How to Recover Data From a Broken RAID Set?

Raid is a unique data storage technology, which basically stores the same data in different locations to secure critical data during any kind of drive failure. But what happens when you get a damaged or broken RAID due to human error, malware attack, or an abrupt system failure? 

Well, if a RAID breaks or corrupts due to some unforeseen circumstance, the RAID volume becomes inaccessible and data is lost. And, to regain the lost data, you must reconstruct the whole RAID configuration. 

So, in this article, I’m going to walk you through a step-by-step guide on how you can recover data from a broken RAID array. Along with how you can leverage some of the most powerful RAID recovery tools, such as Stellar Data Recovery Technician, for more convenience. 

But First, What Are The Actual Symptoms of a RAID Array Failure? 

There are different levels of the Raid set, each with different fault manifestations. So, here take a look at some of the common RAID failure signs. 

• Error message: The RAID disk drive will display different error codes or messages — all related to controller failures, parity issues, and data access faults. 
• Frequent System Hangs or Freezes: Frequent system crashes are also a major sign of a RAID array failure. 
• Abnormal Noises: If your RAID drive is making some strange sounds such as grinding, clicking, or beeping noises, it is likely to be a hardware problem. 
• Unexpected Restarts: If Your system faces some unexpected restarts, especially during the I/O tasks (Which the CPU can’t perform on its own) it clearly depicts a RAID disk hardware issue. 

Do You know? 

The term RAID was first used in the June 1988 paper “A Case for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)” by David Patterson, Garth Gibson, and Randy Katz at the SIGMOD Conference. 

A few Considerations before recovering the Data from a broken RAID set

Before you deep down into the actual process of recovering the data, here are few considerations that you need to be careful of: 

• Stop Using the Broken RAID Array: Do you know, that the longer you use a broken RAID set, the harder it becomes to recover the lost data?

  This is why it is often advised to stop using the RAID set as soon as you identify the problem. And, do not try to perform any kind of hit-and-trial method, especially due the complexity of RAID array. 

   Unplug the Broken RAID Set: Unplug the broken RAID set and disconnect the hard drives from the rack. 
• Connect The Hard Drives to a Windows PC: After successfully disconnecting the hard drive from the RAID rack, now connect each drive to a Windows PC. You can even use the SATA/IDE Connectors or a USB 3.0 converter cable (if you don’t have enough SATA/IDE ports in your system).
• Check The Disk SMART Status: Use powerful RAID data Recovery Software such as Stellar Data Recovery Technician, which will help you check the SMART disk status before the actual recovery process. 

3 Simple Steps to Recover Data From a Broken RAID Set

So, now that you have a little background on some common signs you might face during a RAID set failure. Here are some simple steps to rebuild the broken RAID sets and access all your critical files. This process will provide a deeper insight into the drive and help you find out whether the drive can survive the data recovery scan or not. 

• Step 1: Scan The RAID Drive: Select a strong RAID recovery software and choose the RAID drive that needs data recovery. Now navigate to the scan button and wait for the scanning process to be completed. After the scanning is done, the deleted files will show up on your screen one by one.

  

• Step 2: Find the Lost RAID Files: Now that you have a proper list of the deleted RAID files, find the related data by using its name or extension on the search bar. Additionally, you can also use the “Filters” or “Sort” feature for quick navigation.

  

• Step 3: Restore the Lost Data: After finding the desired data, you can now save it to an external drive. And that is how you rebuild the broken RAID set for data recovery.

  

Conclusion

In closing, RAID array failure can be a complex situation, and recovering the lost data can require several considerations to be taken care of. This is why it is often advised to utilize a powerful RAID data recovery software such as Stellar Data Recovery Technician, as it has all the essentials required for a safer data recovery. 

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