NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-863U-RP RAID Array Format Recovery: Recovering Lost Data

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 data fragmentation impact data availability and potential loss on NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-863U-RP devices?

Data fragmentation can have several impacts on data availability and potential loss on NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-863U-RP devices:

1. Reduced performance: Data fragmentation can lead to decreased read and write speeds on the NAS device. This can result in slower access times for files and applications, affecting overall system performance.
2. Increased disk wear: Fragmentation causes the NAS device's hard drive to work harder to locate and retrieve fragmented data. This increased disk activity can lead to accelerated wear and tear on the drive, potentially resulting in higher chances of disk failure and data loss.
3. Storage inefficiency: Fragmentation can consume more storage space than necessary. As files are stored in non-contiguous blocks, free space between fragmented files becomes unusable. This reduces the available storage capacity on the NAS device and can lead to premature disk space exhaustion.
4. Data loss risk: Fragmentation increases the risk of data loss, especially during disk maintenance operations like defragmentation or disk repair. If a disk failure occurs during these operations, there is a higher chance of data corruption or loss due to the scattered nature of fragmented data.
5. Difficulty in data recovery: In the event of data loss or corruption, fragmented data can be more challenging to recover. Fragmented files may be spread across multiple disk sectors, making it harder for data recovery software to reconstruct the complete files.

To mitigate these risks, it is recommended to regularly defragment the NAS device's hard drives using the built-in defragmentation tools provided by QNAP. This process rearranges fragmented data into contiguous blocks, improving overall performance and reducing the risk of data loss. Additionally, maintaining sufficient free space on the NAS device and implementing proper backup strategies can help minimize the impact of data fragmentation on data availability and potential loss.

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

Although NAS Turbo Station TS-863U-RP 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 Turbo Station TS-863U-RP. 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

Turbo Station TS-863U-RP has 8 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• 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);

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 Turbo Station TS-863U-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.

Comparison of software for RAID recovery