What does each hardware reset mode restore, and how do I recover my settings afterwards?

Applicable Products

• All QNAP NAS models running QTS or QuTS hero system
• QTS 4.3.6 (or later), including QTS 5.x and QTS 6.x
• QuTS hero 4.5.0 (or later), including QuTS hero 5.x and QuTS hero 6.x

Overview

The reset button on the rear panel performs two different resets depending on how long it is held. Neither one erases the data on your disks.

The key difference is that a basic reset only returns access-related settings to their defaults, while an advanced reset returns the entire configuration to factory defaults. In both cases the files on your disks are preserved.

Your shared folders themselves are also preserved. A shared folder exists on the storage pool, while the record of which folders are shared is part of the system configuration. An advanced reset clears that record, but the NAS scans the storage pool during startup and re-registers the existing folders, so all of your shared folders reappear on their own. What does not come back are the access permissions assigned to them, because those were stored in the configuration that was cleared.

Details

Basic reset (3-second press)

How to perform it

1. Using a pointed object such as a paperclip, press and hold the reset button on the rear panel.
2. Release the button after one beep sounds, at approximately 3 seconds.

What it restores

Use a basic reset when you have lost the administrator password or can no longer reach the NAS over the network. Shared folders, user accounts, applications, and data are all left untouched, so no recovery work is needed beyond reconfiguring the items above.

Advanced reset (10-second or 15-second press)

How to perform it

1. Using a pointed object such as a paperclip, press and hold the reset button on the rear panel.
2. Continue holding past the first beep at 3 seconds.
3. Release the button after the second beep sounds:

Releasing the button too early performs a basic reset instead. Confirm your model's platform before starting.

What it restores

An advanced reset restores everything a basic reset does, and additionally clears the following:

The time zone and scheduled tasks are the two items users most often overlook. Because a schedule is evaluated against the system time zone, a reverted time zone causes scheduled jobs to run at unexpected times even when the schedule itself looks correctly configured.

Shared folders and installed applications are affected in the same way — the reset clears the record of what is registered, not the files themselves — but they behave differently afterwards. The NAS re-registers shared folders automatically during startup, so they return on their own. It does not re-register applications, so those stay gone from App Center even though their files are still on the storage pool.

Shared folders

No recovery step is required. Both default folders such as Public and folders you created yourself reappear on their own once the NAS has finished starting up, with their contents intact, because the folders live on the storage pool rather than in the system configuration.

If a default shared folder does not reappear, it can be restored manually:

1. Log in as an administrator.
2. Go to Control Panel > Privilege > Shared Folders > Shared Folder.
3. In the Others section, click Restore Default Shared Folders.
4. Restart the NAS.
   

Reassign shared folder permissions

This is the part that does require work. An advanced reset deletes all user accounts and groups, and the permissions assigned to each shared folder were stored in the configuration that was cleared. The folders return, but their access rights do not.

1. Recreate your user accounts and groups under Control Panel > Privilege.
2. For each shared folder, go to Control Panel > Privilege > Shared Folders, edit the folder's permissions, and reassign access for the appropriate users and groups.
3. Verify access from a client before considering the recovery complete.

Because the folders reappear looking normal, it is easy to assume the reset caused no harm. Check the permissions on every shared folder — a folder that is visible but has default permissions may be exposed more widely than intended.

Reinstall applications

Every application you installed yourself disappears from App Center and has to be reinstalled. Unlike shared folders, applications are not re-registered during startup.

Their program folders are still on the storage pool and are left behind as orphans, continuing to occupy space until the app is reinstalled over them or the folder is removed. The amount can be significant — a handful of typical apps easily accounts for more than a gigabyte.

1. Reinstall each application from App Center.
2. Reconfigure each application — application settings are not restored by reinstalling.
3. If you do not intend to reinstall an application, remove its leftover folder to reclaim the space.

Check free space after a reset. Storage that appears to be in use with no corresponding installed app is usually explained by these leftover folders.

Reconfigure scheduled tasks

Every schedule you had configured is cleared, and this is the most laborious part of the recovery. There is no single page that lists all schedules — each feature keeps its own — so they have to be set up again one at a time.

Set the system time zone first. A schedule is evaluated against the system time zone, so reconfiguring schedules before correcting the time zone results in jobs that run at the wrong time.

Then work through every feature you use:

Applications can carry their own schedules as well. After reinstalling an application, check its settings rather than assuming its schedule survived — it did not.

Because a missing schedule produces no error message, confirm that each job actually runs at its next scheduled time by checking Control Panel > System > System Logs. A backup or snapshot job that silently stopped running is not noticed until the moment it is needed.

Best Practice

Complete the following before performing an advanced reset. Most recovery difficulties arise from these items not having been recorded in advance.

A reset is not a recommended way to resolve shared folder permission problems. It clears a wide range of unrelated settings, which often creates a larger problem than the one being investigated.

Further Reading

• How does the reset button function on my QNAP NAS?
• How can I reset my NAS?
• How can I reset NAS settings but keep data intact?
• How to restore files and shared folders after resetting a QNAP NAS to factory default settings