Synology hard drive replacement - a guide

The hard drive of a Synology NAS can be easily replaced. So you can simply increase the storage capacity or replace a broken storage medium. In this practical tip, we explain how you can best proceed.

Steps to replace a fixed Synology hard drive

The Synology NAS comes in two versions. One with a permanently installed hard disk and one with an externally accessible hard disk slot. The hard drive installed in your NAS can be replaced as follows:

1. Turn off your device.
2. Open your NAS case. To do this, lay the housing flat on the table and slide the top side parallel to the table upwards.
3. Loosen the screws on the sides of the hard drive and pull it off the SATA connector.
4. If your new hard drive is in 3.5 "format, you can simply plug it in and screw it in place of the old hard drive.
5. If you have a 2.5 "hard drive, you need an extra holder. Insert the hard drive into it and screw it in. You can now plug the holder and hard drive together into the SATA connector on the NAS and screw them tight.
6. Close the case again.
7. Reboot your NAS and reinstall the system.

Hard drive replacement for a Synology NAS with storage bay.

Some NAS have hard drive slots so that the hard drive can be replaced without opening the device. We explain how this works here.

1. Turn off your device.
2. If you have a device with the hard drive bays directly visible, press the lower part of the slot, the handle pops out and you can pull out the hard drive.
3. If you have a device with a cover in front of the hard drive bays (e.g. DS218 +), first remove the cover. This is only attached to it and then loosen the tab at the top of the slots.
4. Remove the fasteners on the sides of the slot and remove the hard drive.
5. If you have a 3.5 "hard drive, then insert it into the slot in the same way as the old one. Secure your hard drive with the previously removed fastening elements on the sides.
6. If you want to install a 2.5 "hard drive, you have to screw it onto the slot. Position the plate with the connections on the opposite side of the handle. Turn the screws from below through the bracket into the hard drive. The side fastening elements are no longer required,
7. Slide the slots back into the NAS and possibly put the lid back in front of the slots.
8. Reboot your NAS and reinstall the system.

Transfer data from the old Synology hard drive to the new one

After you have replaced the hard disk, you can copy your data from the old to the new disk.

1. Connect the old hard drive to the NAS via USB or the eSata connection. You should use the external hard drive housing for this.
2. Copy your data to the new hard drive.
3. Now you can remove the old memory.

The Synology DS218 in the test and instructions on how to synchronize folders with your Synology NAS can be found in other articles.