Pyr8 Posted November 15 Share #101 Posted November 15 Hello everyone! I just found this thread when looking for options to upgrade to the latest version of DSM on both a DS1813+ and a DS1815+ that got gifted to me today. I am BRAND new to the site, so please be patient with me! Few questions... 1. Are the upgrades mentioned in this thread a simple "hack" using official Synology .pat file?, if so, when newer version of DSM are released, will updating to the latest version potentially brick the units if auto updates are enabled? Please help me understand this! 2. What are the DSM upgrade paths for both the DS1813+ (if any) and the DS1815 (based on the thread, it look like the 1815+ can use the 1817+ software?) Thank you all in advance and I look forward to some clarity as I'm excited to get these units back up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Good Posted November 15 Share #102 Posted November 15 4 hours ago, Pyr8 said: Hello everyone! I just found this thread when looking for options to upgrade to the latest version of DSM on both a DS1813+ and a DS1815+ that got gifted to me today. I am BRAND new to the site, so please be patient with me! Few questions... 1. Are the upgrades mentioned in this thread a simple "hack" using official Synology .pat file?, if so, when newer version of DSM are released, will updating to the latest version potentially brick the units if auto updates are enabled? Please help me understand this! 2. What are the DSM upgrade paths for both the DS1813+ (if any) and the DS1815 (based on the thread, it look like the 1815+ can use the 1817+ software?) Thank you all in advance and I look forward to some clarity as I'm excited to get these units back up and running. 1) Yes, it is done using extracted files from the official Synology .pat file. The core of the "hack" is patching and flashing the bios with a higher number (typically 9xx), tricking the Synology bios updater to NOT update the bios during a DSM update along with modification of /etc/synoinfo.conf and /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf. In case Synology changes its current updating procedure and forces a bios update, your disk station may end up in a bricked state. That would then require a bit more effort and a manual re-flash to get out of. 2) For your DS1813+ (Cedarview) the options could be RS2414+ or RS2414rp+ (same package architecture). However, another "hack" is needed, since the patch address in the bios.ROM for this "hack" is 0x0040B010-0x0040B012, which is far beyond EOF of the DS1813+ bios.ROM. For the DS1815+ (Avoton), yes, the most obvious choice is DS1817+. An alternative would be RS1219+, which is the latest Avoton based device Synology has released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyr8 Posted November 16 Share #103 Posted November 16 @Jolly Good Does the NAS look to the .pat file when updates are pushed to see if the BIOS needs to updated...I'm assuming the .pat file contains BIOS as well as software/BIOS image files? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Good Posted November 16 Share #104 Posted November 16 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Pyr8 said: @Jolly Good Does the NAS look to the .pat file when updates are pushed to see if the BIOS needs to updated...I'm assuming the .pat file contains BIOS as well as software/BIOS image files? Yes, it does. The bios is embedded in the .pat file, and if it has a higher number than what is currently installed, a bios update will take place during the update. Consequently, if you for instance are modding your DS1815+ from DSM 7.1.1-42962 (which carries a MohonPeak M.111 bios) into a DS1817+ with DSM 7.2.2-72806 (which carries a MohonPeak M.505 bios), that will trigger a bios update. Patching and flashing your current DS1815+ bios to a version "M.911" prevents the bios from being updated. If you do not patch it, your current bios will be overwritten and lead to a partial bricked state upon reboot, i.e no see disks and network issues... Edited November 16 by Jolly Good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeonoea Posted November 16 Share #105 Posted November 16 9 hours ago, Jolly Good said: Yes, it does. The bios is embedded in the .pat file, and if it has a higher number than what is currently installed, a bios update will take place during the update. Consequently, if you for instance are modding your DS1815+ from DSM 7.1.1-42962 (which carries a MohonPeak M.111 bios) into a DS1817+ with DSM 7.2.2-72806 (which carries a MohonPeak M.505 bios), that will trigger a bios update. Patching and flashing your current DS1815+ bios to a version "M.911" prevents the bios from being updated. If you do not patch it, your current bios will be overwritten and lead to a partial bricked state upon reboot, i.e no see disks and network issues... That got me thinking... I flashed my DS1515+ to have a DS1517+ eDOM (from a donor) and did not complete any of the steps in this thread to prevent a BIOS update. Now I am on the latest 7.2 update and I assume the BIOS was also updated in the process. However, my diskstation is not bricked. It seems to run fine so far, except that only 2 of the 5 bays are working. Was I just lucky or is changing the model via eDOM not affected by a brick for some reason? And is it possible that the 3 remaining bays are not recognized because of a wrong BIOS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Good Posted November 16 Share #106 Posted November 16 (edited) 2 hours ago, aeonoea said: That got me thinking... I flashed my DS1515+ to have a DS1517+ eDOM (from a donor) and did not complete any of the steps in this thread to prevent a BIOS update. Now I am on the latest 7.2 update and I assume the BIOS was also updated in the process. However, my diskstation is not bricked. It seems to run fine so far, except that only 2 of the 5 bays are working. Was I just lucky or is changing the model via eDOM not affected by a brick for some reason? And is it possible that the 3 remaining bays are not recognized because of a wrong BIOS? Well, you were in some luck, however, 3 out of 5 bays not working is pretty close to bricked in my world There certainly are differences between the two bios.ROM files - doing a simple compare counts 290 of them, so it is likely, that some of the differences are linked to changes in controller hardware, I/O addresses or other low level settings. A simple way to find out, what bios version is running would be to copy - H2OFFT-Lx64, - isfl_drv_x64.ko, and - platform.ini ...from the .pat file to a directory and run a bash script like the one below: #!