Accessing Files on a RAID Disk When NAS Promise VTrak A3800fDM is Down: Comprehensive Guide

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 Promise 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 data be recovered from a NAS Promise VTrak A3800fDM device after a malfunction or data loss event?

To recover data from a NAS Promise VTrak A3800fDM device after a malfunction or data loss event, you can follow these steps:

1. Identify the cause of the malfunction or data loss: Determine whether the issue is due to hardware failure, software corruption, accidental deletion, or any other reason. This will help you choose the appropriate recovery method.
2. Contact Promise Technology Support: Reach out to Promise Technology, the manufacturer of the VTrak A3800fDM device, and explain the issue you are facing. They can provide guidance and support specific to their product.
3. Perform basic troubleshooting: Before attempting any recovery methods, try basic troubleshooting steps recommended by the manufacturer. This may include power cycling the device, checking for loose connections, or running diagnostic tests provided by Promise Technology.
4. Use built-in recovery options: The VTrak A3800fDM device may have built-in recovery options such as RAID rebuild, volume repair, or snapshot restoration. Consult the user manual or contact Promise Technology support for instructions on using these features.
5. Utilize data recovery software: If the built-in recovery options are not successful, you can try using data recovery software specifically designed for NAS devices. These software tools can help recover deleted or lost data from the NAS device's storage drives. Examples of such software include EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, Recuva, or Stellar Data Recovery.
6. Seek professional data recovery services: If the above methods do not yield satisfactory results, you can consider seeking professional data recovery services. There are specialized data recovery companies that have expertise in recovering data from NAS devices. They often have specialized equipment and techniques to recover data from malfunctioning or damaged devices.

Remember to always make a backup of your important data to prevent future data loss events.

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

Although NAS VTrak A3800fDM 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 Promise VTrak A3800fDM. 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 Promise

VTrak A3800fDM has 24 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• RAID 1E;
• RAID 3;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• RAID 30;
• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• 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 Promise VTrak A3800fDM 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