Hello everybody!
Watch this video to find out how to recover data from a RAID array with the help of Hetman
RAID Recovery.
We are going to recover a RAID 0 (Stripe) array created with the help of Adaptec ASR
6805T controller and obtain data from a damaged RAID system.
Although RAID can improve the reliability of data storage, still it’s not the cure-all
solution against data loss.
Experience has shown that if you rely completely on the array’s reliability and overlook
to create a regular backup plan, a single controller failure or disk failure means a
grave risk of losing the data that you think is so reliably stored inside your RAID.
The probability of data loss can be reduced by monitoring the array status regularly and
conducting maintenance works, but you can never bring it to nought.
There is always a risk to lose data, but it’s good to have specialized software around able
to bring the missing files back.
Hetman RAID Recovery restores data from non-operational RAID systems or from disks within such systems.
The utility reads from the storage system all the information about the controller,
the motherboard, or the software used to create a disk array.
Our product can rebuild the crashed RAID and it lets you copy all important information
from there.
Why RAID arrays fail First of all, let’s find out why a RAID
system may fail.
The most common cause that makes disk arrays fail is the negligence of their system administrators.
If one of the hard disks is out of order and is not replaced timely, it may cause data
loss in the future.
Both hard disk types, HDD and SSD, have a limited operational life.
For most RAID arrays, the day when one or two disks fail means loss of all information,
from all disks within this array.
When one of the disks fails, the best option is to back up important data immediately,
replace the faulty disk, and rebuild the array.
It is very important to back up vital information before the rebuilding, because errors may
occur while the disk is replaced and the whole system freezes, which can only be solved by
restarting it.
Mistakes when replacing one of the disks within the storage system, accidental “rebuilding”
the array instead of “restoring” it, disconnecting and reconnecting the disks in a wrong order,
incorrect RAID initialization - any of these things will certainly result in the loss of
information.
Besides, there are many other causes that may damage your RAID: the controller or motherboard
breakdown, an operating system crash, a virus attack, system update or hardware upgrade
etc.
All in all, there are too many factors to trigger a data loss and make you seek opportunities
to recover valuable information.
What you shouldn’t do when a RAID system fails and data is lost
Before doing anything, you are supposed to know what shouldn’t be done unless you want
to lose the data for good.
Don’t rebuild an array with old disks hoping that it might start and work properly.
In the process, you may get all the remaining data overwritten, and it won’t be restored
in any way then.
Don’t conduct initialization, chkdsk scan or other similar actions.
Always remember, that in a case of data loss, you should stop writing anything to the disks,
because it may overwrite them with new data.
Before doing anything after a RAID crash, it’s always a good idea to ask a professional
for advice.
RAID types and peculiarities of data recovery At the moment, there are about fifteen RAID
types, or maybe more - if we consider the outdated versions.
Of all the possible variations, the most widespread types are RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5
and RAID 6.
Hetman RAID Recovery supports disk arrays created both with operating system or motherboard
features, and with specialized controllers / external storage solutions by various manufacturers.
You can see all the supported RAID types on the screen: RAID 1, 0, 10, 5, 50, 1E, 5E,
5EE, 2, 6, 4, 60(6+0), JBOD.
Recovering data from RAID systems differs greatly from conventional data recovery operations,
because the RAID architecture uses a unique and complicated method to store and extract
information.
With our product, even novice users will have a chance: it has a special feature that detects
the configuration of the damaged RAID system automatically.
Having collected all the available information from the system and connected disks, the utility
displays the automatically built arrays immediately, as soon as the program starts.
In most cases, the program manages to restore RAID on the fly and suggests you to analyze
the identified partitions and save any available data.
Recovering deleted files from RAID systems If you are up to recover data from RAID disks,
using professional data recovery software is crucial.
The data recovery wizard integrated into Hetman RAID Recovery will help you restore data from
any hard disk within a RAID system, as long as your computer can recognize it.
In our case, we have created a RAID 0 (stripe) array based on an Adaptec ASR-6805T controller
and two hard disks.
There is some data on the disks, several folders containing photos and videos.
Let’s simulate a case of controller failure.
