How to Identify and Recover from Mechanical and Logical Failures in NAS QNAP NVR-104V RAID Arrays

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 QNAP 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 the number of drives in a NAS QNAP NVR-104V device's RAID array impact data recovery and potential loss?

The number of drives in a NAS QNAP NVR-104V device's RAID array can impact data recovery and potential loss in the following ways:

1. Data redundancy: RAID arrays are designed to provide redundancy by distributing data across multiple drives. The more drives in the array, the higher the level of redundancy. With more drives, the RAID array can tolerate the failure of one or more drives without losing data. This improves data recovery chances as the failed drive(s) can be replaced, and the array can be rebuilt using the data from the remaining drives.
2. Fault tolerance: RAID arrays with more drives can provide higher fault tolerance. Different RAID levels offer different levels of fault tolerance, such as RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, etc. With more drives in the array, you can choose a RAID level that offers better protection against drive failures. This reduces the risk of data loss and improves the chances of successful data recovery.
3. Rebuild time: When a drive fails in a RAID array, the array needs to be rebuilt using the data from the remaining drives. The time required for this rebuild process increases with the number of drives in the array. During this rebuild process, the array is vulnerable, and if another drive fails, it can lead to data loss. Therefore, larger RAID arrays may have a longer rebuild time, increasing the risk of potential data loss.
4. Backup strategy: The number of drives in a RAID array should not be solely relied upon as a backup strategy. RAID provides redundancy and fault tolerance, but it is not a substitute for regular backups. It is crucial to have a separate backup solution in place to protect against data loss due to various factors like hardware failure, accidental deletion, or malware.

In summary, having more drives in a NAS QNAP NVR-104V device's RAID array can improve data recovery chances and reduce the risk of data loss due to drive failures. However, it is essential to have a comprehensive backup strategy in place to ensure data protection.

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

Although NAS NVR-104V 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 QNAP NVR-104V. 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 QNAP

NVR-104V has 1 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• Q-RAID 1;

NAS supports:

• FAT32 (External Disk Only);
• NTFS (External Disk Only);
• HFS+ (External Disk Read Only);

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 QNAP NVR-104V network-attached storage keeps QTS (QuTS hero) 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