*GASP* ReadyNAS NV+ won't power on

[eklass]

It happened... after 5 years of faithful service, my ReadyNAS NV+ won't turn on. Over the years, I've had drives fail and the unit lock up, but never refuse to power on. I didn't even receive an email notification that anything was wrong.

• Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot it? I doubt the unit is still under warranty (but would be willing to try calling the support number if someone has it handy).
• I recently upgraded the drives to 4x2TB in X-RAID. Is there any possibility of upgrading the unit to something x86-based and keeping the data?
• If not, what are my options for data recovery?

Thanks!

P.S. Why couldn't this have happened BEFORE chirpa left? *sadfaces*

[mdgm]

Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot it? I doubt the unit is still under warranty (but would be willing to try calling the support number if someone has it handy).

Did you notice a burning smell? Notice a problem with the PSU (http://www.readynas.com/kb/faq/hardware/how_do_i_replace_the_stock_power_supply_on_the_readynas_nv)?

Is your serial number in this range?: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10259 If so, depending on what region you are in you may be able to get a replacement PSU from support.

If purchased on/after August 21, 2007, up to sometime in 2009(?) it would have a 5 year warranty. If purchased before August 21, 2007 it would be out of warranty.

I recently upgraded the drives to 4x2TB in X-RAID. Is there any possibility of upgrading the unit to something x86-based and keeping the data?

No, unfortunately. The RAID format is different.

If not, what are my options for data recovery?

Move disks to another NV+ (v1 - silver chassis) unit. Do you have a friend with a NV+ (v1) or other Sparc 4-bay unit?

Last resort: Attempt data recovery using a Linux PC: Mounting Sparc-based ReadyNAS Drives in x86-based Linux

[eklass]

Thanks for the info, mdgm.

Unfortunately, I wasn't home when this occurred, but didn't notice any residual "electrical burn" smell when I did realize the unit was dead. My serial number does indeed fall in that range, but after 5.5 years, I wouldn't call that failure "premature". Having purchased the unit from Newegg on 1/22/2007 (5 years, 6 months, 26 days ago), I'd be out of luck in any warranty scheme.

As for other units at my disposal, I have a friend with an NV+ locally. If I pull my drives and place them straight into his, I'm assuming I can boot his NV+, log into to the unit as admin to /c and just start copying things off to a new unit? Worst case scenario, I have copies of my unrecoverable data (photos and Lightroom catalog) on external USB drives, but will lose lots of stuff which will need to be re-downloaded.

Cheers

[mdgm]

Unfortunately, I wasn't home when this occurred, but didn't notice any residual "electrical burn" smell when I did realize the unit was dead. My serial number does indeed fall in that range, but after 5.5 years, I wouldn't call that failure "premature". Having purchased the unit from Newegg on 1/22/2007 (5 years, 6 months, 26 days ago), I'd be out of luck in any warranty scheme.

I'd agree with that, however still contact support. In the US at least they still replace the PSU (you would have to pay for shipping) if the serial is in that range. Worth a shot. Refer them to that Service Action and you should be able to get a replacement. If you don't, get a case number and a support rep here should be able to help.

As for other units at my disposal, I have a friend with an NV+ locally. If I pull my drives and place them straight into his, I'm assuming I can boot his NV+, log into to the unit as admin to /c and just start copying things off to a new unit?

Yes. See http://www.readynas.com/kb/faq/boot/how_do_i_migrate_disks_over_from_an_existing_readynas_to_another

If you borrow a NV+ (v1 - silver chassis) best to make sure your friend is running firmware at least as new as yours (I'd avoid 4.1.9 though due to an ownership issue).

Note the NV+ v2 (charcoal chassis) and available from Nov 13th 2011 uses a different RAID format.

Worst case scenario, I have copies of my unrecoverable data (photos and Lightroom catalog) on external USB drives, but will lose lots of stuff which will need to be re-downloaded.

Good to hear you've backed up the important stuff. Hopefully your data will be O.K.

[eklass]

Just to follow-up should anyone dig up this thread in the future:

I ended up being able to repair my NV+ by purchasing a replacement PSU on Amazon for around $120 USD. If you'd like to test that this is the problem before shelling out the cash, you can follow the instructions for replacing the power supply, but instead of installing a new one, you should be able to connect any ol' computer PSU, as the power connector is the standard ATX variety.

Once it was up & running, I backed up volume c to a our Pro 6 at work via a backup job, moved the drives to my Pro 4, factory defaulted, and copied the data back (again, with backup job). Data was safely & successfully migrated to new NAS and I plan to keep my Pro 4, but not sure what to do with my (still working) NV+. *shrug*

[mdgm]

Don't install a standard PSU as it's wired differently and using it may damage the NAS and/or the PSU.

You could use the NV+ as a backup NAS.