Connect the hard disks directly to a Windows 10 computer.
The operating system recognizes these disks as RAW format, and when you try to open one
of them, the notification saying “Location is not available” pops up.
Usually, you have to format the disk to access it, but if you do it, all the information
on it will be lost.
In this case, however, we’ll be using the special tool to restore data from RAID.
Download, install and run Hetman RAID Recovery.
Open the Drive Manager tab, and find the line RAID Arrays.
Select your RAID from the list, right-click on it, and click Open.
Try a fast scan first.
If the disk structure is not damaged, this scan type will suffice.
If the fast scan can’t find the missing data, then go for Full analysis.
When it’s over, the program will display the results in the right side of the window.
It has found all the files still remaining on the disks, and those that have been removed,
so all you need to do is to save them to another disk.
How to recover a RAID system which can’t be detected
If the program couldn’t detect your RAID automatically, use the RAID Constructor.
It has several modes to help you with this task.
If the program managed to detect your RAID type, select it from the list and click “Next.”
Check if the array characteristics are detected correctly, and if they are, just click “Add.”
If your array is not listed, build it with the help of three modes available at your
disposal.
Automatic mode The first mode is automatic.
The program will ask you to specify the number of disks that your RAID used to consist of.
Below, select these disks by checking the corresponding boxes, and click “Next.”
The program will start the automatic search for all possible configurations, and your
task is to select the one you need from the list and click “Add.”
After that, the RAID system will appear in the Drive Manager.
Now it can be analyzed to recover the missing data.
Search by vendor Another method to add a RAID system is to
search it by vendor.
The program contains possible array combinations used by popular controller manufacturers,
as well as patterns applied by software-based or combined RAID systems.
Here, specify the vendor of the controller that you used to create the RAID, and the
array type.
If you know the block size for the hard disk, specify it by choosing the corresponding option
- it will make the search more efficient.
When all the known information about this RAID is provided, click “Next.”
Specify the number of disks that your RAID used to consist of, select the disks below,
and hit “Next” again.
The program will start searching for possible configurations and display it in the next
window.
Select a suitable configuration and click “Add.”
The RAID system will appear on the list of disks.
Manual mode With manual mode, you can create a RAID storage
system of any configuration.
However, this method is better suited for advanced users as it requires more detailed
information about the RAID system.
When data is written to a RAID array, the information is broken into blocks and written
to different disks within the array.
That is why, in the manual mode, the program will ask you to specify the number of disks
that your RAID used to consist of, the block size and other useful information.
Specify the array type, block size, add the disks that were used in this RAID, and indicate
their order.
To change the order of the disks, select the one you need and use the arrow keys to move
it up or down the list.
If you don’t know this information, it’s safer to use one of the methods for adding
an array that have been described before.
However, if you have all the array information, it will make the search and recovery operations
much faster.
Also, you can specify the disk offset and delay options.
When you specify all the properties you know, click “Add.”
After that, scan the disk and after the analysis is over, go to the directory where the lost
information used to be.
Hetman RAID Recovery features a special preview mode which lets you see the files’ contents
without writing any data to the damaged array.
Select the files you want to restore and click Recovery.
Specify where to save the data and click Recovery again.
When the process is over, you will find the recovered data in the folder you have chosen
for saving it.
In addition to disk arrays created with the help of specialized controllers, motherboards
or external storage systems, our program can also recover data from RAID systems based
on the features integrated into Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix operating systems.
Conclusion As you can see, this program is quite simple
and user-friendly.
If you have some basic understanding of how your RAID system works, you’ll be able to
recover data from such disks without too much effort.
It doesn’t matter how many disks remained to be healthy in your RAID and how much of
their space is overwritten, this program analyzes the remaining disks and tries to combine them
into a healthy array.
In the course of rebuilding the array and searching for the information, missing data
is getting replaced by zeros, and the program tries to extract the remaining information
from the disks and help the user recover it.
That is all for now!
Hopefully, this video was useful.
Remember to click the Like button and subscribe to our channel.
Push the bell button to receive notifications and never miss new videos.
Leave comments to ask questions.
Thank you for watching.
Good luck.