How to Properly Install and Use TOS 7 on the 425 Plus Series TNAS

[MikeZhang]

The minimum recommended capacity is generally 1GB.

However, this "minimum capacity" is not an absolute number. More importantly, consider the following points:

Capacity Recommendations and Precautions
Mainstream Recommendation: Most mainstream manufacturers recommend using USB flash drives with a capacity of 1GB or more. In fact, 8GB or 16GB USB flash drives are currently the most common and readily available choice.

Capacity Limit: Some motherboards (such as certain Dell models) recommend using USB flash drives no larger than 32GB. This is to ensure that the USB flash drive can be formatted as FAT32.

Small File Size: The BIOS file itself is usually only a few MB to tens of MB, very small. Therefore, from a storage space perspective, almost any USB flash drive is sufficient.

Why 1GB? The reason for the "1GB or more" and "no more than 32GB" recommendations stems from the file system format requirements:

Must be formatted as FAT32: Most motherboards (especially those supporting UEFI) require the USB flash drive to be formatted as FAT32 when flashing the BIOS.

Windows formatting limitations: The formatting tool built into Windows cannot directly format USB flash drives larger than 32GB to FAT32. Therefore, if you use a 64GB or larger USB flash drive, it may not be recognized by the motherboard because it cannot be formatted to FAT32.

[Gremlin]

OK I will be more specific:

How much capacity is required on the USB drive to accomplish this : "and copy all extracted files to the root directory of the USB drive." for either of the Bios files mentioned.
Whether you think it or not, this is a serious question especially for those whose resources are limited and may need to find the correct device before engaging in the update.

[MikeZhang]

The USB drive larger than the BIOS file like 64MB is sufficient

[TravHall]

When will the F2-425 (not plus) receive the TOS 7 update?

[bwd13]

I have a F4-425 plus Bios ver .V07 and my system disk is on HDD1 HDD2
I am go to go to install TOS.7
Everything was getting a little confusing
Thanks

[Gremlin]

When will the F2-425 (not plus) receive the TOS 7 update?

The Tos7 Release is available for the F2-425: viewtopic.php?t=10183 Tos 7.0.0747
If you have already installed a Tos7Beta there is a separate release:
viewtopic.php?t=10179 Tos 7.0.0746
Please read the release notes in the relevant posts carefully before proceeding.

[MikeZhang]

Your BIOS version is not among the versions mentioned in the post, so you can update normally.

[Gremlin]

I performed the bios update this pm - a bit of a faff! PLEASE NOTE - The added pdf version has a small error "Format usb as FAT" whereas web page says FAT32 (as discussed). I had to try several times to get the device to boot off the update usb. Continued to default to the internal USB-DOM regardless, until I actually disabled "TOS Boot First" and set the boot order specifically.
In the Part 7/8 I initially missed the 'beep' and/or I was too slow and the device did a reboot with (I think/suspect) the boot order reverted so that it booted from init again and I did not see the final page. I then went through the bios update procedure again noting to ensure the reboot settings were for the update usb and I saw the final page eventually.
When checking the BIOS after the update it appeared as if I had lost the USB-DOM configuration as it did not appear in the BIOS screen as an installed device.
In any case after re-installing nvme/HDD and a successful 'Boot from Raid', I rechecked the BIOS and the USB-DOM has reappeared.
I have no immediate plans to disassemble the nas again to see if the USB-DOM actually works.

[nikk]

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone can clarify the differences between two BIOS versions for my TerraMaster NAS.

For context: I am currently running MTWL0101.V07 on my F2-425 Plus. I came across BJFX-TWLX-108 and would like to understand what has changed between these two releases before I consider updating.

Specifically, I’d like to know:

Are there any critical security patches or stability fixes in BJFX-TWLX-108 compared to my current version?
Does the newer version add any new features (e.g., memory compatibility, boot options, or CPU microcode updates)?
Are there any known issues with BJFX-TWLX-108 that I should be aware of before updating?

I checked the official download page but couldn't find a detailed changelog for these specific build numbers. If anyone has a link to the official release notes, or if a TerraMaster rep could chime in, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[EriChan]

Based on TerraMaster's official support documentation regarding TOS 7 compatibility for the 425 series, here is the clarity you are looking for:

1. Do you need to update?

No, you don't. The official documentation explicitly states that both MTWL0101.V07 (your current version) and BJFX-TWLX-108 are fully compatible with TOS 7 out of the box and require no additional adjustments.

2. What is the difference / What changed?

The BJFX-TWLX-108 BIOS was specifically released to fix a boot priority defect found in older BIOS versions (MTWL0101.V03 through MTWL0101.V06). On those older builds, if a user installed TOS 7 on an NVMe M.2 SSD located in the 3rd slot, the NAS would fail to boot properly and loop back to the initialization page.

Since your current V07 version already resolves this issue (or does not suffer from it), updating to 108 will not bring any new features (like memory compatibility or CPU microcode updates) or extra security patches.

Recommendation:

Your current V07 is already fully optimized for TOS 7, you can safely stay on your current version and proceed with your TOS 7 upgrade without touching the BIOS.

Hope this helps!