RAID Data Recovery is a growing niche industry, and there is very little information out there about it. You can find plenty of detailed information about what a RAID is and how it works, but almost nothing about RAID data recovery techniques. Hence the purpose of this site! This guide contains detailed information about how to recover RAID arrays after they fail. We must point out, however, that if critical information exists on your failed disk array, you are much more likely to see your data again if you use an experienced lab; one that deals with RAID cases each and every day. Like it or not, you are a beginner, and beginners make mistakes or miss critical clues about how to recover RAIDs. You could literally spend weeks trying to recover your array, and all to no avail.

Top Data Recovery Companies

If the RAID recovery "techniques and methods" information below is a little too complicated for you, we can recommend several companies based on our own experiences. If downtime is just costing you too much, it would be advisable to get a quote from one of the following companies:

Datarecovery.com: ESS Data Recovery (datarecovery.com) offers a wide range of service levels with turnaround time from 1-10 days depending on your budget and needs. They are not only affordable, but hugely successful, especially in the RAID recovery industry, with clients ranging from small schools to Lockheed Martin and NASA. They also offer extensive information about RAID recovery on their web site: RAID Data Recovery.

Drivesavers:Drivesavers data recovery has been in the data recovery business for nearly two decades and in that time has surmounted a portfolio of very famous clients ranging from the Rolling Stones to Bob Vila. Drivesavers is very expensive; possibly as much as two times the cost of other companies, but they offer quick turnaround and up-front pricing.
Kroll Ontrack:Ontrack is a good choice, but they are often expensive and slow. A better choice would be Drivesavers or datarecovery.com

So what's the point of an expensive array if the need for RAID recovery isn't eliminated?

The point is that even if the need for RAID recovery cannot be totally eliminated, depending on the RAID solution you use, it can be greatly reduced. Moreover, RAID can offer redundancy and significant performance gains over single, non-arrayed hard drives.

With hard drives becoming increasingly affordable, and RAID controllers -- many of which are now being built into motherboards -- becoming increasingly available, RAID is more accessible than ever. With this new accessibility however, it is becoming more and more important that we understand exactly how RAID works, how RAID levels differ, and how RAID data recovery is done.