How to Properly Install and Use TOS 7 on the 424 Series TNAS

[OlRedRooster]

The fan curve update sounds good, otherwise, V08 doesn't sound major. I'm not having temp issues anyways.

1. The "Logo Boot Loop" & USB Boot Fix (The Big One)
If you run an alternative OS (like Unraid, TrueNAS, or Proxmox) via a USB boot drive, older BIOS versions had an irritating bug: upon rebooting, the system would hit the TerraMaster logo screen, go black, and hang or loop unless you manually intervened or adjusted specific syslinux defaults. V08 stabilizes the automated UEFI handoff, allowing custom bootloaders on USB sticks to initialize cleanly without hanging at the splash screen.

2. Secure Boot Vulnerability Patches
Older versions of the TerraMaster 424-series factory BIOS shipped with unreplaced AMI test platform keys (PK). This leaked/standard test certificate effectively broke the security chain, allowing malicious actors to bypass Secure Boot. Version updates moving up to V08 replace these default testing keys with specific production keys to close this exploit.

3. Fan Speed Threshold Adjustments
The F4-424 Pro relies heavily on its internal PWM fan mapping to cool the Intel Core i3-N300. In earlier versions, the hardware-level "PC Health" configuration aggressively under-utilized the fan, capping its real RPMs far below its true capability and causing M.2 NVMe drives in the side slots to run excessively hot. V08 alters the baseline CPU-to-PWM thermal curve so the chassis fan reacts more accurately to motherboard temperatures.

4. Advanced Power Management (ASPM) Controls
V08 exposes better support for ASPM (Active State Power Management) on the PCIe lanes. If you are trying to minimize idle power draw (especially when using custom operating systems), the updated BIOS allows the NVMe slots and the dual Realtek 2.5GbE NICs to enter lower-power C-states correctly without throwing PCIe AER (Advanced Error Reporting) "Corrected Errors" into your system logs.

[justanotheraccount]

Would #4 relate to any issues of the nvme drives randomly disconnecting until a full shutdown takes place? (i.e. - not after a reboot but a full power cycle)
The drives have been replaced and the issue occurs only on sustained heavy load.

Secondary question - is there a place in the BIOS to specify the generation/speed of the drives? The BIOS seems sparse on tweaking.

Thanks for any insight here.

[TMjack]

The issue of NVMe drives randomly disconnecting until the device shuts down is related to the compatibility of the PCIe channel's Active State Power Management (ASPM). Currently, TOS 7 has undergone specific optimization to improve compatibility with NVMe SSDs.
Additionally, the BIOS on this model does not include configuration options for PCIe drive generation or transfer speed settings.

[FredMutter]

The fan curve update sounds good, otherwise, V08 doesn't sound major. I'm not having temp issues anyways.

3. Fan Speed Threshold Adjustments

It’s a huge improvement for me. Previously, every time I imported photos into Immich, the fan would ramp up to maximum speed.

Now, even during a large import, my NAS (see signature) stays very quiet.
I’m not sure whether the improvement comes from TOS 7, Immich v3, or a combination of both, but the difference is definitely noticeable.

And I’m pretty sure the BIOS update played a major role.

[apvm]

The fan curve update sounds good, otherwise, V08 doesn't sound major. I'm not having temp issues anyways.

3. Fan Speed Threshold Adjustments

It’s a huge improvement for me. Previously, every time I imported photos into Immich, the fan would ramp up to maximum speed.

Now, even during a large import, my NAS (see signature) stays very quiet.
I’m not sure whether the improvement comes from TOS 7, Immich v3, or a combination of both, but the difference is definitely noticeable.

And I’m pretty sure the BIOS update played a major role.

I am new with this F4-424 which I only bought it last month. I have four 6TB hdd (Traid) for files and two 256GB NVME (Traid) as system drive and its volume is for apps. My bios is v06, just wondering how to update it to v08, can you please help me, my understanding is to take out all the 6TB hdd out and plug in a usb hub so i can connect both my keyboard and usb drive (with v08 bios) to update the bios, do I need to remove the two 256gb nvme as well? Please kindly let me know your steps and experience on how to do it. Thanks your for your kind assistance in advance.

[DCCentR]

The fan curve update sounds good, otherwise, V08 doesn't sound major. I'm not having temp issues anyways.

1. The "Logo Boot Loop" & USB Boot Fix (The Big One)
If you run an alternative OS (like Unraid, TrueNAS, or Proxmox) via a USB boot drive, older BIOS versions had an irritating bug: upon rebooting, the system would hit the TerraMaster logo screen, go black, and hang or loop unless you manually intervened or adjusted specific syslinux defaults. V08 stabilizes the automated UEFI handoff, allowing custom bootloaders on USB sticks to initialize cleanly without hanging at the splash screen.

2. Secure Boot Vulnerability Patches
Older versions of the TerraMaster 424-series factory BIOS shipped with unreplaced AMI test platform keys (PK). This leaked/standard test certificate effectively broke the security chain, allowing malicious actors to bypass Secure Boot. Version updates moving up to V08 replace these default testing keys with specific production keys to close this exploit.

