How to Restore a NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 RAID Array with Multiple Disk Failures

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 system monitoring and alerting help in early detection and prevention of data loss events on NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 devices?

Regular system monitoring and alerting can help in early detection and prevention of data loss events on NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 devices in the following ways:

1. Real-time Monitoring: By implementing a monitoring system, you can continuously monitor the health and performance of your NAS device. This includes monitoring disk usage, CPU and memory utilization, network traffic, and other critical parameters. Any abnormal behavior or potential issues can be detected early on.
2. Disk Health Monitoring: Regular monitoring can keep track of the health of your hard drives, including SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) attributes. By monitoring parameters like temperature, bad sectors, and reallocated sectors, you can identify potential disk failures before they occur and take necessary preventive actions.
3. RAID Monitoring: If your NAS device is configured with RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), monitoring the status of the RAID array is crucial. Regular monitoring can help you identify any degraded or failed disks, rebuilding issues, or other RAID-related problems. This allows you to take immediate action to prevent data loss.
4. Backup Monitoring: Monitoring the backup process is essential to ensure that your data is being regularly backed up to another location or device. By monitoring the backup status, you can detect any failures or inconsistencies in the backup process, enabling you to rectify the issue and prevent potential data loss.
5. Event Log Monitoring: NAS devices typically maintain event logs that record important system events and errors. Regularly monitoring these logs can help you identify any unusual activities, errors, or warnings that may indicate a potential data loss event. By proactively addressing these issues, you can prevent data loss and ensure the integrity of your data.
6. Alerting and Notifications: Setting up alerts and notifications within your monitoring system is crucial. This ensures that you are immediately notified of any critical events or potential data loss situations. Alerts can be sent via email, SMS, or other communication channels, allowing you to take immediate action to prevent or mitigate data loss.

By implementing regular system monitoring and alerting, you can proactively detect and prevent data loss events on your NAS Buffalo Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 devices, minimizing the risk of data loss and ensuring the availability and integrity of your data.

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

Although NAS Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 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.

   Go to view

   

   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-LB3.0TU2. 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.

Go to view

How to recover data from a Buffalo

Drive Station HD-LB3.0TU2 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-LB3.0TU2 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