How to Access Files on a RAID Disk When NAS Promise VTrak M310i is Inactive: Practical Steps

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS Promise VTrak M310i
• How to Remove Hard Disks from Your NAS and Connect Them to a PC
  • Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery
  • How to Safely Recover Data from Disk Images
  • Where Are the User’s Files Actually Stored?
  • RAID Recovery Software: Detailed Comparison

Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID

Conventional hard drives store user data by writing it sequentially across the disk surface, which means an entire file is typically located on a single drive. In contrast, when data is written to a RAID array, each file is split into multiple fragments. These fragments are then distributed and written in sequence across all the drives in the array. Depending on the configuration, fragment sizes can range from 2 KB to 2 MB, so every file is physically stored across several disks at once.

This approach significantly increases read and write performance — after all, writing two halves of a 1 GB file to two drives simultaneously is much faster than writing the full 1 GB to a single disk. However, this same mechanism makes file recovery far more complex.

Different RAID levels use different methods to distribute and protect data. On top of that, manufacturers like Promise often add their own proprietary structures and variations. As a result, data can be written to disks in many different formats, and each requires a specific approach during recovery.

How can continuous data protection mechanisms help in minimizing potential data loss on NAS Promise VTrak M310i devices?

Continuous data protection (CDP) mechanisms can help minimize potential data loss on NAS Promise VTrak M310i devices in several ways:

1. Real-time data replication: CDP continuously captures and replicates data changes in real-time, ensuring that any modifications made to the data are immediately replicated to a secondary storage device. This helps to minimize the risk of data loss by providing a near-instantaneous backup of the data.
2. Point-in-time recovery: CDP allows for point-in-time recovery, meaning that administrators can restore data to a specific point in time before a data loss event occurred. This feature is particularly useful in scenarios where data corruption or accidental deletion occurs, as it enables the recovery of data from a known good state.
3. Granular recovery options: CDP provides granular recovery options, allowing administrators to recover individual files or folders rather than restoring the entire dataset. This granularity helps to minimize the impact of data loss by quickly recovering only the necessary data, reducing downtime and improving recovery time objectives (RTOs).
4. Continuous backups: Unlike traditional backup methods that perform periodic backups at set intervals, CDP continuously backs up data as it changes. This ensures that even the most recent modifications are protected, minimizing the potential loss of data between backup intervals.
5. Improved data resiliency: By providing continuous replication and point-in-time recovery capabilities, CDP enhances the overall data resiliency of NAS devices like Promise VTrak M310i. In the event of a hardware failure, data corruption, or other data loss events, CDP helps ensure that the most up-to-date copies of the data are readily available for recovery.
6. Reduced recovery point objective (RPO): CDP mechanisms offer a significantly lower RPO compared to traditional backup methods. Since data changes are continuously captured and replicated, the RPO can be reduced to near-zero, minimizing the potential loss of data in case of a failure.

Overall, continuous data protection mechanisms provide a robust and reliable solution for minimizing potential data loss on NAS Promise VTrak M310i devices by offering real-time replication, point-in-time recovery, granular recovery options, continuous backups, improved data resiliency, and reduced RPO.

How to Remove Hard Disks from Your NAS and Connect Them to a PC

Although the NAS VTrak M310i can be accessed over the network, you still need to remove its hard disks and connect them directly to a Windows PC. Only then can the recovery software properly scan and analyze the drives. Follow these steps:

1. Power off the NAS and disconnect it from the power source.

   WARNING! Before removing any drives, carefully read the device manual. Improper actions may damage both the NAS enclosure and the hard disks in the RAID array.

2. Remove the hard disks one by one, gently sliding each drive out of its slot. Remember that hard disks are highly sensitive: any impact or drop can cause serious physical damage.

3. Label each hard disk according to its position inside the NAS. The order of the drives is crucial for correct RAID reconstruction.

4. Connect the drives to your computer. In this video, we explain which ports you can use to connect hard disks and what to do if your PC does not have enough free connectors.

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   How to Order Remote Data Recovery

Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program restores data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Promise VTrak M310i. Each hard disk in the array contains technical metadata describing how files were written. When launched, Hetman RAID Recovery analyzes this metadata, automatically reconstructs the damaged array, and provides access to its contents. After that, you can browse the recovered disk and save your files. The program can also restore files that were accidentally deleted from the network drive.

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How to recover data from a Promise

VTrak M310i has 12 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;

How to Safely Recover Data from Disk Images

This utility allows you to create a complete copy of a disk and work with the disk image instead of the physical drive. This approach helps protect your data from:

• Overwriting during the recovery process;
• Additional data loss caused by bad sectors;
• User errors.

To create a disk image, follow these steps:

1. Ensure you have enough free space to store the image. Its size will typically match the size of the original disk.

2. In the main window, select the target disk and choose Tools - Save Disk. You can also select multiple disks if needed.

3. When the Image Creation Wizard opens, select whether you want to save the entire disk or only a specific region. Adjust the settings and click Next.

   

4. Choose the directory where the image will be saved. You may select any available disk connected to your PC or upload the image via FTP.

   

Where Are the User’s Files Actually Stored?

The Promise VTrak M310i 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.

RAID Recovery Software: Detailed Comparison