problem. I remember a couple of short power outages while the device was on and running, but don't remember if this is when it failed as I hadn't used it for a while.
There was evidence of roaches inside (some droppings on motherboard which I carefully cleaned off.
I'm beginning to suspect a hardware failure on the motherboard, but was hoping that someone may be able to assist with a VDP wipe, I hear that may be what is corrupt. Apparently the VDP is an encrypted file in the boot flash that contains information on the model and serial number and only Netgear can create.
I removed the hard drives with the data on before doing any of the resets.
Then they do nothing. The OS is on the disks, and the NAS boots from the disks. The OS-reinstall does a partial reinstall of the OS onto the disks (and changes the password and some other settings back to the default). The factory default formats the disks and does a fresh install of everything. Both require the disks to be installed.
The attempts to do a recovery via USB drive met with no response at all. It remains stuck on "ReadyNAS" screen. There are no network lights when the RJ45 cable from switch is plugged in. Its simply not booting at all.
I checked voltages as this was a common problem.
Did you check the PSU voltages when the PSU was under load?
The USB recovery process is finicky about what drives it detects. Older ones tend to work better. Also, if you have one with a LED that shows access, that can be helpful.
the VDP is an encrypted file in the boot flash that contains information on the model and serial number and only Netgear can create.
And only Netgear can re-create it. There is no support for your NAS anymore. Mods used to do it as a courtesy, but they haven't offered to do that for some years.
All the NAS needs for it to display "ReadyNAS" is 5V, and not even very well regulated 5V.
Testing a disconnected power supply is a marginal, at best, test. Either test under load, or try another supply. A standard ATX12V supply can be used externally to see if that's the problem.
An issue with the VPD file should not prevent you from getting to the boot menu, but other issues with the flash memory may. A USB recovery is the only possible solution for that, and then only works if it's just corrupt, not a hardware issue. The NAS is very picky about the USB drive used for recovery. The smaller and older, the better. I've had good luck with the cheap 8GB ones you find on eBay and Amazon.
A good tool for helping figure out what's wrong is a VGA cable. Your Ultra6 has a VGA header, so you'll need a cable that goes from that to the standard DB-15. Unfortunately, they are becoming hard to find. You need the kind that goes from a 16-pin 2-row IDC header (with one pin missing) to the standard one. I last purchased from solutioncables.com, and they still have them, both direct and on eBay.
There are a number of ways to recover your data, but they depend on whether you've updated to OS6 or not. It depends on whether the volume is corrupt or not, too, but since it failed while power was off, it's likely it's intact.
The power supply was tested under load, connected to the mainboard with a spare drive installed. All pinout voltages appeared within spec as per standard ATX pinouts.
Thanks for the tipabout the USB device, I will try some older ones.
Re.and VGA header, its been a long time since I was in the business of repairing PC's, but I have a friend who does this for needy people and he has a garage full of spares, I'm sure he will have a 6 pin IDC to VGA connector as they were used on a number of motherboards.
I'll see how I go, I'm thinking its the motherboard as there was a bit of insect waste on it.
