Navigating NAS Data Recovery: What You Need to Know

Data recovery is quickly becoming a general knowledge requirement for everyone. Of course, many people now use data for one reason or the other, and businesses now purely depend on data to gain an edge over competition and even to be able to grow. 

If you are using NAS devices and have lost some files in the process or just planning on using NAS and require a clear understanding of the data recovery process before something goes amiss, you are reading the right article. But first, you need to get a better picture of NAS systems.

What Exactly are NAS Devices?

NAS or Network-attached Storage basically refers to a storage device that is connected to a network.

NAS devices therefore have data storage functions and are sometimes referred to as data storage servers and may include SD/DVD drives, removable storage media, disk arrays, and in-built system software offering cross-platform file sharing capabilities. 

As a data hub, NAS is usually used by small and medium-sized enterprises. However, individuals also use them depending on their needs. 

In this guide, we will show you how to navigate the data recovery process with NAS. Maybe, see a comprehensive Disk Drill software review here before we show you how to use the top industry tools in your data recovery. 

You can also quickly navigate to the data recovery section to learn how to retrieve your files with Disk Drill before it is too late. 

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Best NAS For Home Office Productivity and Data Protection

How Do You Lose Data from NAS?

Well, just like conventional hard drives, data loss from NAS may be triggered by different conditions. Some of the common causes include:

  • Controller malfunction
  • Accidental deletion 
  • Incorrect RAID setup
  • Overheating 
  • Drive failure
  • Power outage
  • Error in the server registry configuration
  • System crashes
  • Multiple disk failures
  • Malware attack or virus

Can I Recover Lost Data from NAS?

Simply put, yes you can recover data from NAS regardless of how your data was lost. If your data was accidentally deleted, it is even easier.

This is because deleted files only disappear from the indexing system of the operating system. This means that your files will still remain on the drive making data recovery easy and simple. 

However, you do not need to get too comfortable when you lose data in whatever scenario. Acting with speed will help you save your files from overwrites that could otherwise permanently delete them from the hard drive. 

There are many options and methods to recover NAS data. We recommend using professional-grade data recovery software especially when you are dealing with crucial customer data. 

More Information on NAS Data Recovery

This is for your general information before you can perform NAS data recovery. NAS consists of multiple components including hard disks, processors, RAM, and an operating system for network connectivity.

If a NAS system has multiple hard drives, they are embedded with RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) for data redundancy.

When RAID is enabled on a system, it becomes possible to connect two or more hard drives so that they operate one large high-speed drive. To ensure high fault tolerance and data consistency, most NAS devices utilize different types of RAID.

Data Recovery Tools for NAS

Currently, there are many tools that support data recovery from NAS devices. In this section, we describe some of the top software solutions that users can use to recover data from NAS.

Consider reviewing this list carefully before choosing which tool best suits your scenario. Remember, always choose a tool with the best customer experience in terms of user-interface friendliness, affordability, and ease of navigation. 

1. Disk Drill NAS Recovery

Disk Drill is a professional tool for data recovery. It is a top-rated hard drive recovery software you can use on a wide variety of devices and can recover multiple file formats. The tool comes with robust architecture that enables it to perform several data recovery tasks on different devices including NAS devices with the highest success rate in the market. 

Employing both quick scan and deep scan technologies with a robust algorithm, this software ranks top among data recovery software today.

It is built for any device including Windows and Mac and will work perfectly well on any OS to safeguard your data against any loss scenarios. Besides, free recovery is also supported.

2. Runtime NAS Data Recovery

Runtime is a great tool for data recovery. Good for deleted files, Runtime supports various RAID versions including RAID 0, 1, and 5 single-drive configurations. It can also detect block size, drive order rotation, start sector, and other RAID parameters. 

It however has compatibility issues since it is not compatible with all NAS manufacturers. Manufacturers supported include Buffalo, Dlink, Seagate, and Western Digital formatted with XFS or EXT file systems. The files must therefore be configured as single-drive and RAID 0, 1, or 5.

The program is however easy to use to recover lost files, has a quick recovery action, and automatically detects block size, start sector, etc. 

3. DiskInternals RAID Recovery

This is the other tool you can recover NAS data with. It is capable of restoring files from corrupted RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, 50, 5EE, 6, 60, and JBOD. In addition, the software supports both software RAID and hardware and can recover data from multiple devices including NAS, Apple, UNIX, and RAID-enabled motherboards like NVIDIA, and Linux RAID.

With a proven success rate of up to 90%, it is a software worth trying with your NAS data. However, if you are not so sure, always return to Disk Drill NAS recovery.

4. Ontrack Data Recovery 

This is a popular and effective NAS data recovery software. The tool boasts the ability to recover data from NAS, DAS, SAN, and SDS devices. In addition, the tool is compatible with different operating systems and supports a variety of devices from different NAS manufacturers including Synology, Buffalo, GNAP, and LaCie.

With a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate user interface, this software is a preferred option for many people seeking data recovery tools. However, it does not offer free service and does not reveal the costs on its website tool. This makes it a little fishy to work with. 

5. ReclaiMe NAS Data Recovery

Getting a user-friendly tool for data recovery makes the whole process even safer. ReclaiMe is an ads-free tool that is easy to use. Although you cannot use this tool for a file-by-file recovery, you can seamlessly use it to recover NAS-configured RAID including disk order among others.

Additionally, you can only use this software to recover RAID 0, 5, 10, and 5E with delayed parity. It is however a good tool, plus it is free to use.

All the software we have discussed offers a variety in terms of features. However, Disk Drill stands out as a great tool for both non-technical and technical users.

From the easy-to-use UI, high recovery rate, and in-built functionalities, it is a tool to deploy for safe data recovery from NAS. We will show you how to navigate NAS data recovery with Disk Drill by CleverFiles.

How to Recover NAS Data with Disk Drill?

This is a straightforward process especially if you have attempted data recovery from DAS devices before. The step-by-step process below will help you with data recovery and ensure you are protecting all your files from future loss. 

  • Step 1: Download and install the software.
  • Step 2: Launch it to run on your PC and select your NAS device.
  • Step 3: Scan the device for lost files. This will take some minutes depending on the volume of the device and the size of the lost data.
  • Step 4: Select the files you need to recover and choose to send them to a different location to avoid file overwrite.

This is a very straightforward process. The good thing, there are easy-to-follow on-screen prompts that will ensure you do not skip a stage and that you only recover the files you need in this data recovery process.

Conclusion 

NAS devices are a great solution especially when dealing with big data and want to enjoy the convenience of sharing access to files across devices. If you face any data loss incidents with NAS, use professional data recovery software to quickly retrieve your data.

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