How do I replace a failing disk in QNAP?

If your QNAP used a redundant array layer such as RAID5, RAID10 or RAID6, then the drive replacement process will not be difficult. If you used a non-redundant array type such as RAID0, then if a disk fails, unfortunately, all data is lost forever. If one of the drives in QNAP is broken, you will most likely see this message:

Replace the failed disk with a new one. Next you will receive the following message:

The array rebuild time depends on the number of disks and the size. For a rough estimate, we give the following values: for a RAID5, consisting of three 500 GB disks, it took 2 hours for a complete rebuild.

It is very important that no external factors, such as a power outage, prevent the rebuilding from being completed successfully. If the rebuild is not completed successfully, then there is a high chance that the metadata will be destroyed and you will not be able to access the data on QNAP. Therefore, it is very important to have a backup of your data. If you are unlucky, the rebuild of the array was not successful and you do not have a backup copy, then the only way to get the data back is to restore it using a special software for data recovery from QNAP devices - ReclaiMe. Detailed instructions and a video showing the entire process can be found on the page - How to recover data from QNAP device.

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