A small business running a HP RAID 5 system with two virtual servers contacted Belfast Data Recovery after experiencing a server failure following a RAID rebuild. The reported issues included:
- One disk in the RAID 5 system failed, and the client replaced it with a new disk.
- The RAID rebuild completed 100%, but the server failed to boot afterward.
- HP Business Support upgraded firmware and ran diagnostics, but could not resolve the issue.
- The system hosted two critical virtual machines, which contained essential business applications and company data.
- No backup was available, making professional RAID and virtual machine data recovery essential.
Since RAID 5 systems rely on parity for data redundancy, issues after a rebuild typically indicate metadata corruption, logical failures, or missing RAID parameters.
Our Expertise in HP RAID 5 & Virtual Server Recovery
With 25 years of experience, Belfast Data Recovery specialises in:
✔ Recovering data from failed RAID 5 systems after unsuccessful rebuilds
✔ Forensic RAID reconstruction and metadata repair
✔ Virtual machine (VMware, Hyper-V, VHDX, VMDK) recovery using Acelabs PC3000, DeepSpar, RapidSpar, and Atola Insight Forensic tools
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the Cisco RAID 5 drives, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic assessment. The key findings included:
- The RAID array had been rebuilt incorrectly, causing RAID metadata corruption.
- The virtual machine files (VHDX/VMDK) were incomplete or inaccessible due to RAID inconsistencies.
- No physical damage was found on the drives, indicating a logical RAID failure.
To successfully recover the company’s RAID 5 system and virtual servers, 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 RAID drives.
- Applied adaptive read techniques to recover data from bad sectors.
Step 2: RAID 5 Reconstruction & Metadata Repair
- Analysed RAID parity and stripe size using Acelabs PC3000 RAID Edition.
- Manually reconstructed the RAID 5 array, bypassing the corrupted metadata.
Step 3: Virtual Machine Recovery & File System Repair
- Used Atola Insight Forensic and DFL-SRP to extract and repair the VHDX/VMDK files.
- Restored virtual machine configurations to make the VMs bootable again.
Step 4: Secure Data Extraction & Testing
- Extracted company data, business applications, and virtual server files.
- Conducted testing of the recovered VMs to ensure full functionality.
Step 5: Data Integrity Check & Secure Transfer
- Successfully transferred the restored data and VMs to a secure external RAID system.
- Provided guidance on RAID backup best practices to prevent future data loss.
The Result
We successfully recovered 98.5% of the company’s RAID and virtual machine data, including:
✅ Two fully bootable virtual servers (VHDX/VMDK format)
✅ Company business applications and database files
✅ Financial reports, emails, and critical operational data
The client was able to restore their small business operations without losing any vital data.
Why Choose Belfast Data Recovery for HP RAID 5 & Virtual Server Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in RAID 5 and virtual machine recovery.
✅ Forensic RAID Reconstruction – Advanced techniques for corrupted RAID arrays.
✅ VM Recovery Experts – Extracting and repairing VHDX, VMDK, and Hyper-V files.
✅ Fast & Secure Process – Ensuring complete confidentiality and minimal business disruption.
If your HP RAID 5 system has failed after a rebuild or virtual machines are inaccessible, contact Belfast Data Recovery today for expert RAID and VM data recovery services!