NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are essentially specialized computers running RAID arrays. When they fail, recovery requires expertise in both the hardware and the RAID configuration.
Common NAS Failure Types
- Single drive failure in RAID: Often recoverable by replacing the drive — but a failed rebuild can lose everything
- Multiple drive failures: Requires professional RAID reconstruction
- NAS controller/OS failure: Drives may be fine but inaccessible
- Accidental deletion or share misconfiguration: Logical recovery needed
- Power surge: Can damage both the NAS and multiple drives simultaneously
Popular NAS Brands We Recover
- Synology: DiskStation, RackStation series
- QNAP: TS, TVS, TES series
- Buffalo: TeraStation, LinkStation
- Western Digital: My Cloud, WD Sentinel
- Drobo: Drobo 5N, 5C, 8D
- Netgear ReadyNAS
Why NAS Recovery Is Complex
NAS devices add layers of complexity beyond standard RAID:
- Proprietary file systems (Btrfs, ext4 on Linux-based NAS)
- Custom RAID implementations (Synology SHR, Drobo BeyondRAID)
- Volume managers and storage pools
- Network share permissions and configurations
What NOT to Do
- Don't reinitialize or reset the NAS — this wipes the configuration
- Don't remove drives and rearrange them — drive order matters
- Don't attempt a RAID rebuild if more than one drive has issues
- Don't format individual drives to "fix" them
Recovery Process
- Ship the entire NAS unit with all drives (labeled by bay position)
- We diagnose each drive individually
- Failed drives are recovered in our clean room
- The RAID array is reconstructed virtually
- Data is extracted and verified