Lenovo NAS reflash

This repository contains information about Lenovo NAS devices. Specifically, information on how to reflash the firmware on these devices.

Lenovo LifeLine Imager download
How to flash the firmware
Additional Information
- USB file structure
Background Information
Resources
Contributing
Disclaimer

Lenovo LifeLine Imager download

What is the Lenovo LifeLine Imager?

The Lenovo LifeLine Imager is a tool that can create a bootable USB drive that can be used to reflash the firmware on LenovoEMC² NAS devices.

How to download the Lenovo LifeLine Imager?

Thanks to a comment under this post, here is a guide on how to "construct" the download link for the Lenovo LifeLine Imager, specific to your device.

Go to the Support page for LenovoEMC Network Storage, Lenovo Network Storage, and Iomega products.
Find your device in the list and open the support page for it.
Under DOWNLOADS AND UPDATES click on Firmware Version x.x.x.x for XXXX.
Scroll down to Update Instructions -> Firmware Update Procedure and take note of the first step of the instructions.
The step should be something like Download the b4b-4.1.414.34909.tgz file to your computer.
Take note of the filename of the .tgz file. (But without the .tgz extension!!!)
Construct the download link as follows: https://download.lenovo.com/nasupdate/asgimage/ + filename + .zip and open it in your browser.
You should now be able to download the Lenovo LifeLine Imager, specific to your device and firmware version.
The downloaded content should look like this, after extracting the .zip file:

Table of known Lenovo LifeLine Imager downloads

If I have missed anything or if you have a download link that is not listed here, please open an issue or a pull request.

LenovoEMC

Device	Firmware Version	Download Link	Note	Version
PX4-400R	4.1.414.34909	Download	Same for PX4-400D	Rack
PX4-300R	4.1.414.34909	Download		Rack
PX12-400R	4.1.414.34909	Download	Same for PX12-450R	Rack
PX4-300D	4.1.414.34909	Download	Same for PX6-300D	Desktop
PX2-300D	4.1.414.34909	Download		Desktop

Lenovo

Device	Firmware Version	Download Link	Note	Version
IX4-300D	4.1.414.34909	Download		Desktop
IX2	4.1.408.34845	Download	Same for IX2-DL	Desktop

Iomega (StorCenter)

Device	Firmware Version	Download Link	Note	Version
ALL	4.1.414.34909		The download links for the StorCenter devices are the same as for the LenovoEMC² devices	Both

If any of these links are broken, please let me know by opening an issue or a pull request. Also you can find the imager tool in the Releases section of this repository. I have reuploaded all the files there.

How to flash the firmware

Caution

Remove your hard drives before flashing the firmware to prevent data loss! During the flashing process, all connected hard drives will be formatted!

Format a USB drive to FAT32. (Needs to be at least 1GB in size, maximum 32GB)
Unzip the downloaded Imager file and run the executable file contained within.
When prompted, select the USB drive as the destination.
Reboot the NAS with the USB drive inserted (in the top left port on the backside of the device) and hold the reset button for 60 seconds.
You should now see this screen:

When finished, the device should shut down, simply power it back on.
The device should now boot back up and be ready to be reconfigured.

Additional Information

The Lenovo LifeLine Imager is a Windows-only tool.
The used USB needs to be formatted as FAT32! Otherwise, the NAS won't recognize it.
I had to try multiple USB drives until I found one that worked. The NAS recognized all of them and went into the recovery process, but still wouldn't boot after.
If the Imager tool doesn't recognize the USB drive, try using rufus to reformat the USB drive. Select the drive, then the Non-bootable option, select FAT32 as the file system and MBR as the partition scheme. Then press Start.

USB file structure

Note

The file under b4b_images is the actual firmware file. The other files are used for the boot process. If this file is missing, please try rerunning the Imager tool.

The USB drive should have the following structure after running the Imager tool:

USB-DRIVE:.
├───boot
│   └───grub
│       ├───locale
|       └───...
├───images
│   └───...
└───emctools
    └───b4b_images
        └───VERSION_Imager.tgz

Background Information

I own a LenovoEMC² PX4-400R NAS, which I purchased from eBay. Unfortunately, I bricked the device during the reset process. Fortunately, I was able to recover it using information I found online. After conducting some research, I found posts that could potentially assist you in recovering your device too, should you ever find yourself in a similar predicament. I created this repository with the intention of assisting others in the future.

Resources

Note

Links marked with ❗ are the most important ones.

❗PX4-300D Lenovo EMC NAS Device Stuck at 95%

❗Official LenovoEMC, Lenovo, and Iomega network storage support

General overview support page

Help for old Lenovo EMC NAS units, IX2, PX4 etc

Contributing

Contributions to this repository are very welcome! Here's how you can help:

Fork this repository.
Create a new branch on your forked repository.
Make your changes. This could be adding a new device to the table, updating a download link, or improving the instructions.
Submit a pull request. Make sure to describe your changes in detail.

If you have any questions or need help, feel free to open an issue.

Disclaimer

Flashing firmware is a potentially risky operation. If done incorrectly, it can result in a bricked device. Please follow the instructions carefully and understand the risks involved. The author of this repository is not responsible for any damage caused by following these instructions.

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