I’ve got an old cheapo Zyxel NAS drive. It’s playing up. Keeps rebooting and not connecting to the network (wired in case you ask). The RTFM doesn’t describe the exact symptoms but the LED for the HDD isn’t lighting. So either the HDD is fubar or the SATA connection on the NAS has left the building.

(In case you ask it was a 2 slot NAS but I didn’t bother raiding 2 drives – it’s OK I got a recent backup).

What’s the best way forward here…? First check the disk is OK by plugging it into a caddy? If the contents can be seen new NAS time? If the contents can’t then new HDD time? It’s a WDD 2TB SATA Red in case it matters…

Is this OK as a Caddy?

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-upgrades/hard-drive-enclosures/dynamode-2-5-usb-3-0-sata-hard-drive-enclosure-10146607-pdt.html

Or is this better?

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/25-inch-and-35-inch-sata-usb-dock-a83hq

Looking at Currys or Maplins as it would be nice to go to the shop buy it and check the HDD tomorrow…

As for NAS recommendations… Are Synology the weapon of choice? or HP Microserver?

Buy my qnap ts212. All in original box etc. 2x 1tb hdd. £100.00

Buy the drive holder from your 2nd link.

Test each drive in it. Take things from there. It is more likely that a drive has failed than the hardware of the NAS, but you won’t know until you test.

If you have the cash, go for a Qnap or Synology NAS – they work well. The TS-212 is solid enough – I have one at home, OK for light use/filesharing/a bit of streaming. More powerful models are available, but more expensive.

Check the SATA cable first, also check the HDD works in your PC. From experience, I’ve had a few SATA cables just give up.

You may well find the NAS is formatted Ext3 which Windows won’t be able to read without 3rd party software. So don’t be too quick to condemn it if you can’t read it straight away when you put the NAS HDD in a caddy and connect it to your PC.

Cheers all. In typical fashion I asked STW first then googled.

Just one 2TB drive JBOD not RAID. I’ll get the caddy today. Found a link on the Zyxel website suggesting I’ll need Linux to read the drive so I’ll get a Linux boot USB stick sorted.

I don’t think it actually has a cable. The disk sort of slots straight into something set into the back the NAS. Zyxel are cheap. The fan has been making a racket for 2 years. Might just get myself a cheap 2 bay synology. I only use it for music, photos and document backups.

I got a HP microserver when they were doing one of their frequent cachback promotions. Put 2x2TB HDDs in it and installed xpenology. Kicks the arse of my “real” 2 bay synology unit.

I got a HP microserver when they were doing one of their frequent cachback promotions.

Thanks. Where does one keep an eye out for these promotions?

You may well find the NAS is formatted Ext3 which Windows won’t be able to read without 3rd party software. So don’t be too quick to condemn it if you can’t read it straight away when you put the NAS HDD in a caddy and connect it to your PC.

HUKD will usually be all over this sort of thing, so keep an eye on there or sign up for their “Deals Of The Day” newsletter.

As above, HUKD.

Cheers both. Just off out to purchase the caddy.

Right then purchased the caddy. Booted the PC off a live Ubuntu USB disk. Popped the HDD in the caddy plugged it in contents popped up straight away in a file volume / file explorer window. I think things look OK. Is it fair to say the NAS is a goner not the HDD or do I need to do an fsck or ‘owt?

Thinking ahead. I need a new NAS one way or another. Do I just splash the cash on a the cheapest Synology? The tinkerer in me is tempted to go for an HP Microserver. What OS? Ubuntu Server? FreeNAS? Minimum spec 8GB RAM? Stick with JBOD or RAID1?

I’ll keep Googling but any advice gratefully received…

If you really like to tinker then press an old PC into service, FreeNAS and enjoy 🙂

So people with Microserver. Where are you installing the OS? USB stick or on the main drives? Keeping data and OS drives separate?

I install xpenology from a USB stick. I believe the install process installs the synology OS (or aspects of it) onto the HDDs.