ReadyNAS NV is DEAD... no power at all

[sirsycho]

Help. My ReadyNAS NV died this morning. Last night it was working fine, I was streaming video from it without issue. This morning all my shares were dead, when I checked out the NAS it was completely dead.

I took it off the UPS and connected it directly to a different outlet and still no juice. Netgear support says I have to send it in for repair which will take 2 weeks MINIMUM. I can't live without my data for 2 weeks.

Anyone know where I can pickup a power supply for the NV? I wish Netgear would just send me one but they said they couldn't.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
David

[sirsycho]

I have a little more detail on my issue now. I took out the drives (2 x 750GB) and the other trays and found some scorching on the two unpopulated trays and the inner bay of the ReadyNAS itself. Certainly seems like something got very hot.

I did follow the steps outlined in the Service Action notice I got back in April to reverse the FAN's airflow, not sure if that helped me out or not. (I did this service in April when I got the notice.)

I've also found a replacement PSU in the parts section of the site but am not sure if I can send back my faulty unit for a refund ($120), please advise.

One last thing, I bought this NAS on September 24th, 2006, so I think it is still under warranty.

I have pictures but am not allowed to post links to them given my limited posts. They are on Google's Picasa site.

[sirsycho]

oh well... After calling support and the shop-infrant folks again, I just gave up. Mailed off the NAS to Netgear support this afternoon. I'll post an update when I get it back. Crossing my fingers that that is sooner rather than later.

[sirsycho]

doesn't seem like too many people are interested in this topic. Hopefully this will be useful for other users with similar issues or potential buyers.

ReadyNAS NV... burns itself up

[IanSav]

Hi Sirsycho,

doesn't seem like too many people are interested in this topic. Hopefully this will be useful for other users with similar issues or potential buyers.

ReadyNAS NV... burns itself up

Why do you say this? I am very concerned about what I read from you and members like you. I bought 3 units, 2 of which are in the house with me now. I am so concerned that I rang my local ReadyNAS provider and asked then to read these posts and then tell me what he can get Infrant/Netgear to do to eliminate the increasing potential risk of a fire in my NAS and hence my home. It is becoming obvious, with the many power supply related failures appearing here, that these power supplies are not fit for use and should be recalled. I am quite happy to replace my own power supply (i.e. I don't want to send the unit back - particularly not to the USA) but it seems that Netgear don't have a replacement that is different from those causing all these issues.

I think it is time for Infrant/Netgear to get behind their product, sue the manufacturer of the current power supply and then provide us all with trustworthy and reliable replacements - FREE of any charge. We bought these units in good faith so I don't think we should continue to live with a fire risk hanging over our heads.

Regards,
Ian.

[undo]

My understanding of UL certification is that it requires all PSU components to be fire resistant, i.e. they could fail, but can not cause fire for any reason, even under over heat conditions. I checked my NV PSU, it does have UL label on it.

[IanSav]

Hi Undo,

The scorching in Sirsycho's photos seems to say the opposite.

Regards,
Ian.

[sirsycho]

I agree that a fire is probably a remote possibility but the fact that the metal on both the tray and the bay itself are burnt as badly as they are, seems to indicate at least some risk. I didn't void my warranty by removing the power supply but I would love to have seen what the underside of it looked like (considering what the topside looks like).

[undo]

Hi Undo,

The scorching in Sirsycho's photos seems to say the opposite.

Regards,
Ian.

I saw the pictures now. After looked at the pictures , I agree it is scary.
So I opened up my PSU chamber, from the pictures, it looks one of big coil, enamel of inductor, burnt. After a little more googling, it appears these enamel is flammable material under high temperature, so I guess my understanding of UL is not correct. As Sirsycho said, fire possibility could be remote due to all metal case and several fire resistant layers under bottom, but I just moved my NV to a safer place. I think NV PSU should have life time warranty.

[undo]

but it seems that Netgear don't have a replacement that is different from those causing all these issues.

They do have new PSU, see here
http://www.infrant.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=plastic
Looks like PSU cover is back, and a piece of plastic is added to guide air flow through PSU

[IanSav]

Hi Undo,

They do have new PSU, see here
http://www.infrant.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=plastic
Looks like PSU cover is back, and a piece of plastic is added to guide air flow through PSU

This is a work around to try and stop the poor quality power supply from overheating. I suspect that the power supply still uses the inferior components as reported in other threads on this forum. That still leaves the power supply subject to short term failure.

Also, if this shield is so important to stop the power sipplies from over heating why haven't they been made available to all ReadyNAS customers? If they are meant to stop a faulure then they should be shipping them out free to all affected owners.

