Essential Features for NAS QNAP VS-8124U-RP Pro Data Recovery in a Home Environment

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS QNAP VS-8124U-RP Pro
• 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.

Are there any recommended practices for regular testing and validation of data backups to prevent potential loss on NAS QNAP VS-8124U-RP Pro devices?

Yes, there are recommended practices for regular testing and validation of data backups to prevent potential loss on NAS QNAP VS-8124U-RP Pro devices. Here are some best practices:

1. Regular Backup Schedule: Set up a regular backup schedule to ensure that your data is backed up at regular intervals. This can be done daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on your data's criticality and frequency of changes.
2. Multiple Backup Copies: Maintain multiple backup copies of your data. This can include having both on-site and off-site backups. On-site backups can be stored on the QNAP NAS device, while off-site backups can be stored on external hard drives or cloud storage solutions.
3. Verify Backup Integrity: Regularly verify the integrity of your backups by performing test restores. This involves restoring a small subset of data from the backup to ensure that it can be successfully recovered. This will help identify any issues with the backup process or data corruption.
4. Test Recovery Procedures: Periodically test the recovery procedures to ensure that you can restore your data from the backups effectively. This includes testing the process of restoring data from both on-site and off-site backups.
5. Monitor Backup Status: Regularly monitor the backup status and logs to ensure that backups are running successfully without any errors or warnings. This will help you identify any issues or failures in the backup process.
6. Regularly Update Backup Software: Keep your backup software and firmware up to date to ensure that you have the latest features, bug fixes, and security patches. This will help prevent any vulnerabilities that could lead to data loss.
7. Implement RAID or Redundancy: Consider implementing RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) or other redundancy mechanisms to protect against disk failures. This will help ensure that your data remains accessible even if one or more disks fail.
8. Regularly Monitor Disk Health: Monitor the health of your NAS disks regularly using the built-in SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) feature. This will help identify any potential disk failures in advance, allowing you to replace them before data loss occurs.

By following these recommended practices, you can minimize the risk of potential data loss and ensure the reliability of your backups on QNAP VS-8124U-RP Pro devices.

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

Although the NAS VS-8124U-RP Pro 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 VS-8124U-RP Pro. 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

VS-8124U-RP Pro has 8 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 VS-8124U-RP Pro 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