[Detailed tutorial] Hardware RAID Recovery

A storage device consisting of several disks combined into a single storage using RAID technology can be created either using software, or using a controller, or using a network device. On this page you can read about the differences - Software RAID vs hardware RAID vs NAS device .

A hardware RAID array is one that is made using a RAID controller. That is, several disks are connected to a RAID controller, which, in turn, are installed on the computer's motherboard.

If you are unable to access data stored on a hardware RAID array, then you can use the following steps to recover your data:

  1. Check if you have a backup of your data. If it is, use it for data recovery. We wrote an article on why RAID is not a backup and published it on a respected NAS review site. You can find the text of the article on this page.
  2. Try to reboot the RAID controller. If the reboot goes smoothly, there is a high chance that everything will work as before. If during the reboot you get messages about the need to initialize disks or partitions, please do not agree.
  3. Replace the controller with a new one. If you buy exactly this model of a RAID controller, then there is a high probability that it will recognize the disks and everything will be fine. However, we do not recommend doing this, as there is a possibility that the new RAID controller will create a new array.
  4. Connect the RAID array to another computer and check if the data is visible on it. If the data is visible, copy it to another disk or flash drive. If this worked, then most likely you have a problem with the motherboard.
  5. If the RAID controller is broken, then the safest way to get the data back is to try to recover the data using special RAID recovery software. Below we will describe in detail how to recover data from a hardware array using the software.

Hardware RAID Recovery using software

  1. Download and run a free software to recover the parameters of a hardware array - ReclaiMe Free RAID Recovery.
  2. Select all drives from a hardware RAID and run a scan for the type of array that was originally - RAID0, RAID5, RAID6 or other RAIDs. If you don't know exactly what type of array was used, read the information on this page, using which you can determine the type of the original hardware array.
    3. RAID0 recovery
  3. Wait while the software determines the array configuration.
  4. Once the software completes the scan, click the Run ReclaiMe to recover data button.
  5. If ReclaiMe File Reovery is already installed on the computer, it will start automatically. If not, you will be offered to download it.
  6. ReclaiMe will open immediately in the array recovery mode. Select Reconstructed RAID and click Start.
  7. Wait for 3-5% of the scan and evaluate the recovery result using the Preview function.
    8. RAID0 recovery
  8. If the files look good in the Preview window, save them to another storage device.

If data recovery fails, you may need to contact a data recovery specialist. He or she will be able to assess the situation and offer the best recovery option. We recommend contacting a reliable data recovery service - SalvageData.

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