Recover RAID Data

Need to recover RAID data servers that have had their array go astray? There are two directions you can go in cases of catastrophic RAID array repair: the right way, and the painful, wrong way. The right way features fast results, smooth transition and as little downtime as possible. The wrong way features hard drive failures, permanently lost mission critical data and panic. Which way would you prefer to recover your RAID?

Data Importance

When looking to recover RAID arrays when more than a single drive has failed, the key to how to handle it is in the data itself. Are you running a RAID 0 array because it helps your system perform better when you're playing Call Of Duty? Better to consider just rebuilding the RAID array from scratch. RAID repair rarely comes cheap, as it is such a specialized task that many hard drive recovery companies actually do not provide it. So if your machine doesn't really have anything absolutely critical to your life, it may be better to just bite the bullet, buy some new hard drives and start again.

On the other hand, are you running a RAID 5 accessed by 50 of your organization's staff several times per day? Is the data they use critical to normal business operations? Have a failed RAID 10 running an entire department's Exchange Server? If any of these cases are true, it's time to consider a professional data recovery service to recover your RAID array. As the old adage notes, time is indeed money, and wasting that precious time attempting to recover RAID arrays with hard drives that have mechanically failed is a very bad idea.

Speed Counts

When a mission critical RAID server is down, every minute can seem like hours in terms of lost resources. Finding a professional RAID data recovery service is very easy, but if speed counts, consider doing web searches on terms like: 24 hour RAID recovery, or overnight RAID data recovery.

The fact is, while many shops do offer what they call "expedited" services, there are a select few RAID repair shops that can provide emergency shipping services that ensure your recovered RAID array is fixed and returned within 24 hours. What's more, this 1-day service is often equal or less than the cost of multiple day "expedited" RAID recovery. Saving time and money in a RAID emergency is always a great plan.

Quick Don'ts When It Comes To RAID Data Recovery

There are certain things IT administrators will try before calling a RAID repair service which may help not only the repair, but may actually solve the problem. Here are just a few of them:

Keep RAID drive order the same - If you have a double hard disk drive failure in your RAID, or even a single one, make sure you keep the drives in the same order. Moving drives around the enclosure can actually allow your controller to destroy data forever. Keep things as they were, and all will be OK.

Do a connections check - Although it is the most obvious, and simple technique out there, many people do not bother to check all cables and hardware connections to make sure everything is snug. Although it doesn't happen very often, paying to ship out a mission critical server only to find out a cable was loose is the most embarrassing thing to happen to a tech. Don't make that mistake!

Avoid CHKDSK - Everyone wants to go to the CHKDSK, Windows built-in disk checker, when it comes to data recovery. Here's a tip: don't do it! CHKDSK can corrupt not only the structure of the RAID array, but the parity. This is NOT something you need when you're having a RAID emergency.

No matter your server problem, professional hardware requires professional help when hard drives crash. Remember this the next time you attempt to recover RAID arrays.

See the RAID Data Recovery Services Group difference today, and ensure the safety of your mission critical data now. Call us on our toll free line above, or expedite the process by filling in our RAID data recovery quote form here.

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