Hello everybody!
Watch this video to find out how to recover data from a RAID system based on a Western
Digital NAS, how to create a RAID, how to add a shared folder, and how to retrieve data
from an inoperable NAS.
A
network-attached storage (NAS for short) is a computer device used as a file server to
let various client devices access certain data.
Usually, such devices are based on RAID technology which enables them to combine several drives
into one big storage space, as well as improve reliability and data security.
However, even the most reliable RAID type in the world cannot prevent data loss completely.
The chances of hardware and software errors, wrong configuration, accidental removal of
files or disk formatting depend very little on how reliable your RAID setup is, and any
of these scenarios may result in losing an entire pool of very important information.
Recovering data from a NAS system involves taking the device apart, connecting its disks
directly to another computer, and using specialized data recovery software to retrieve the information.
NAS devices usually run on Linux, so their volumes are formatted in Linux-supported file
systems such as EXT, XFS and BTRFS; when choosing a data recovery tool, make sure to check file
system support features.
In today’s video, we will explore a step-by-step data recovery process with the server WD ShareSpace
supporting the installation of 4 hard disks - WDA4NC40000.
How to create a RAID array
For starters, let’s find out how to build a RAID array, for example, a RAID 5 system.
Open the management menu for NAS WD ShareSpace, then go to Advanced Mode, jump to the tab
Storage, then click on the tile for Volume & RAID Management.
By default, after installation of the operating system it creates a spanned volume with all
the disks connected to the device at the moment; in other words, all available disks are combined
into one.
To change the RAID level, select the one you prefer.
In my case it is RAID 5; click Submit to proceed.
You see the warning that all data will be erased, and it takes 16 to 17 hours to rebuild
a RAID 5 volume: click OK.
The rebuilding process begins.
Now that the RAID configuration has been changed successfully, resynching / formatting is in
progress.
Here is the RAID 5 volume consisting of three disks, and the last column displays its status
- Recovering.
All you do now is wait for the process to be over, then create a shared folder and write
your data to the disk.
How to create a shared folder
While the RAID system is being rebuilt, let’s enable the FTP network protocol to access
the storage.
Open the tab Network, jump to Services and enable FTP by checking the corresponding box,
then click Submit.
When the disk array is rebuilt, you’ll be able to create shared folders.
Open Storage, jump to Folder Shares, click the plus button to add a new folder, give
the name for this directory, some description, check network services, and click Submit to
confirm your choices.
Now it’s time to configure access to this shared folder.
I will enable Public access by checking this box and clicking Submit.
After that, it becomes accessible, so you can go to the network drive and write your
data there.
How to recover data from an inoperable NAS
Hardware and software failures, wrong configuration, accidental removal or formatting may cause
a major data loss from the disk storage inside your NAS device.
In any of these situations, you’ll need a reliable tool to get your information back.
Hetman RAID Recovery is a comprehensive solution for NAS data recovery to help you restore
your files in several different scenarios.
This program supports the most popular file systems including those used in NAS devices.
It features an automated advanced scan mechanism that will find the information needed for
recovery, such as RAID first sector number, block size, number and order of disks.
NAS information can be recovered both from single-drive solutions and large disk arrays
combined into various RAID systems.
Bear in mind that before starting data recovery operations, you should prepare some free disk
space with a capacity equal to the amount of data you’re planning to recover from
your NAS.
Take the disks out of the NAS device and connect them to a Windows computer.
Make sure that all disks are recognized by the Windows-integrated Disk Management utility.
Right-click on the Start menu and select Disk Management.
If you are suggested to initialize the disks, don’t agree – this can erase the remaining
data for good.
If you are trying to recover data from a RAID 5 system, and the motherboard of the computer
where you want to connect the disks doesn’t have enough SATA ports for all those hard
disks, you can connect all but one disk, because this RAID type remains operable even if one
of the disks is missing.
Install and run Hetman RAID Recovery.
Thanks to its automatic scan feature, the utility will analyze the disks, read their
service information and rebuild the damaged RAID system.
The brief RAID information is displayed below: check if the program has read it correctly.
If the properties were detected with errors, you'll have to build the array manually in
the RAID Constructor.
Right-click on the disk and open its properties to see more details.
Select the scan type and start the analysis.
The program will analyze the disks and display their contents when the operation is complete.
As you can see, it has found all the data stored on the disk array, and in the case
with RAID 5 everything works even though one disk is missing.
Select the files you want to recover, click Recovery, select where you want to save them,
and click Recovery again.
When the recovery process is over, you’ll find all of the files in the folder you have
chosen.
How to recover data after accidental removal
This program can also recover data after disk formatting or accidental removal of files.
After the scan is over, you’ll see the deleted files – they are marked with a red cross.
To help you search for specific photos, videos, and documents more efficiently, there’s
a nice preview feature.
Select and recover accidentally deleted data.
When scanning a RAID that used to have an operating system, the program shows you several
disk arrays: a mirror RAID containing the operating system, and a RAID 5 containing
the data.
If you want to recover information from a system folder, scan the mirror RAID which
stores system files.
How to restore a RAID manually, with RAID Constructor
Hetman RAID Recovery is very easy to use.
It will automatically find the information needed for recovery such as RAID first sector
number, block size, number and order of disks.
When a disk is damaged or service information is erased, the program may have difficulties
with rebuilding the RAID automatically; however, you can do it manually with the RAID Constructor
if you know the properties of this damaged array.
Open the RAID Constructor and select Manual mode, then fill in all the information you
know: the RAID type, block order and size, add the disks it used to include, use the
arrows to set their order, and replace the missing disks with empty drives by clicking
the “plus” button.
Usually, if you give correct properties, the newly built RAID system has at least one partition.
Expand it to check for the folders that you need.
If the folders you are looking for are displayed, then you have built this RAID properly.
When all the properties are given, click Add for the RAID system to appear in the Drive
Manager.
For recovery, scan the array you have just added, look for the files you need, select
and recover them.
That is all for now!
Hopefully, this video was useful.
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.