Practical Steps for Accessing Files on a RAID Disk Without an Active NAS Uniview VX1616-C

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS Uniview VX1616-C
• 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 Uniview 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 regular performance monitoring and optimization help in preventing data loss on NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices?

Regular performance monitoring and optimization can help prevent data loss on NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices in the following ways:

1. Early detection of potential issues: Regular performance monitoring allows you to identify any performance degradation or anomalies in the NAS device. This can help you detect potential issues that may lead to data loss, such as hardware failures, disk errors, or network connectivity problems.
2. Proactive maintenance and troubleshooting: By monitoring the performance of the NAS device, you can proactively address any underlying issues before they escalate and cause data loss. This includes performing regular maintenance tasks like firmware updates, disk health checks, and system optimizations to ensure the device is running smoothly.
3. Capacity planning and resource optimization: Performance monitoring helps you understand the resource utilization of the NAS device, including CPU, memory, and disk space. By analyzing this data, you can identify any bottlenecks or capacity constraints and take appropriate actions to optimize resource allocation. This prevents situations where the NAS device runs out of storage space or becomes overloaded, reducing the risk of data loss.
4. Backup and disaster recovery planning: Regular performance monitoring can help you assess the effectiveness of your backup and disaster recovery strategies. By monitoring backup job completion rates, data transfer speeds, and overall system performance, you can ensure that your data is adequately protected and recoverable in case of any unforeseen events or data loss incidents.
5. Security monitoring: Performance monitoring can also help in detecting any security breaches or unauthorized access attempts on the NAS device. By monitoring network traffic, user activity logs, and system logs, you can identify any suspicious activities that may compromise the integrity or confidentiality of your data. Prompt detection of such security threats can prevent data loss due to malicious actions.

Overall, regular performance monitoring and optimization provide valuable insights into the health and performance of NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices, allowing you to proactively address any issues and minimize the risk of data loss.

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

Although the NAS VX1616-C 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 Uniview VX1616-C. 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 Uniview

VX1616-C has 16 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

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

NAS supports:

• exFAT, VFAT, FAT 12 / 16 / 32;
• NTFS / ReFS;
• APFS / HFS+;
• Ext2 / 3 / 4 / ReiserFS / XFS / UFS / ZFS / Btrfs;
• VMFS / HikvisionFS;

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 Uniview VX1616-C network-attached storage keeps OS Linux 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