A client in Birmingham experienced a catastrophic failure of their QNAP NAS device configured in RAID 5. The following symptoms were reported:
- The NAS device was not booting up, making all stored data inaccessible.
- Two red lights on the front panel indicated two simultaneous hard drive failures.
- No RAID rebuild option was available, meaning the system could not recover automatically.
- Clicking, beeping, and grinding noises were heard from multiple hard drives, suggesting severe mechanical failure affecting the platters, read/write heads, or motor.
- The NAS contained critical business data, and no recent backup was available.
Since RAID 5 requires at least one functional drive to rebuild data, a multi-step forensic data recovery approach was required.
Our Expertise in QNAP NAS & RAID 5 Data Recovery
With 25 years of experience, our team specialises in:
✔ Recovering RAID 5 arrays after multiple disk failures
✔ Repairing physically damaged NAS hard drives
✔ Using forensic RAID reconstruction techniques to restore lost data
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the QNAP NAS device and failed hard drives, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic evaluation. The key findings included:
- Two hard drives suffered mechanical failure, causing RAID corruption.
- Read/write head crashes prevented normal access to data.
- The RAID metadata was corrupt, making automatic recovery impossible.
To successfully recover the client’s business data, we implemented a multi-step forensic NAS recovery strategy:
Step 1: Drive Repair & Imaging
- Opened the two failed drives.
- Replaced damaged read/write heads with donor parts from matching hard drives.
- Used specialized techniques to free stuck platters and restore drive functionality.
Step 2: Cloning & RAID Reconstruction
- Created sector-by-sector clones of all functional drives to prevent further data loss.
- Analysed RAID metadata to manually reconstruct the RAID 5 array.
- Simulated the missing drives to rebuild striping and parity data.
Step 3: File System Recovery & Data Extraction
- Restored the EXT4/Btrfs file system used in the QNAP NAS.
- Extracted business-critical files, databases, and shared network folders.
Step 4: Data Integrity Verification & Secure Transfer
- Conducted full file validation to ensure all recovered data was intact and usable.
- Successfully transferred the recovered files to a new secure NAS system for the client.
The Result
We successfully recovered 99.5% of the client’s business data, including:
✅ Financial records, business documents, and customer databases
✅ Project files, contracts, and shared work folders
✅ Archived multimedia files and company backups
The client was able to restore their operations without losing critical information.
Why Choose Birmingham Data Recovery for QNAP NAS & RAID 5 Data Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in NAS and RAID 5 multi-disk failure recovery.
✅ Advanced RAID Reconstruction – Rebuilding lost RAID arrays even after multiple drive failures.
✅ Fast & Secure Process – Ensuring minimal downtime and 100% data confidentiality.
If your QNAP NAS device has failed, is not booting, or has suffered multiple disk failures, contact Birmingham Data Recovery today for professional assistance!
