NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-963X RAID Array Formatting: Recovery Steps You Need to Know

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-963X
• 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 Turbo Station TS-963X devices?

Conducting regular backups on external storage devices can mitigate data loss risks for NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-963X devices in the following ways:

1. Redundancy: By regularly backing up your data to external storage devices, you create a redundant copy of your important files. In case of data loss on the NAS device, you can restore the data from the external backup, minimizing the impact.
2. Protection against hardware failure: NAS devices can experience hardware failures, such as hard drive crashes or power supply issues. Regularly backing up data to external storage devices ensures that even if the NAS hardware fails, your data remains safe and accessible.
3. Protection against accidental deletion or user errors: Human errors, like accidentally deleting files or overwriting important data, can lead to data loss. By maintaining regular backups on external storage devices, you can recover the lost data without any hassle.
4. Protection against malware or ransomware attacks: Malicious software or ransomware attacks can encrypt or corrupt data on your NAS device. Having backups on external storage devices allows you to restore your data to a previous, unaffected state, effectively mitigating the impact of such attacks.
5. Off-site storage: External storage devices can be taken off-site, providing an additional layer of protection against physical damage, theft, or natural disasters that could affect the NAS device and its backups. Storing backups in a different location ensures that your data remains safe even if something happens to the NAS device.
6. Version control: Regular backups allow you to maintain multiple versions of your data. In case you need to revert to an earlier version of a file or recover a deleted file, you can easily retrieve it from the backup.

It is important to follow best practices for backups, such as scheduling regular automated backups, verifying the integrity of backups, and periodically testing the restoration process to ensure that the backups are functional and reliable.

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

Although the NAS Turbo Station TS-963X 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-963X. 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-963X has 9 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);

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-963X 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