Recovering Data from Two Failed Disks in a RAID 5 Array

Overview of RAID 5 Recovery

RAID was born to balance data redundancy or performance enhancement, or both. Although there are now many variants, such as nested RAID, the standard RAID levels still include RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10. They work using different technologies depending on the situation. Among these standard levels, RAID 5 stands out for its enhanced data security, excellent performance, high data redundancy, and acceptable cost.

• RAID 0 - Striped
• RAID 1 - Mirrored
• RAID 5 - Striped with Parity
• RAID 6 - Striped with Dual Parity
• RAID 10 - Combined Mirroring and Striping

In short, this RAID type requires a minimum of 3 disks to function and can be expanded up to 16 as needed. To achieve the best RAID 5 data recovery results, it is necessary to understand how RAID 5 works. As shown in the figure, data blocks are striped across drives, and a parity checksum of all block data is written to one of the drives. The parity data is not written to a fixed drive but is distributed across all drives. Using the parity data, a computer can recalculate the data of one of the data blocks if its data becomes unavailable. This means that a RAID 5 array can withstand a single drive failure without losing data or compromising data access.

In short, if one of the three or more drives in your RAID 5 array fails, crashes, or stops working, you don't have to worry. Most reputable RAID recovery software can easily help you get back your lost data. However, sometimes the problem is not with one but two drives. What then?

How to recover data from a RAID 5 with two failed disks?

A catastrophic failure occurs when two out of three disks fail simultaneously. In this case, the data on your RAID 5 is irrecoverable. If you were lucky enough to have a RAID array of five or more disks, you can attempt to recover it using a RAID data recovery tool such as Data Recovery Wizard.

tools Data Recovery Wizard is acclaimed as the most reliable, powerful, and efficient software to recover lost data from desktops, laptops, digital devices, hard drives (HDD, SSD), removable storage media (USB flash drive, memory card...), servers, RAID, etc. Apart from its ability to recover data from a failed hard drive or corrupted RAID 5, it also helps to retrieve data from lost partitions on RAID 5 or other levels.

Connect the failed hard drive to your computer and try the software for free as per the following guide. You can preview the scan results of the lost data on the hard drive before you actually recover it.

Video Tutorial: RAID 5 Data Recovery

• A Guide to Incremental Recovery of Files from a RAID 5 Disk

Step 1: Scan the RAID drives

Select the RAID disk from which you want to recover data and click “Scan”. Wait for the scanning process to complete; your deleted files will be displayed one by one.

Step 2: Search and preview the lost RAID files

You can use the “Filter” for quick navigation to find your deleted or lost files. In addition, you can use the search option to locate the lost RAID drive files by file name or file extension.

Step 3: Recover lost RAID drive files

Select the files you need, and click “Recover.” Browse and save these files to another secure location.

Manual Service - RAID 5 Data Recovery by Experts

The tool also offers RAID recovery services. Consult Data Recovery Experts for an economical and manual drive-by-drive recovery service to get immediate assistance.

RAID Data Recovery Services Utility

Contact our experts for a free evaluation.

Consult our Data Recovery Specialists for personalized assistance. After a free diagnosis, we offer the following services. Our experienced engineers, with their expertise, can repair damaged RAID configurations and recover data from all RAID levels.

• Data recovery from all RAID levels, including RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, etc.
• Data recovery from enterprise RAID systems like QNAP, Synology, WD, Buffalo, etc.
• Recovery of lost RAID data due to any issue.
• Repair of disks with GPT protected partitions.
• Remote RAID data recovery without the need for shipping.

100% RAID 5 Data Recovery – Backups

It is essential to avoid a double drive failure. As soon as you see one drive with an amber light, cease writing new data and force the RAID 5 array online. For recovery from a double drive failure in a RAID 5, a professional RAID recovery solution is the most time-effective and reliable option for a quick and complete data recovery.

While RAID 5 protects against single drive failure, it's important to be aware of the risk of two drives failing simultaneously, which can make it very difficult for even professional data recovery services to fully restore your data. It is crucial to regularly back up your RAID with an appropriate backup plan. Such a backup will ensure 100% recovery of your RAID 5 data in case of two or more problematic drives, as well as save you from the disastrous consequences of the main reason for data loss.

• Controller failure
• RAID array lost or deleted
• Incorrect RAID volume configuration
• Virus corruption or malware infection
• Sudden power outage