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Q&A Problems accessing disks from a Synology NAS from a Linux PC

As it turns out my problem was two-fold. One problem was my USB SATA adapter, after I got hands on a computer where I could attach the disks directly they showed up with the proper sizes and I got ...

posted 10mo ago by GeraldS‭ · edited 10mo ago by GeraldS‭

Answer

#2: Post edited by

GeraldS‭ · 2025-12-02T09:56:51Z (10 months ago)
added information about possible VM usage

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As it turns out my problem was two-fold. One problem was my USB SATA adapter, after I got hands on a computer where I could attach the disks directly they showed up with the proper sizes and I got directly to the point where I could actually try to mount the disks.
```console
root@ubuntu:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 5.5T 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 2.4G 0 part
├─sda2 8:2 0 2G 0 part
└─sda5 8:5 0 5.5T 0 part
└─md2 9:2 0 5.5T 0 raid1
├─vg1-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:2 0 12M 0 lvm
└─vg1-volume_1 253:3 0 5.5T 0 lvm
sdb 8:16 0 2.7T 0 disk
├─sdb1 8:17 0 2.4G 0 part
├─sdb2 8:18 0 2G 0 part
└─sdb5 8:21 0 2.7T 0 part
└─md3 9:3 0 2.7T 0 raid1
├─vg2-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:0 0 12M 0 lvm
└─vg2-volume_2 253:1 0 2.7T 0 lvm
nvme0n1 259:0 0 465.8G 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 1M 0 part
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 465.8G 0 part /
```
What also did not work at first was mounting the disks, I got errors from btrfs. But after some searching I found [this post on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/u6y5qm/comment/i5lk4jn/), which solved this issue for me. It's not only the old Ubuntu that is necessary, you also need to install an older kernel than the one shipped latest with it, because a btrfs patch was included in later kernel builds that caused the mounting issue. I installed the package `linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic`, edited `/etc/default/grub` to set `GRUB_TIMEOUT=5` and commented out `GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden` so I could select the correct kernel at boot and after that I could mount the Synology disks without problems.
So, to sum up the process to access the Synology disks from a PC:
~~- Attach the disks to a computer directly (not via USB adapter)~~
~~- Install Ubuntu 18.04 on it~~
~~- Follow the [Synology KB article](https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/How_can_I_recover_data_from_my_DiskStation_using_a_PC#x_anchor_idb5a4b64b2a)~~
```shell
sudo -i
nano /etc/default/grub
apt-get update
apt-get install -y mdadm lvm2 btrfs-progs linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic
reboot # select the correct kernel
mdadm -AsfR && vgchange -ay
cat /proc/mdstat
lvs
```
Mount the disks as needed.

As it turns out my problem was two-fold. One problem was my USB SATA adapter, after I got hands on a computer where I could attach the disks directly they showed up with the proper sizes and I got directly to the point where I could actually try to mount the disks.
```console
root@ubuntu:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda 8:0 0 5.5T 0 disk
├─sda1 8:1 0 2.4G 0 part
├─sda2 8:2 0 2G 0 part
└─sda5 8:5 0 5.5T 0 part
└─md2 9:2 0 5.5T 0 raid1
├─vg1-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:2 0 12M 0 lvm
└─vg1-volume_1 253:3 0 5.5T 0 lvm
sdb 8:16 0 2.7T 0 disk
├─sdb1 8:17 0 2.4G 0 part
├─sdb2 8:18 0 2G 0 part
└─sdb5 8:21 0 2.7T 0 part
└─md3 9:3 0 2.7T 0 raid1
├─vg2-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:0 0 12M 0 lvm
└─vg2-volume_2 253:1 0 2.7T 0 lvm
nvme0n1 259:0 0 465.8G 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 1M 0 part
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 465.8G 0 part /
```
What also did not work at first was mounting the disks, I got errors from btrfs. But after some searching I found [this post on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/u6y5qm/comment/i5lk4jn/), which solved this issue for me. It's not only the old Ubuntu that is necessary, you also need to install an older kernel than the one shipped latest with it, because a btrfs patch was included in later kernel builds that caused the mounting issue. I installed the package `linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic`, edited `/etc/default/grub` to set `GRUB_TIMEOUT=5` and commented out `GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden` so I could select the correct kernel at boot and after that I could mount the Synology disks without problems.
So, to sum up the process to access the Synology disks from a PC:
- Attach the disks to a computer directly (not via USB adapter)
According to other posts on the mentioned Reddit thread this also works on a VM when you pass the disks through directly. I haven't tested this
- Install Ubuntu 18.04
- Follow the [Synology KB article](https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/How_can_I_recover_data_from_my_DiskStation_using_a_PC#x_anchor_idb5a4b64b2a) with the addition of installing and booting into the correct kernel
```shell
sudo -i
nano /etc/default/grub
apt-get update
apt-get install -y mdadm lvm2 btrfs-progs linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic
reboot # select the correct kernel
mdadm -AsfR && vgchange -ay
cat /proc/mdstat
lvs
```
Mount the disks as needed.

#1: Initial revision by

GeraldS‭ · 2025-12-02T07:44:02Z (10 months ago)

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As it turns out my problem was two-fold. One problem was my USB SATA adapter, after I got hands on a computer where I could attach the disks directly they showed up with the proper sizes and I got directly to the point where I could actually try to mount the disks.

```console
root@ubuntu:~$ lsblk
NAME                            MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE  MOUNTPOINT
sda                               8:0    0   5.5T  0 disk
├─sda1                            8:1    0   2.4G  0 part
├─sda2                            8:2    0     2G  0 part
└─sda5                            8:5    0   5.5T  0 part
  └─md2                           9:2    0   5.5T  0 raid1
    ├─vg1-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:2    0    12M  0 lvm
    └─vg1-volume_1              253:3    0   5.5T  0 lvm
sdb                               8:16   0   2.7T  0 disk
├─sdb1                            8:17   0   2.4G  0 part
├─sdb2                            8:18   0     2G  0 part
└─sdb5                            8:21   0   2.7T  0 part
  └─md3                           9:3    0   2.7T  0 raid1
    ├─vg2-syno_vg_reserved_area 253:0    0    12M  0 lvm
    └─vg2-volume_2              253:1    0   2.7T  0 lvm
nvme0n1                         259:0    0 465.8G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1                     259:1    0     1M  0 part
└─nvme0n1p2                     259:2    0 465.8G  0 part  /
```

What also did not work at first was mounting the disks, I got errors from btrfs. But after some searching I found [this post on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/synology/comments/u6y5qm/comment/i5lk4jn/), which solved this issue for me. It's not only the old Ubuntu that is necessary, you also need to install an older kernel than the one shipped latest with it, because a btrfs patch was included in later kernel builds that caused the mounting issue. I installed the package `linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic`, edited `/etc/default/grub` to set `GRUB_TIMEOUT=5` and commented out `GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=hidden` so I could select the correct kernel at boot and after that I could mount the Synology disks without problems.

So, to sum up the process to access the Synology disks from a PC:

- Attach the disks to a computer directly (not via USB adapter)
- Install Ubuntu 18.04 on it
- Follow the [Synology KB article](https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/How_can_I_recover_data_from_my_DiskStation_using_a_PC#x_anchor_idb5a4b64b2a)

```shell
sudo -i
nano /etc/default/grub
apt-get update
apt-get install -y mdadm lvm2 btrfs-progs linux-image-4.15.0-108-generic
reboot # select the correct kernel
mdadm -AsfR && vgchange -ay
cat /proc/mdstat
lvs 
```

Mount the disks as needed.

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