A large IT company contacted Belfast Data Recovery after their HPE ProLiant RAID 10 server suffered multiple drive failures, leading to total system downtime. The reported issues included:
- The RAID 10 array (16 disks) experienced 3 drive failures, resulting in data inaccessibility.
- The system contained 6 virtual machines (VMs) that stored business-critical data.
- The RAID controller could not rebuild the array, indicating potential hardware failure.
- No recent backup was available, making forensic RAID reconstruction and virtual system recovery essential.
Since RAID 10 mirrors and stripes data, losing multiple disks can break redundancy, leading to corrupted RAID metadata and missing partitions. A forensic RAID recovery approach was required.
Our Expertise in HPE ProLiant RAID 10 & Virtual Machine Recovery
With 25 years of experience, Belfast Data Recovery specialises in:
✔ Recovering RAID 10 arrays with multiple drive failures
✔ Rebuilding and repairing RAID metadata to restore lost data
✔ Virtual machine (VMware, Hyper-V, VHDX, VMDK) recovery using Acelabs PC3000, DeepSpar, RapidSpar, and Atola Insight Forensic tools
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the HPE ProLiant RAID 10 drives, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic assessment. The key findings included:
- Three failed drives disrupted RAID 10 redundancy, causing corruption in striped and mirrored data blocks.
- The RAID controller had lost its metadata, making it impossible to rebuild automatically.
- The virtual machines (VHDX/VMDK) were inaccessible, requiring forensic-level extraction.
To successfully recover the company’s RAID 10 data and virtual machines, we implemented a multi-step forensic RAID and VM recovery strategy:
Step 1: Drive Cloning & Data Preservation
- Used DeepSpar Disk Imager to create sector-by-sector forensic clones of all working drives.
- Performed head swap repairs on the three failed drives in a cleanroom.
Step 2: RAID 10 Reconstruction & Metadata Repair
- Identified the RAID stripe size, disk order, and mirroring structure using Acelabs PC3000 RAID Edition.
- Manually rebuilt the RAID 10 array by reconstructing missing parity and mirror blocks.
Step 3: Virtual Machine Recovery & File System Repair
- Used Atola Insight Forensic and DFL-SRP to extract and repair the VHDX/VMDK files.
- Rebuilt corrupted virtual machine configurations, ensuring they were bootable again.
Step 4: Secure Data Extraction & Testing
- Extracted business-critical data from virtualized environments.
- Conducted testing of the recovered virtual machines to confirm full functionality.
Step 5: Data Integrity Check & Secure Transfer
- Successfully transferred the restored data and VMs to a secure high-performance RAID system.
- Provided guidance on RAID backup best practices to prevent future data loss.
The Result
We successfully recovered 98.9% of the IT company’s lost RAID 10 and virtual machine data, including:
✅ 6 fully bootable virtual servers (VHDX/VMDK format)
✅ Company databases, network configurations, and application files
✅ Client records, system logs, and IT infrastructure documentation
The company was able to restore their critical IT operations, preventing significant downtime and financial loss.
Why Choose Belfast Data Recovery for HPE ProLiant RAID 10 Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in RAID 10 and enterprise IT infrastructure recovery.
✅ Forensic RAID Reconstruction – Restoring RAID 10 data even after multiple drive failures.
✅ VM Recovery Experts – Extracting and repairing VHDX, VMDK, and Hyper-V files.
✅ Fast & Secure Process – Ensuring complete confidentiality and minimal business disruption.
If your HPE ProLiant RAID 10 system has suffered multiple drive failures or lost access to virtual machines, contact Belfast Data Recovery today for expert RAID data recovery services!