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RAID Recovery: Is it possible?

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I’m using RAID 5 array for my data storage. But now drive partition is missing. Is there any way to recover that lost partition or data stored in that partition.

Any suggestion will be really helpful.

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Methods to recover RAID partition

In reply to RAID Recovery: Is it possible?

RAID 5 is the most common and secures RAID level. However, sometimes unexpected RAID failure may create severe issues. One such issue is RAID partition loss. This may happen due to various reasons, such as:

• Human errors
• Malware or virus attack
• Sudden power failure
• Abrupt system shutdown
• Server crash
• Bad sectors
• Other software and hardware related errors

Here are the methods you can perform to recover RAID lost partitions:

1. Restore RAID Partition via Disk Management Tool
2. Repair Corrupt RAID Partition via CHKDSK Scan
3. Use a RAID Partition Recovery Tool

A RAID partition recovery tool such as Stellar Data Recovery Technician not only helps recover data from a RAW or corrupt RAID partition but also retrieves data from deleted or missing RAID partitions, which are not visible in the Disk Management tool.

Thanks for the suggestion

In reply to Methods to recover RAID partition

Really thankful to you for your suggestion. I will definitely try the given methods and if nothing works in favor I will surely give a shot to that Stellar RAID recovery tool.

[chriss.morrion]

Reply To: RAID Recovery: Is it possible?

In reply to RAID Recovery: Is it possible?

If a partition goes missing on RAID 5, it’s definitely frustrating, but there’s often still a way to recover the data. RAID 5 is designed to tolerate the loss of one drive, so all might not be lost yet. Maybe the problem is already solved, but here’s a breakdown of what you can try in these situations.

First, check the physical condition of the drives in the array. If one of them is failing, that could be the root cause. Use SMART diagnostics with a tool like smartctl or similar to see if the disks are in good shape. If any of the drives show signs of trouble, it’s a good idea to create disk images before doing anything else, so you don’t risk losing more data.

Make sure you don’t write anything to the array. Writing to it could overwrite parts of the lost data, making recovery impossible. Always work with disk images instead of the original drives. You can create an image using dd. For example:

dd if=/dev/sdX of=/path/to/image.img

Repeat this for each disk in the array. If the RAID still shows up as a single device, you can create an image of the entire array instead.

If the issue is related to a missing or corrupted partition table, try using TestDisk. This is a simple tool that scans the disk and attempts to recover lost partitions. It’s pretty intuitive, even if you haven’t used it before. Just select your RAID or disk image as the target, and follow the prompts. It’s often possible to restore the partitions with this method.

If the RAID disk is visible but shows as RAW and inaccessible, you can try running chkdsk. Use the following command:

chkdsk X: /f

Where X is the letter of your RAID disk. Be cautious here—if the filesystem is heavily damaged, chkdsk might make things worse. Always create a backup or an image before trying this.

For more complex cases, you can turn to specialized recovery tools like R-Studio or UFS Explorer RAID Recovery. These tools allow you to manually reconstruct the array if it has become “broken” (e.g., you need to specify disk order, block size, etc.) and recover data from it. If simpler tools don’t work, Stellar Data Recovery Technician might also help, especially if the array is still somewhat accessible.

Focus on creating disk images and working with them to avoid making the situation worse. TestDisk is a great first step, and RAID recovery tools can handle tougher cases. Hopefully, these steps help someone facing a similar issue.

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by chriss.morrion.

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