Steps to Recover Your NAS QNAP TES-3085U(QES) RAID Array: Recovery Essentials When It Breaks

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS QNAP TES-3085U(QES)
• 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 QNAP 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 conducting regular backups on external storage devices mitigate data loss risks for NAS QNAP TES-3085U(QES) devices?

Conducting regular backups on external storage devices can mitigate data loss risks for NAS QNAP TES-3085U(QES) devices in the following ways:

1. Redundancy: By backing up data on external storage devices, you create a redundant copy of your important files and data. In case of any data loss or corruption on the primary NAS device, you can restore the data from the external backup, ensuring its availability and integrity.
2. Disaster Recovery: External backups provide a means to recover data in case of a catastrophic event like hardware failure, natural disasters, or ransomware attacks. By regularly backing up data, you can restore the entire system or specific files and folders to a previous state, minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity.
3. Protection against Human Errors: Accidental deletion, overwriting, or modification of important files can happen due to human errors. By having backups on external storage devices, you can retrieve the previous versions of files or restore them entirely, mitigating the risk of permanent data loss.
4. Off-site Storage: Storing backups on external devices allows you to keep them off-site, away from the primary NAS device. This protects your data from physical damage, theft, or other local incidents that may affect the primary device. Off-site backups provide an extra layer of security and ensure that your data is safe even if the primary NAS device is compromised.
5. Versioning and Point-in-Time Recovery: Some backup solutions offer versioning and point-in-time recovery features. This allows you to restore specific versions of files or recover data from a specific point in time, which can be crucial in case of data corruption or accidental changes.
6. Flexibility and Portability: External storage devices provide flexibility in terms of storage capacity and portability. You can choose the appropriate size of the external device based on your backup needs and easily transfer the backups to different locations if required.

It is important to establish a regular backup schedule, ensure the integrity of the backups, and periodically test the restoration process to guarantee the effectiveness of your backup strategy.

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

Although the NAS TES-3085U(QES) 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 QNAP TES-3085U(QES). 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 QNAP

TES-3085U(QES) has 30 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• RAID 6;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 10;
• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• JBOD;

NAS supports:

• ZFS;
• EXT4;
• EXT3;
• exFAT;
• FAT32 (External Disk Only);
• NTFS (External Disk Only);
• HFS+ (External Disk Read Only);

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 QNAP TES-3085U(QES) 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.

RAID Recovery Software: Detailed Comparison