I have paid good money for lots of devices around the home that do not appear to have a tendency to blow up, catch fire or fail within sight of the end of warranty period. I paid a lot of money for these ReadyNAS units and I don't like the rate of failures I am starting to see posted in here. All the NV and NV+ units are starting to go out of warranty and the new Netgear management seems to be taken a "go away you are out of warranty" attitude to people with problems on older units. (You should have seen the look on the guy from Netgear's face when I told him my unit pre-dates the Netgear takeover. I won't be getting any help from him!) Most of the problems reported here appear to result from poor quality components or bugs in firmware. The firmware glitches have not worried me as the Jedi Council still seem true to form and are offering to assist people but it is the hardware issues that appear to be causing long downtimes and extremly high repair costs. The sticking drive trays is an annoyance but is easily resolved, power supplies that may catch fire is something far more dangerous. I want to know if Netgear are going to stand behind their product, given the obvious failure rate, and swap out the defective power supplies, when they have sourced an appropriate and safe replacement?

Regards,
Ian.

[irev210]

Hi Undo,

They do have new PSU, see here
http://www.infrant.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=plastic
Looks like PSU cover is back, and a piece of plastic is added to guide air flow through PSU

This is a work around to try and stop the poor quality power supply from overheating. I suspect that the power supply still uses the inferior components as reported in other threads on this forum. That still leaves the power supply subject to short term failure.

Also, if this shield is so important to stop the power sipplies from over heating why haven't they been made available to all ReadyNAS customers? If they are meant to stop a faulure then they should be shipping them out free to all affected owners.

I have paid good money for lots of devices around the home that do not appear to have a tendency to blow up, catch fire or fail within sight of the end of warranty period. I paid a lot of money for these ReadyNAS units and I don't like the rate of failures I am starting to see posted in here. All the NV and NV+ units are starting to go out of warranty and the new Netgear management seems to be taken a "go away you are out of warranty" attitude to people with problems on older units. (You should have seen the look on the guy from Netgear's face when I told him my unit pre-dates the Netgear takeover. I won't be getting any help from him!) Most of the problems reported here appear to result from poor quality components or bugs in firmware. The firmware glitches have not worried me as the Jedi Council still seem true to form and are offering to assist people but it is the hardware issues that appear to be causing long downtimes and extremly high repair costs. The sticking drive trays is an annoyance but is easily resolved, power supplies that may catch fire is something far more dangerous. I want to know if Netgear are going to stand behind their product, given the obvious failure rate, and swap out the defective power supplies, when they have sourced an appropriate and safe replacement?

Regards,
Ian.

Probably not. It is too expensive to recall all PSU's. I am sure they are putting big orders in to some OEM in China for a new "improved" psu.

Read my guide under user submitted tips. Take it into your own hands to create a server-grade server.

I should note that the mainboard is actually well built, it should not fail you at any point. The PSU is definitely the WEAK link by far. Fix that, and you should be set. The guys writing the firmware are doing an excellent job of taking care of us from a software standpoint.

[IanSav]

Hi irev210,

I appreciate your comments and think you have performed some cool magic on your ReadyNAS.

The issue is, and remains, that Infrant/Netgear have a product out there that is proving to be a less than quality product. Granted we are only talking about a part of the product, the power supply, but the whole product is only as good as its weakest part. If the smallest part is risky and may start a fire then it affects the whole unit, and anything around the unit, like the room, the house, etc. (Not to forget the data loss that can happen from a power supply that is located below the drive bay and can generate enough heat to scorch the drive bay. What will that heat be doing to the drives in those bays?)

I think that it is disappointing that no-one from Infrant/Netgear is responding to these concerns. All I read is comments along the lines that your unit is now out of warranty please buy a new power supply. That is poor customer service and is unacceptable. Power supplies in products of this class and cost should last longer than 12 - 18 months. We have paid a high price for our units and I don't want to spend any more money to make the products safe from fires and premature failure.

As for the cost for a recall, that can be part of the litigation claim against the original manufacturer. It doesn't need to cost Infrant/Netgear a cent. I believe that the a recall of notebook batteries (because they were a fire risk) was paid for by the battery manufacturer and not the notebook providers who used those batteries.

Come on Infrant/Netgear talk to us. Find a way to solve these issues and stand behind your product.

Regards,
Ian.

[sirsycho]

I absolutely agree with you Ian, however that said I'm not a very litigious guy though I wouldn't mind jumping in on a class action just to get them (Netgear/Infrant) to do the right thing.

Typically, and probably in this case as well, after I get my NAS back, I will build up an alternative to the inferior PSU I'll most likely get in return.

irev210... I know the details are probably scattered all over this forum but if you could send me the links to the pinouts and the details of the soldering you did, I'll try to assist in your "How To" guide. That is assuming you don't mind my jumping in, if you'd rather keep it, can I ask that you add those details to your post in the tips section?

Thanks!

[IanSav]

Hi Sirsycho,

I absolutely agree with you Ian, however that said I'm not a very litigious guy though I wouldn't mind jumping in on a class action just to get them (Netgear/Infrant) to do the right thing.

Please don't misunderstand me. I don't want to sue Infrant/Netgear, I want Infrant/Netgear to sue their subcontractor, the people who provided these less than optimal power supplies.

Regards,
Ian.