Steps to Recover a NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 RAID Array with Several Faulty Drives

Contents

• Why can’t ordinary software tools restore files from RAID?
• How to take hard disks out of the NAS and connect them to a PC?
  • Restoring data with Hetman RAID Recovery
  • Safe recovery from disk images
  • Where are user’s files stored?
  • Comparison of software for RAID recovery

Why can’t ordinary software tools restore files from RAID?

Conventional hard disks keep user’s data by writing it to their surface in a consecutive way, and this is how an entire file is stored on a single hard disk. However, when data is written to a RAID system, a file is divided into several parts. Then these parts are written consecutively to all hard disks within such array. The size of such parts may range from 2 KB to 2 MB, so each file is stored on several hard disks at the same time.

Such approach helps to speed up read and write operations, and it is evident that saving two parts of a file having the size of 1 GB to two hard disks simultaneously is much faster than saving the same 1 GB of data to one hard disk. However, this peculiarity makes file recovery more complicated.

Various RAID levels store information in different ways. Additionally, manufacturers like Buffalo also introduce some modifications to this process, and that is why data can be written to hard disk in a wide variety of ways.

How can regular data verification or checksum processes help maintain data integrity on NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 devices?

Regular data verification or checksum processes can help maintain data integrity on NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 devices in the following ways:

1. Detecting Data Corruption: Data verification processes involve comparing the checksum or hash value of a file with its original checksum value. By periodically running these processes on the NAS device, any data corruption or tampering can be detected. If the checksum values do not match, it indicates that the data has been altered, ensuring data integrity.
2. Preventing Silent Data Corruption: Silent data corruption occurs when data gets corrupted without any notification or error message. Regular data verification processes can identify such corruption and allow users to take necessary actions to restore the data from backups or other sources.
3. Ensuring Data Consistency: Data verification processes can help ensure that the data stored on the NAS device remains consistent over time. By comparing checksum values, it can detect any inconsistencies or changes in the data, allowing users to identify and resolve any issues that may arise.
4. Detecting Hardware or Software Issues: Data verification processes can also help identify any hardware or software issues that may be causing data corruption. If checksum mismatches occur frequently, it may indicate problems with the NAS device itself, such as faulty hardware or software bugs. Identifying these issues early can help prevent further data corruption and ensure the device's reliability.
5. Verifying Data Backups: Regular data verification processes can also be used to validate the integrity of data backups stored on the NAS device. By comparing the checksum values of the original data with the backup data, users can ensure that the backups are accurate and reliable for data restoration purposes.

Overall, regular data verification or checksum processes provide an additional layer of protection to maintain data integrity on NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 devices. They help detect data corruption, prevent silent data corruption, ensure data consistency, identify hardware or software issues, and validate data backups.

How to take hard disks out of the NAS and connect them to a PC?

Although NAS Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 can be accessed over the network, you still need to take the hard disks out of the storage device and connect them to a Windows computer. Only in this case will the software be able to scan them properly. Here is what you should do:

1. Turn off the storage and disconnect it from the power supply.

   WARNING! Before you start taking hard disks out of your NAS device, read the manual carefully. Incorrect actions may damage your network-attached storage and/or the hard disks within the RAID system.

2. Take the hard disks out of the NAS one by one, carefully removing them from their slots. Remember that the disks are extremely vulnerable: hitting or dropping them may result in serious physical damage.

3. Make sure to mark each hard disk in accordance with how they were installed inside the NAS.

4. Remove the hard disks and connect them to the computer. In this video, we have explored what ports are used to connect hard disks, and what to do if there are not enough ports or connectors.

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   How to Order Remote Data Recovery

Restoring data with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program recovers data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2. The hard disks that make up the RAID contain technical information about the algorithm used to save files. When launched, Hetman RAID Recovery reads this information and puts the damaged array together. Then you can open the disk and save your files. Also, you can recover the files accidentally deleted from the network drive.

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How to recover data from a Buffalo

Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 has 1 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• JBOD;

NAS supports:

• exFAT, VFAT, FAT 12 / 16 / 32;
• NTFS / ReFS;
• APFS / HFS+;
• Ext2 / 3 / 4 / ReiserFS / XFS / UFS / ZFS / Btrfs;
• VMFS / HikvisionFS;

Safe recovery from disk images

This utility lets you save an entire copy of the disk to file and then work with this image instead of the actual disk. Such feature helps to protect data on the disk from:

• Overwriting during the recovery process;
• Loss resulting from bad sectors;
• User mistakes.

To create an image, do the following:

1. Make sure that you have enough free space to save the image. The image file size usually equals the disk size.

2. Select the disk in the main window, and choose from the menu Tools – Save Disk. You can select multiple disks to be saved.

3. When the image creation wizard starts, you can choose to save the entire disk or select only a part of it. Specify the parameters and click Next.

   

4. At this stage, you need to choose a directory where to save the image. Choose any disk connected to this PC, or save the image by FTP.

   

Where are user’s files stored?

The Buffalo Drive Station HD-CE640LU2 network-attached storage keeps OS Linux operating system files on a separate RAID 1 (mirrored) array. Usually, all NAS systems create several volumes on every hard disk, and the first of them takes up to 2 Gb of space. This is where operating system files are stored. Other volumes are united into a RAID array where user’s data is written.

Comparison of software for RAID recovery