The RAID 5 configuration is popular with businesses because it offers both redundancy and reliability of critical data. Parity data is spread across all drives in RAID 5. This makes RAID 5 more secure in the event that a single drive fails.
However, two drives may fail in a RAID 5 array, which can cause serious data recovery problems. If a RAID 5 configuration does not have a reliable backup, a business may face serious data loss which can bring all processes to a screeching halt.
What is a RAID 5 Array?
This RAID configuration requires a minimum of three hard drives, but no maximum. It combines disk striping and parity to offer data redundancy and reliability.
With RAID 5, data striping stores segments of data across different storage devices in the array. This process leads to better performance and throughput.
Parity data is spread across all drives in the array which adds a measure of fault tolerance. As information is written to a RAID 5 hard drive disk, the system calculates parity and writes it into the drive.
In a RAID 5 array with three or more hard drives, if one goes down, the other working drives can rebuild the failed drive using their parity data.
The major downside to this setup is the fact that two hard drives may fail. If this happens, rebuilding the array becomes next to impossible for most businesses unless they call upon a data recovery center with specific experience recovering RAID 5 arrays with 2 failed hard drives.
What are the Causes of RAID 5 Arrays with 2 Failed Hard Drives?
Understanding what caused your hard drives to fail can help you during the data recovery process. Here are some causes of RAID 5 collapse:
- Absence of a RAID partition
- A failed disk was used in an attempt to get a RAID 5 array back online
- Unexpected power failure
- Incorrect RAID volume configuration settings
- Malware damage
- Broken RAID controller
- Linux/Open Source Software issues
- Failure of SCSI drives
- At least one drive has a bad sector
- Issues with NAS devices or servers
- User error
What Should I Do if I Have RAID 5 With 2 Failed Drives?
RAID 5 is considered safe, but when it fails it can be one of the most complex RAID arrays to recover. Using RAID data recovery software is not recommended if the information at hand is critical to your business.
The best course of action is to look for RAID 5 data recovery services from a company that has specific experience recovering these arrays when two hard drives have failed.
To increase the chances of successful recovery:
- Turn off your system as soon as possible as soon as you suspect it has failed. If you allow your system to continue to operate you could cause more data loss.
- Try to figure out what caused the failure and assess the condition of your RAID 5 drives
- If you remove any drives from your RAID configuration, label them in the same order as they are in the array.
- Seek out the most experienced RAID 5 array recovery service to try to secure data that was lost.
DataLab is Here to Help
When you need to recover data from RAID, you need a company with a track record of excellence. When it comes to recovering data from all RAID levels, we have one of the highest success rates in the country.
What’s more, we are one of the only data recovery companies who can and will recover data from a RAID 5 array with 2 failed hard drives.
The reason we can offer a solution to this seemingly impossible data recovery problem is that we have been investing in data storage research and technology since day one. Our interest and expertise in data recovery has resulted in trail-blazing solutions that are highly reliable.
Contact Us and Speak to an Expert
We recommend you call us today to speak about your situation with an expert – when you reach out to us, you will be connected to a data recovery technician, not a member of the sales team.
This means you’ll get an objective, expert opinion rather than a push to do business with us. If you pursue an evaluation with us, we will determine whether your data can be recovered or not, and we will offer you a reasonable price quote and unparalleled customer service.
We understand that RAID failures can be devastating to a business so we can make accommodations for you to ensure you get the fastest turnaround time available, and you will always know what the status of your project is.
Although RAID 5 arrays seem like an ideal solution when it comes to data redundancy and reliability, even the most well-maintained configuration can fail. Without a backup, there is no second copy of your data.
Our RAID data recovery engineers have the skills, experience and tools to help you recover this important business data. If you need a reliable data recovery company that will make your chances of recovery as high as possible, call DataLab today.
Datalab, Inc. is a South Florida based company. We are data recovery specialists and have a proven track record of successful RAID recovery. In fact, our computer data recovery rate is one of the highest in the nation. We provide fast, reliable, affordable RAID recovery. Utilizing the advanced data recovery tools and methods, we are capable in recovering data of all kinds.
No RAID Recovery – No Recovery Fee
Our promise to our customers: If we cannot recover your data, you will not pay a data recovery fee. Call us now at 1-888-943-8328 for a free phone consultation.
You can rely on the professionals at Datalab, Inc. for RAID recovery and all other data recovery services. Get your precious data back! Contact us today.