So I’ve somehow managed to screw-up, lose, or forget the PW to my Synology DS124. Reading on line, it appears you can ‘soft reset’ it with the pin trick on the back of the NAS. The internet in all its infinite wisdom also seems to say that the files remain intact and it’s just a reset of the administrative functions. Before I do this, can anyone confirm that this is the case?
I’ve done a Mode 1 reset and it’s worked fine.
I reset a DS718+ using the pinhole about 5 or so years ago and yes the files stayed and it was only system settings that reverted to factory.
The caveat is that this was with the previous os dsm6? I think.
A full back up is your friend here.
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thanks both!
Might I suggest that once you have reset the NAS you make use of a password manager like LastPass to store your strong passwords? I find it very convenient and it enables me to have strong, unique passwords for each and every account. It works with Passkeys too.
brrrrr …. LastPass …
Millions stolen from LastPass users in massive attack — what you need to know | Tom’s Guide
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The Synology website also says to reset using the pinhole. It gives the procedure as well as a couple of situations where you might need to do more if it doesn’t work
No system will be 100% secure. The figures relate to crypto thefts, which for me is fools gold in which I’d never ‘invest’.
As always, good practice in changing passwords regularly, and using Passkeys where possible, is recommended. But at least they can be long, strong and remembered for you, which is far better than using the same weak passwords across many accounts!
I know, I’m using macOs Password in-app at home and KeyPassXC at work.
Do you actually have a password, or did you leave it with the default, which for some Synology models is user name ‘admin’ with the password left blank 
I actually had a PW, which is the problem
All fixed - thanks. Can confirm that using the pinhole reset function just resets the login and not the data.
Just updated the title to reduce the levels of thread proliferation. Another NAS (Synology) question for those that may know:
Is there a way to transfer large amounts of data faster than a WiFi connection? I see that Synology doesn’t support USB transfer, but there seems to be some discussion on a “USB Copy Package” that can be installed and supports data transfer when an SSD is plugged in.
Anyone with experience with this? And, if so, is it worth it in terms of a faster rate of data transfer? I have a 700gb Photos library that I need to move and it’s taking FOREVER over WiFi. Like days forever.
I used USB Copy a while back to load some files onto a Synology NAS for a friend, and it seemed to go quite quickly.
What device are you using for the WiFi transfer? Replacing the connection with an Ethernet cable is almost certainly going to be much quicker than WiFi.
Thx Chris. I’m using a MacBook Air w/o an ethernet port. Could get a dongle, but my NAS is also across the room connected to the router. I suppose I could hardwire it all, would just need to physically relocate a few things.
As an aside, all this portability is becoming a PITA. I’m thinking about swapping the laptop for a Mac Mini, moving the NAS and router to my desk, and hardwiring everything up with enough power and ports to may anything work.
But that means my UnitiQute2 has to connect over WiFi.
You just can’t win.
A temporary wired connection would do it, but the Synology USB Copy thing sounds like it’s going to be easier.
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As I understand it, it would depend on the generation of USB you are using vs the wired network speed. At least USB 3 needed to have a chance of being faster that a typical Gb/s wired connection
Yes, although the OP will be using a USB drive attached to his laptop, and a USB to Ethernet adapter to connect it to his network, so ultimately USB transfer speed that will be a limiting factor in any scenario.
I would just connect directly to the NAS and forget about it. Then it can run overnight without tying up the laptop. If the music library is very large, maybe do it in batches (one genre at a time for example) just in case it stalls due to power cuts etc.
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Friendly Synology caution: I have a DS1520+ that I have successfully been running with a 16GB Crucial RAM SODIMM since early 2021 (in lieu of the OEM 4GB stick that it came with, for a total of 8GB [4GB is soldered]). After the current DSM 7 update (5, IIRC), my entire system became unstable overnight. I ran the RAM check utility and the 16GB stick was fine. BUT, after several days of troubleshooting, nothing worked. So I dug up the 4GB OEM SODIMM (that is also made by Micron/Crucial, I might add) and threw it back in. Every single issue and symptom immediately disappeared.
As a test, I put the 16GB SODIMM into a NUC I had laying un-used and it’s STILL perfectly fine.
Synology used software to brick my system because I didn’t buy THEIR RAM. Just a word of caution and hopefully this will save others many hours of work and worry.
The fastest I know is 2 ethernet cables configured with link aggregation to a capable switch. Thats how I run both my synology NASs (connected to ubiquiti unifi switchs) and that made the restore easier when I lost two drives simultaneously on my main NAS a few years ago. But is fairly advanced setup.
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