How to Reset the Synology System

Contents 1 Overview 2 Disclaimer for system firmware reinstall 3 Background Information 3.1 Software Installation 3.2 Determining if the Data volume will be affected on the Synology System during firmware reinstall 4 How to reset the administration password and network settings of the Synology system 4.1 Conducting reset procedure 5 How to conduct the firmware reinstall of the Synology product 5.1 Step 1: Prep Work 5.2 Step 2: The reset

Overview

This article is will illustrate the basic principal of resetting the administration password/network settings of the Synology product and how to execute a system firmware (or known as OS, Operating System) reinstall.

Disclaimer for system firmware reinstall

While not designed to affect the data volume, it's strongly recommended to create a backup before executing firmware reinstall. Please refer to What is a backup article for further information. Synology and other parties are not responsible for any lost of data; it is the sole responsibility of the administrator of the Synology system to ensure this task. Items which are noted that need to be backed up are... User Data System Configuration MySQL Database Blog Backup During firmware reinstall, the system OS partition will be over-written with the newer system firmware. This will cause data lost to the internal MySQL/PGSQL database for internal system functions of Synology products. Because of the lost of the MySQL/PGSQL database, the following items will be affected Audio Station Media Index will have to be recreated Blog data will be lost unless backed up. Download Station's temporary buffer will be lost Download Station's task list will be lost iTunes Media Index will have to be recreated iTunes PlayList will have to be recreated MySQL database will be lost unless backed up Photo Station Media Indexing will have to be recreated Photo Station Comments will be lost Surveillance Station Index will be lost Note, the Surveillance Station data will still be usable using a local media player. The media files will not be viewable from the Surveillance Station Interface UPnP Media Index will have to be recreated PS3/Xbox360 Media Index will have to be recreated Overall System Settings, such as Local Backup Settings Network Backup Settings FTP Settings System Date/Time And others...

Background Information

Software Installation

Reinstalling the system firmware involves using the Synology Assistant to upload the firmware to the Synology system, please refer to Installing the Synology Server guide for further information.

Determining if the Data volume will be affected on the Synology System during firmware reinstall

The following images are examples of what should be expected from the Synology Assistant to determine if the HDD data volume will be affected during firmware reinstall.

This image shows that all data on the HDD within the Synology system will be lost, please note the red text of Note: all data in the disk will be deleted. Abort the firmware reinstall if this image is being displayed by the Synology Assistant.
The Synology Assistant has not shown the "red text" that all data will be affected, indicating that the data volume should remain untouched.

How to reset the administration password and network settings of the Synology system

This procedure will conduct the following

• Admin password will be blank
• Guest Account will be Disabled
• DHCP will be enabled on IP, DNS, Gateway, and other network interfaces
• JumboFrames will be disabled, and MTU will be set at 1500
• Reset Management Port to 5000/5001
• Reset PPPoE to Default
• Autoblock will be disabled
• Link Aggregation will be disabled
• Firewall Rules will be disabled

Note: this procedure is only available if there is an OS to reset. If there is no OS, nothing will happen (with regards to a lacking of the OS), however, the system will still beep.

Conducting reset procedure

1. Have the Synology system in the ready state
2. Look at the back of the Synology System, find a small reset hole near the USB ports
3. Using a paper clip, gently depress and hold down the recessed button for about four seconds
4. The system will beep once
   • Release the button immediately, holding it down may trigger system firmware reinstall
5. Launch the Synology Assistant and detect the Synology system.

How to conduct the firmware reinstall of the Synology product

This section will cover how to set the Synology system to "Network Install Mode" where the Synology system will be waiting to receive the Synology firmware. The Synology system will be in "Network Install Mode" when one of the following known scenarios exist.

• During system initialization (brand new HDDs)
• When the administrator sets the Synology system into "Network Install Mode"
• If the health check of the OS partition fails during the boot-up sequence
  • During boot up, the Synology system will perform a health check of the OS partition. If there is any file or drive inconsistency, the system will set itself to "Network Install Mode"

Step 1: Prep Work

1. Note the disclaimer as outlined at the top of this article
2. Create a configuration backup
3. Ensure that the latest system firmware and Synology Assistant have been downloaded to the local computer, available here.

Step 2: The reset

1. Have the Synology system in the ready state
2. Look at the back of the Synology System, find a small reset hole near the USB ports
3. Using a paper clip, gently depress and hold down the recessed button for about four seconds
4. The system will beep once
5. After hearing the system beep once, release the button and press it again for another four seconds
6. The system will beep three times and execute a reboot
7. After rebooting, launch the Synology Assistant
8. Determine that the data volume will remain unaffected, and upload the system firmware.
9. Restore the configuration file.