Surrey, BC · RAID 0/1/5/6/10 · NAS · SAN · All Controllers
Your RAID array failed.
We rebuild what was lost.
A RAID array going down is a worst-case scenario — but it's recoverable far more often than people think. Whether it's a single drive failure in RAID 5, a catastrophic RAID 0 collapse, or a rebuild that went wrong, we reconstruct the array from raw drive images without the original controller.
No Data, No Fee
All RAID Levels
Emergency Response
Data Never Leaves BC
RAID Recovery Track Record
23K+
Devices Recovered
10+
Years Experience
RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60 reconstruction — controller-independent
Emergency same-day assessment available
Synology, QNAP, WD, Drobo, Buffalo, Netgear
14935 100 Ave, Surrey BC · 604-767-1701
RAID Level Explainer
What does your RAID
failure actually mean?
Select your RAID level to see how data is distributed across drives and what failure means for your data — then check how many drives have failed to get your urgency assessment.
What is your RAID level?
Select the configuration your array uses.
How many drives have failed?
Count any drive the controller marks as degraded or failed.
What action has been taken?
Honesty matters — this changes the recovery approach significantly.
What We Recover
Every RAID failure scenario
we recover from.
RAID arrays fail in predictable ways — and are recoverable far more often than people think. Here's what's actually happening at the drive level.
RAID 0 Stripe Failure
RAID 0 has zero redundancy — one drive fails, everything is gone. Except it isn't. We image each drive independently, reconstruct the stripe pattern (block size, drive order), and reassemble the logical volume. The data exists across both drives — still present on each.
Recovery rate
78%
RAID 5 — Second Drive Failure
RAID 5 tolerates one drive failure. A second drive failure — or a second drive failing during the rebuild — causes the array to go offline. We image all drives before any reconstruction, then use parity mathematics to reconstruct the pre-failure dataset.
Recovery rate
84%
RAID 6 — Beyond Dual Parity
RAID 6 survives two simultaneous drive failures. When three or more drives fail, the array exceeds tolerance. We image remaining drives and use dual-parity reconstruction to maximise what can be recovered from the surviving data blocks.
Recovery rate
71%
RAID 1 — Both Mirrors Failed
Both drives in a RAID 1 mirror failed — one from hardware failure and one from a botched rebuild. We treat each drive independently, recover as much as possible from each, and merge the most complete dataset from the combined images.
Recovery rate
86%
RAID Controller Failure
The RAID controller fails — array shows offline, drives spin but data is inaccessible. We rebuild the array configuration virtually using member drives alone. Controller failure is one of our most common and most recoverable enterprise scenarios.
Recovery rate
91%
Rebuild Gone Wrong
A rebuild started on a still-marginal second drive, or the wrong drive was replaced. The rebuild process overwrites parity — not necessarily user data. We take bit-level images of all drives before any reconstruction and work backwards from the pre-rebuild state.
Recovery rate
80%
How It Works
From failed array to restored data.
Every drive imaged independently before any reconstruction attempt. Your originals are never altered. Zero charge if we can't recover your data.
1
Emergency Stop
Power down the array immediately. Do not attempt a rebuild. Label every drive's bay position before removing anything. Call 604-767-1701 — phone triage is free.
2
Independent Drive Imaging
Every drive is imaged in read-only mode before any analysis. We work exclusively on images — originals are never touched or powered on again after intake.
3
RAID Reconstruction
We reconstruct the volume using extracted parameters — stripe size, block order, parity rotation — without the original controller. Controller is not required.
4
Data Extraction & Verification
Filesystem mounted, data catalogued and verified. SQL, Exchange, and VMs mounted separately and checked. You receive a file listing before we proceed to delivery.
5
Secure Delivery
Data delivered to your server or encrypted drive. All lab copies wiped. NDA and chain-of-custody documentation available on request. No recovery = no charge.
Critical: Read This Now
Every write during a degraded
rebuild overwrites parity permanently.
The most destructive action after a RAID failure is starting a rebuild on a degraded array. If a second drive is marginal — and it often is, because drives of the same age and batch fail close together — the rebuild process will overwrite parity data as it runs.
The moment parity is overwritten on a second failure, the array is unrecoverable. Every write during a running rebuild is permanent. We image every drive independently before any analysis — all reconstruction happens on the copies, originals are never touched.
If your server is currently running in degraded mode:
power it off right now. Every write to the array risks triggering a second drive failure. Call 604-767-1701 before doing anything else.
The visualizer simulates what happens to a RAID array during a failed rebuild — specifically how parity data gets overwritten on the second drive failure mid-rebuild.
RAID Drive State Visualizer
Healthy drive data
Degraded / failed drive
Overwritten by rebuild
Empty bay
RAID array running — 1 drive degraded
Every Configuration Covered
Every RAID level, NAS brand,
and server configuration.
