In this video we take a look at how you perform a factory reset on a Synology NAS running Disk Station Manager (DSM) 6. Typically we would use a factory reset, as a way to wipe our NAS so that we can set it up from scratch.
Note: As performing a factory reset will not securely wipe the data from any hard drives in your NAS. We recommend that you perform a secure wipe on all your drives, before you sell or give away your NAS. For more information on how to perform a secure wipe in Windows or macOS please see the following video:
Quick reference notes:
- Log into Disk Station Manager (DSM) using your Administrators credentials
- From the desktop of the DSM select Control Panel
- Within the Control Panel locate the heading System and select the option Update and Restore
- Now choose the tab System Reset
- Under the heading Factory Reset choose Erase All Data
- We are now asked to confirm that we wish to remove all data from our NAS and reset it back to factory defaults
Note: While the data on our NAS will be wiped, this wipe is not classed as a secure wipe. This is because it is still possible to restore data from hard drives that have been re-formatted. So if you are decommissioning your NAS, make sure you also perform a secure wipes on all your hard drives.
- After ticking the box “I understand all my data will be deleted forever and unrecoverable“, you will have to wait 5 seconds before you can select Erase All Data
- Now select Erase
- You will not be prompted to enter your Administrator password to confirm that you wish to wipe your NAS.
- As part of the factory reset process your NAS will now restart
Note: You will need to wait until your NAS has rebooted before you power it down. You will know that your NAS has rebooted because it will beep. However, if you are not sure if your NAS has rebooted, simply open find.synology.com from a web browser and run a search for your NAS. If your NAS details do not appear your NAS is still rebooting.
