Data Recovery After RAID Array Format on NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP: Recovery Tips and Tricks

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP
• 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 data redundancy techniques such as mirroring or replication enhance data availability and protect against loss on NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices?

Data redundancy techniques such as mirroring or replication can enhance data availability and protect against loss on NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices in the following ways:

1. Mirroring: Mirroring, also known as RAID 1, involves creating an exact copy of data on multiple drives. In the case of QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices, you can set up a RAID 1 configuration with two drives. This ensures that if one drive fails, the other drive still contains a complete copy of the data, allowing for uninterrupted access to the data and minimizing downtime.
2. Replication: Replication involves creating multiple copies of data and storing them on different devices or locations. QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices support various replication methods, such as RTRR (Real-Time Remote Replication) or rsync. These methods allow you to replicate data to another QNAP NAS or an external storage device, either locally or remotely. By having multiple copies of the data, you ensure that even if one device or location fails, the data remains accessible and protected.
3. High Availability (HA): QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U-RP devices support High Availability, which involves setting up two identical NAS devices in an active-passive configuration. In this setup, one NAS acts as the active unit, handling all data operations, while the other NAS remains in a passive state, ready to take over in case of a failure. The active and passive units constantly synchronize data, ensuring that if the active unit fails, the passive unit seamlessly takes over, minimizing downtime and ensuring data availability.
4. Snapshot and Backup: QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices offer snapshot and backup features. Snapshots allow you to take point-in-time copies of your data, providing a quick way to recover from accidental deletions or modifications. Backups can be scheduled to create copies of data to external devices or cloud storage, providing an additional layer of protection against data loss.

By implementing these data redundancy techniques, QNAP Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP devices ensure that data remains available even in the event of hardware failures, accidental deletions, or other data loss scenarios.

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

Although the NAS Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP 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 Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP. 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

Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP has 4 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

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

NAS supports:

• ZFS;
• EXT4;
• EXT3;
• 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 Turbo Station TS-463U / TS-463U-RP 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