All RAID types recovered in-house at our Surrey lab — from home NAS arrays to enterprise SAN storage. No outsourcing to another province.
Synology NAS
All DiskStation & RackStation models · SHR · RAID 5/6 · BTRFS pools
QNAP NAS
All TS series · QTS volume recovery · RAID 5/6/10 · ZFS pools
WD My Cloud / Drobo
WD My Cloud EX2/EX4 · Drobo BeyondRAID · proprietary volume reconstruction
Custom Server RAID
Adaptec · LSI/Avago · Dell PERC · HP Smart Array · Intel VROC
Enterprise SAN
Dell EMC · NetApp · HPE 3PAR · IBM DS · Pure Storage
Buffalo / Netgear
Buffalo LinkStation · TeraStation · Netgear ReadyNAS · all RAID levels
Software RAID
Linux mdadm · Windows Storage Spaces · ZFS · Btrfs RAID · macOS RAID
Virtualised Storage
VMware vSAN · Azure VM disk · AWS EBS · Hyper-V storage pools
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10
RAID 50
RAID 60
JBOD
ZFS
Synology SHR
mdadm
Btrfs
Why RecoveryMaster
Controller-independent reconstruction.
Originals never touched.
RAID recovery requires hardware-level tools and a strict process. Here's what makes ours match the stakes.
01
No Data, No Fee — Period
No partial recovery charges. No assessment fee on failed jobs. If we can't recover your data, you pay nothing — on every RAID level, every configuration, every vendor.
02
100% In-House, Never Leaves BC
Your drives stay at our Surrey lab. We never broker to another lab in another province. Direct accountability, faster turnaround, and NDA available before any data is accessed.
03
Professional-Grade Equipment
PC-3000 RAID hardware, DeepSpar, and hardware-level RAID reconstruction tools. Not freeware utilities run on a consumer PC — the same professional equipment used by Tier-1 recovery labs worldwide.
04
Direct Technician Access
You speak with the technician actually working on your array — not a call queue or account manager. Technical status updates throughout, working within your change management process if needed.
05
Complete Privacy — NDA Available
NDA, confidentiality agreement, and data processing agreements all available before any work begins. All recovered data is wiped from our systems after delivery is confirmed. Chain of custody on every case.
06
5–10 Business Day Turnaround
Most RAID 5/6 recoveries complete in 5–7 business days. Complex SAN or multi-chassis environments may take up to 10 days. Emergency same-day intake available — call 604-767-1701 before 10am.
Critical Advice
What to do after a RAID failure —
and what never to attempt.
The wrong action in the first hour after a RAID failure can turn a recoverable situation into permanent data loss. Read this before touching anything.
Do these things
- Power off the array immediately — do not attempt a hot rebuild
- Document exactly which drives were in which bays before removing anything
- Photograph the array configuration and any controller settings you can access
- Check if offsite backup or cloud replication is current
- Call us before touching anything — a 10-minute phone assessment is free
Never do these things
- Do not start a RAID rebuild — if a second drive is marginal, the rebuild destroys data
- Do not replace drives and initialise a new array on the same enclosure
- Do not run fsck, chkdsk, or Disk Utility on any member drive
- Do not allow the array to continue running in degraded mode
- Do not pull additional drives to "test" them — each power cycle risks further damage
Common Questions
RAID data recovery —
straight answers.
No false hope about multi-drive failures. Honest answers about what's reconstructable.
Often yes. A rebuild in progress overwrites parity, not necessarily user data. The timing matters — if the second drive failed early in the rebuild, more user data is intact. Power off immediately and bring all drives in. The sooner we image them, the more we can reconstruct.
Yes. RAID parameters — stripe size, block order, drive sequence, parity rotation — can be determined from the raw data on the drives using hardware-level analysis tools. The controller itself is not required for reconstruction.
This is usually a controller or firmware failure in the NAS enclosure combined with a drive issue. The data on the drives is typically intact — the enclosure is the problem. We extract and image the drives independently, then reconstruct the volume without needing the original NAS hardware.
Most RAID 5/6 recoveries complete in 5–7 business days. Complex SAN or multi-chassis environments may take up to 10 days. Emergency same-day intake is available for operations-critical cases — contact us before 10am at 604-767-1701.
Yes. NDA, confidentiality agreement, and data processing agreements are all available before any work begins. All recovered data is wiped from our systems after delivery is confirmed. We regularly work with in-house IT teams and MSPs across Metro Vancouver.
Yes. We recover from all Synology DiskStation and QNAP TS series NAS devices — including cases where drives have been removed, NAS firmware corrupted, or the volume metadata has been damaged. Recovery is performed by working directly with the member drives — the NAS enclosure is not required.