NAS Recovery

While NAS devices are generally reliable for storage, they can still experience failures. If you find yourself unable to access data stored on a NAS, you may attempt data recovery using specialized NAS recovery software. Typically, NAS data recovery involves retrieving the disks from a NAS, connecting them to a PC, and utilizing data recovery software to extract files.

Supported NAS devices

  • QNAP
  • NETGEAR ReadyNAS
  • Synology
  • Buffalo LinkStation and TeraStation
  • Seagate BlackArmor
  • Iomega Storcenter
  • Thecus
  • Western Digital
  • LaCie
  • ASUSTOR
  • btrfs-based NAS servers
  • ...and many other

NAS data recovery using ReclaiMe

Below are instructions for a comprehensive NAS data recovery process, which entails turning off the device, removing the drives, and connecting them directly to a PC. If your NAS is operational, and you only need to recover a few deleted files, you can first attempt data recovery directly from the functioning NAS device in read-only mode, as described here.

  1. Remove the disks from the NAS and connect them to the PC. Remember to turn off the power and unplug the device from the wall socket when disconnecting and connecting the disks. Label each disk according to its corresponding bay in the NAS; these labels will facilitate reassembly if necessary. If Windows prompts you to "Initialize disks" or "Format" them, refrain from doing so. For more information on why you should extract the disks from the NAS during data recovery, refer to this page.
  2. Download and install ReclaiMe File Recovery software. Most NAS devices use md-raid or LVM drivers to manage an array. ReclaiMe can parse md-raid and LVM control structures if they are not severely damaged.
  3. Select the NAS volume you wish to recover and click Start. For the btrfs-based NASes like NETGEAR, the volume will be under the BTRFS section; for other NASes, search for it under the Linux md-raid or Linux LVM section.
    4. Select md-raid volume in ReclaiMe
  4. Wait for the ReclaiMe File Recovery initiate the file retrieval process and assess the quality of the recovery using the Preview feature.
    Check the quality of the recovery in ReclaiMe
  5. After confirming the successful recovery, proceed to purchase the license key. Subsequently, copy the retrieved data to the designated storage device that has been prepared for this purpose.
IMPORTANT NOTE:

In case the array is not visible in ReclaiMe File Recovery, it is essential to perform RAID configuration recovery first using ReclaiMe Free RAID Recovery software. Once the parameters are identified, proceed by selecting "Run ReclaiMe to recover data" within the ReclaiMe Free RAID Recovery tool. For a comprehensive tutorial, please click here. Click here for detailed tutorial.

All the steps on video

NAS Recovery Feedback

I accidently deleted files off my NAS…

I accidently deleted files off my NAS and quickly started searching for a recommended software to do the recovery with. I came across Reclaime and it has worked well with no issues. I'm happy to have the data back in my own hands.

rukey

Does a good job

I used ReclaiMe to restore deleted files from an accidentally factory-reset Buffalo Linkstation running Raid0. Overall, it did what it claimed to do, which was locate and restore files not overwritten after the reset. There was some weirdness in the results, such as 10GB shortcut files, JPEGS being identified as DOCX, etc. The search filters are surprisingly robust. They could do with a bit more granulation in functionality, but overall they helped me filter out erroneously discovered files.

BTG Works

Reclaime saved 1TB of my data from NAS…

Reclaime saved 1TB of my data from NAS server with Btrfs after accidental deletion.

Michal Koval

overall user rating - 4.8

You can see more reviews about ReclaiMe software on the Trustpilot site.

Still have questions?