A RAID is meant to protect your data — until a second disk fails, a rebuild goes wrong, or a controller dies, and the whole array drops offline. The data is usually still spread across the disks, recoverable by rebuilding the array properly, away from the failed hardware. We recover every RAID level and controller for businesses across Belfast and Northern Ireland, in-house.
$ bdr diagnose /dev/raid → Array: RAID 5 · 6 × 4 TB · 20 TB volume → Status: OFFLINE — 2 disks failed, rebuild failed → Client: confidential · Belfast $ bdr engineer-working → Member disks: all 6 imaged read-only → Parameters: order + stripe + parity solved → Array: rebuilt virtually from images $ bdr verify → ✓ databases — 412 GB → ✓ shares + VMs — 17.8 TB → ✓ array recovered — data back
When a RAID fails, the worst move is to force a rebuild or let the controller re-initialise the array — a rebuild onto a failing disk is the single most common cause of permanent loss we see. Note the disk order, don't keep swapping or re-seating disks, power the array down, and let us image the disks before anything overwrites them.
RAID arrays fail in ways that stack up — a lost disk, a bad rebuild, a dead controller. These are the situations we recover most.
We recover every RAID level, on every controller and platform — hardware cards, motherboard RAID and software arrays alike.
RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60, and JBOD — on Dell PERC, HP Smart Array, LSI MegaRAID, Adaptec, Areca and Broadcom controllers, motherboard RAID, and software arrays built with mdadm and Storage Spaces, in NAS units, servers and workstations.
RAID recovery is about reconstruction, not repair. We read every disk on its own, work out exactly how the array was laid out, and rebuild it virtually from read-only images — so a failed rebuild or dead controller never gets the chance to make things worse.
We check each disk's health, identify the RAID level, controller and layout, and find out what failed and in what order — then send a written quote.
Any failing disk is repaired or imaged first — heads, board or firmware — so no disk is put under strain during the recovery.
Each disk is imaged read-only, and from then on all work is done on the copies, so your original disks are never altered.
We determine the true disk order, block size, parity and rotation from the images and reassemble the array virtually — whatever the level.
With the array rebuilt, we repair the file system and extract your volumes, databases, VMs and files, organised and named.
Recovered data is checked to confirm it opens and is intact, and we can show you what's come back before anything is returned.
Your data comes back on a fresh drive sized to the recovery, or via secure transfer — whichever suits you.
From a RAID 5 that's lost two disks to a failed rebuild, a dead controller or a reinitialised array, we recover RAID of every level — rebuilding it from read-only images of the disks, never the originals under strain.
Give us a few details about what went wrong and an engineer will come back to you, usually inside one working day.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
A free diagnostic first, then a fixed written quote before any work begins. RAID recovery starts at £500 + VAT for a RAID 1 mirror, with multi-disk arrays — RAID 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 — from £800 and quoted per case, and no fix, no fee on most jobs — where disks need physical repair, a 50% deposit covers parts and bench time, with the balance only on success.
A representative selection of RAID arrays we've recovered across different levels and faults — configurations and outcomes shown, customer details kept private.
One disk had died weeks earlier unnoticed; a second failing tipped it offline. We imaged the readable disks and rebuilt the array, recovering the data.
The PERC card had failed and the array wouldn't assemble. We read the disks directly, rebuilt the RAID 10 in software, and recovered everything.
Two rebuilds onto weak disks had damaged the parity. We imaged all twelve and reconstructed the array from the copies, recovering the volume.
A disk failure and a corrupt file system had dropped the volume. We imaged the disks, rebuilt the array off the box, and recovered the shares.
Both mirrored disks had bad sectors in different places. We imaged each, merged the good areas, and recovered the data in full.
The array had been recreated, but the original data survived underneath. We rebuilt the old layout and recovered most of the files.
Post or drop in your device for a free diagnostic, with a note on what happened — an engineer reviews it and confirms your exact quote in writing before any work begins.
First step: get the device onto our Belfast bench. Wrap it well, tuck your contact details in the box, and post it over — the diagnostic costs nothing, and you’ll have a firm written price to approve before we touch a single sector.
Posting it? A tracked, insured service is best. Dropping it off instead? You’re welcome Monday–Friday, 9am–5:30pm — please still pack the device as above.
Not ready to send anything yet? Use the form to describe the fault in your own words and one of the engineers will come back with a quote tailored to your situation.
We will get back to you soon. If it is urgent, call 028 9002 0144.
The questions we're asked most about RAID recovery.
In most cases, yes. When a second disk drops, the array stops — but the stripes holding your data are still sitting on the members. Each disk gets imaged, the original geometry is worked out, and the set is reassembled virtually; full or near-full recovery is the usual result. What matters most is that nobody forces a rebuild beforehand.
Usually not. A rebuild that stalled or corrupted the array is the commonest RAID problem we see, and it rarely destroys everything. We image the disks in their current state and reconstruct the array from the copies, working around the damage the rebuild caused.
Yes. A dead controller or NAS doesn't erase anything — the data is on the disks. We read them directly and rebuild the array in software, independent of the failed hardware, so you don't need the exact controller replaced to get your data back.
Yes, please — all of them, kept in order if you can. On a RAID array the data is striped across every disk, so we need the whole set to rebuild it, including any that have failed. Number them by slot before you pack them.
RAID recovery starts at £500 + VAT for a RAID 1 mirror, with multi-disk arrays — RAID 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 — from £800 and quoted per case after the free diagnostic. There's no fix, no fee on most jobs; where disks need physical repair, a deposit covers parts and bench time, with the balance only on success.
On most jobs, yes — no recovery, no fee. Where individual disks need physical repair, a deposit covers those parts and the bench time; the balance is still only charged on success. We're clear about which applies before any work begins.
All of them — RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60, and JBOD, on Dell PERC, HP Smart Array, LSI, Adaptec, Areca and Broadcom controllers, plus motherboard and software RAID such as mdadm and Storage Spaces.
Yes — a NAS is a RAID array with a file system on top, and we recover them all: Synology SHR and Btrfs, QNAP, NETGEAR, Buffalo and the rest. We rebuild the array from images of the disks and repair the file system to reach your shares.
Yes. Once we've rebuilt the array, we can extract VMware or Hyper-V virtual machines, SQL and Exchange databases, and any files on the volume — and repair those where they're damaged. Many of our RAID jobs are exactly this.
Most RAID recoveries take around 5 to 10 working days, depending on the number and size of the disks and whether any need physical repair. The diagnostic is usually finished within 48 hours, and urgent business cases can normally be prioritised.
Weekday drop-offs at Cromac Square (9am to 5:30pm) or insured post both work. Mark each disk with its slot number, pack them apart so nothing knocks together, and include a note of your details; the controller or enclosure can normally stay with you. We’ll log the set, diagnose free and confirm the price in writing.
A free diagnostic, fixed written pricing from £500 + VAT, and no fix no fee on most jobs — every RAID level recovered in-house, right here in Belfast. Don't force a rebuild — power it down and send the disks in.