NETGEAR recovery

NETGEAR is one of the well-known NAS vendors. Inside its ReadyNAS devices disks are combined into a RAID and used to store data, plus provide a variety of other storage-related services. All these functions are controlled by a Linux-based operating system inside the NAS, which NETGEAR calls “NAS OS”. NETGEAR devices can be divided into two groups.

  • The first group includes the devices released before 2013 with operating system versions prior to NAS OS 6. In these "old" NETGEAR devices data storage is organized in the following way – disks are cut into partitions which are combined into a RAID with md, and then md-arrays are combined into a single LVM volume. As for filesystem, Linux ext4 is used in such configurations.
  • The second group includes devices that use NAS OS 6, released in 2013 or later. In modern NETGEAR NASes data is stored in another way. Disks are still combined into a RAID using md, but the next level is BTRFS filesystem rather than LVM.

How to recover data from a NETGEAR ReadyNAS

If your Netgear NAS is working properly and all you need is to recover accidentally deleted data, try ReclaiMe NAS Recovery first: it can recover data from NAS devices directly, you do not need to get the disks out and the like. Refer here for the detailed instructions on how to recover deleted files from a Netgear drive.

If your ReadyNAS does not work you can recover data from it using ReclaiMe File Recovery. Note that ReclaiMe is able to recover data from NETGEAR devices using either ext 4 or BTRFS. So to recover data you need:

  1. Pull the disks out of the NETGEAR and connect them directly to a PC running Windows. If possible, use SATA ports on the motherboard, although USB is acceptable as well.
  2. Download and launch ReclaiMe File Recovery software.
  3. Select NETGEAR "disk" in the device list of ReclaiMe. Look for your NETGEAR device either under Linux LVM volumes section (older devices) or under BTRFS section (newer devices).
    4. Data recovery from a NetGear volume
  4. Wait until ReclaiMe File Recovery brings up data. Usually, you need to wait till 3-4% of the scan.
  5. Check the files and folders and if you are satisfied with the result, click the Save button and start copying data; otherwise, wait to see if more data is recovered.

If you do not see the NETGEAR volume in ReclaiMe File Recovery, most likely RAID records are significantly damaged. In this case, first you need to recover configuration of the RAID used in your NETGEAR and only thereafter start to recover data. To recover RAID parameters you need to use ReclaiMe Free RAID Recovery software.

What is X-RAID?

X-RAID is a disk combining technology created by Netgear and implemented in their network devices. This technology is based on the same RAID technology (mirroring and parity), which is widely used by all manufacturers of such devices, only with some features. Netgear manufacturer has focused on simplifying the process of expanding disk space. In simple words, the user does not need to delve into the intricacies of the array organization; if you want to increase the volume of the array, you simply insert a larger disk, and Netgear does everything itself. Array expansion is done on the fly, so you can continue to work with data stored on the device while disk space is being rebuilt. To use X-RAID technology you need at least 2 disks, because the capacity of one disk is always used to protect data. In terms of data recovery, X-RAID is recovered in the same way as regular RAID. ReclaiMe File Recovery software supports X-RAID Recovery.

All the steps on video

Still have questions?