/bin/bash # Load flash driver insmod isfl_drv_x64.ko # Make device node id=$(cat /proc/devices | grep "isfl" | awk '{print $1}') mknod /dev/isfl c $id 0 # Help with command overview #./H2OFFT-Lx64 -H # Extract current BIOS to file #./H2OFFT-Lx64 extracted_bios.ROM -O # List the current BIOS version ./H2OFFT-Lx64 -SC # Remove device node rm /dev/isfl # Remove flash driver module rmmod isfl_drv exit 0 That will list your currently flashed bios version. Output will say "MohonPeak M.111" if you have a DS1515+ on board, respectively "MohonPeak M.405" if you have a DS1517+ on board. Edited November 16 by Jolly Good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyr8 Posted November 18 Share #107 Posted November 18 On 11/15/2024 at 7:03 AM, Jolly Good said: 1) Yes, it is done using extracted files from the official Synology .pat file. The core of the "hack" is patching and flashing the bios with a higher number (typically 9xx), tricking the Synology bios updater to NOT update the bios during a DSM update along with modification of /etc/synoinfo.conf and /etc.defaults/synoinfo.conf. In case Synology changes its current updating procedure and forces a bios update, your disk station may end up in a bricked state. That would then require a bit more effort and a manual re-flash to get out of. 2) For your DS1813+ (Cedarview) the options could be RS2414+ or RS2414rp+ (same package architecture). However, another "hack" is needed, since the patch address in the bios.ROM for this "hack" is 0x0040B010-0x0040B012, which is far beyond EOF of the DS1813+ bios.ROM. For the DS1815+ (Avoton), yes, the most obvious choice is DS1817+. An alternative would be RS1219+, which is the latest Avoton based device Synology has released. On 11/15/2024 at 7:03 AM, Jolly Good said: What would be the advantages disadvantages of flashing the DS1815+ to DS1817+ VS RS1219+? As well, by only updating the core software and not the BIOS, does that not leave the NAS open to potential BIOS security vulnerabilities or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Good Posted November 18 Share #108 Posted November 18 (edited) 7 hours ago, Pyr8 said: What would be the advantages disadvantages of flashing the DS1815+ to DS1817+ VS RS1219+? As well, by only updating the core software and not the BIOS, does that not leave the NAS open to potential BIOS security vulnerabilities or am I missing something? Prove me wrong, but I don't think there is a significant functional difference in running DSM 7.2.2 on a DS1817+ vs. RS1219+. The only advantage I can see is, that Synology may stop updating RS1219+ later than the DS1817+. I have updated my own DS415+, first to RS818+ and subsequently to RS1219+ (with modifications to synoinfo.conf), and I literally see no difference. As per bios update and vulnerabilities: I believe, that most vulnerabilities, if not all, are found in the OS and DSM/packages, and not the bios. A look into the most recent DS1817+/RS1219+ DSM 7.2.2-72806 also reveals, that the bios files haven't changed since DSM 6.2.4-25556. Looking at my own DS415+ it has received one bios update since DSM 6.0.2-8451 back in 2016. So in my perspective, the risk of new security exploits coming from the bios seems quite low. Edited November 18 by Jolly Good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyr8 Posted November 19 Share #109 Posted November 19 16 hours ago, Jolly Good said: Prove me wrong, but I don't think there is a significant functional difference in running DSM 7.2.2 on a DS1817+ vs. RS1219+. The only advantage I can see is, that Synology may stop updating RS1219+ later than the DS1817+. I have updated my own DS415+, first to RS818+ and subsequently to RS1219+ (with modifications to synoinfo.conf), and I literally see no difference. As per bios update and vulnerabilities: I believe, that most vulnerabilities, if not all, are found in the OS and DSM/packages, and not the bios. A look into the most recent DS1817+/RS1219+ DSM 7.2.2-72806 also reveals, that the bios files haven't changed since DSM 6.2.4-25556. Looking at my own DS415+ it has received one bios update since DSM 6.0.2-8451 back in 2016. So in my perspective, the risk of new security exploits coming from the bios seems quite low. Perfect! So what are the first steps in getting the DS1815+ updated? Is there a good step-by-step for the noob?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Good Posted November 19 Share #110 Posted November 19 5 hours ago, Pyr8 said: Perfect! So what are the first steps in getting the DS1815+ updated? Is there a good step-by-step for the noob?! For the DS1815+ there is a guide for updating to DS1817+ in #87 and #88 of this thread. Be aware of the typo mentioned in #88! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSfuchs Posted November 20 Share #111 Posted November 20 On 11/11/2024 at 12:44 PM, aeonoea said: Guys, it seems it's not just Quickconnect that breaks after model upgrade (with the same serial), but also MailPlus and I believe DDNS service. And who knows, any service or app in the future as well. Purchased licenses are lost in any case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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