3. Fan Speed Threshold Adjustments
The F4-424 Pro relies heavily on its internal PWM fan mapping to cool the Intel Core i3-N300. In earlier versions, the hardware-level "PC Health" configuration aggressively under-utilized the fan, capping its real RPMs far below its true capability and causing M.2 NVMe drives in the side slots to run excessively hot. V08 alters the baseline CPU-to-PWM thermal curve so the chassis fan reacts more accurately to motherboard temperatures.

4. Advanced Power Management (ASPM) Controls
V08 exposes better support for ASPM (Active State Power Management) on the PCIe lanes. If you are trying to minimize idle power draw (especially when using custom operating systems), the updated BIOS allows the NVMe slots and the dual Realtek 2.5GbE NICs to enter lower-power C-states correctly without throwing PCIe AER (Advanced Error Reporting) "Corrected Errors" into your system logs.

Where did this list come from?

[FredMutter]

I am new with this F4-424 which I only bought it last month. I have four 6TB hdd (Traid) for files and two 256GB NVME (Traid) as system drive and its volume is for apps. My bios is v06, just wondering how to update it to v08, can you please help me, my understanding is to take out all the 6TB hdd out and plug in a usb hub so i can connect both my keyboard and usb drive (with v08 bios) to update the bios, do I need to remove the two 256gb nvme as well? Please kindly let me know your steps and experience on how to do it. Thanks your for your kind assistance in advance.

I only have two NVMe drives and no HDDs, so I didn’t have to remove any hard drives. I also left both NVMe drives installed during the BIOS update.

I simply copied the BIOS files to a USB flash drive, plugged it in, and booted the NAS from it. The BIOS update started automatically and completed without any issues

[apvm]

I am new with this F4-424 which I only bought it last month. I have four 6TB hdd (Traid) for files and two 256GB NVME (Traid) as system drive and its volume is for apps. My bios is v06, just wondering how to update it to v08, can you please help me, my understanding is to take out all the 6TB hdd out and plug in a usb hub so i can connect both my keyboard and usb drive (with v08 bios) to update the bios, do I need to remove the two 256gb nvme as well? Please kindly let me know your steps and experience on how to do it. Thanks your for your kind assistance in advance.

I only have two NVMe drives and no HDDs, so I didn’t have to remove any hard drives. I also left both NVMe drives installed during the BIOS update.

I simply copied the BIOS files to a USB flash drive, plugged it in, and booted the NAS from it. The BIOS update started automatically and completed without any issues

Thank you, I did the TOS 7 update and it was successful and it asked me to allow the system run a permission conversion process and suggest not to access the files during the process. after two hours it is still working, my hdd volume is about 24TB, just don't know how long it will take. Wondering if anyone here have experience with this.

[FredMutter]

Thank you, I did the TOS 7 update and it was successful and it asked me to allow the system run a permission conversion process and suggest not to access the files during the process. after two hours it is still working, my hdd volume is about 24TB, just don't know how long it will take. Wondering if anyone here have experience with this.

in the past I moved from ext4 to btrfs and back to ext4 (I was really disappointed from btrfs).
Using ext4 I didn't have any request to convert file permissions.
So my update from TOS6 to TOS7 took only 5 minutes.

[OlRedRooster]

The fan curve update sounds good, otherwise, V08 doesn't sound major. I'm not having temp issues anyways.

1. The "Logo Boot Loop" & USB Boot Fix (The Big One)
If you run an alternative OS (like Unraid, TrueNAS, or Proxmox) via a USB boot drive, older BIOS versions had an irritating bug: upon rebooting, the system would hit the TerraMaster logo screen, go black, and hang or loop unless you manually intervened or adjusted specific syslinux defaults. V08 stabilizes the automated UEFI handoff, allowing custom bootloaders on USB sticks to initialize cleanly without hanging at the splash screen.

2. Secure Boot Vulnerability Patches
Older versions of the TerraMaster 424-series factory BIOS shipped with unreplaced AMI test platform keys (PK). This leaked/standard test certificate effectively broke the security chain, allowing malicious actors to bypass Secure Boot. Version updates moving up to V08 replace these default testing keys with specific production keys to close this exploit.

3. Fan Speed Threshold Adjustments
The F4-424 Pro relies heavily on its internal PWM fan mapping to cool the Intel Core i3-N300. In earlier versions, the hardware-level "PC Health" configuration aggressively under-utilized the fan, capping its real RPMs far below its true capability and causing M.2 NVMe drives in the side slots to run excessively hot. V08 alters the baseline CPU-to-PWM thermal curve so the chassis fan reacts more accurately to motherboard temperatures.

4. Advanced Power Management (ASPM) Controls
V08 exposes better support for ASPM (Active State Power Management) on the PCIe lanes. If you are trying to minimize idle power draw (especially when using custom operating systems), the updated BIOS allows the NVMe slots and the dual Realtek 2.5GbE NICs to enter lower-power C-states correctly without throwing PCIe AER (Advanced Error Reporting) "Corrected Errors" into your system logs.

Where did this list come from?

Nothing official since TM doesn't publish it, Gemini just found it from proxmox community findings.