A NAS feels like the safe place to keep everything — until a second disk drops, the volume won’t mount, the box itself dies, or ransomware reaches the shares. Under the surface a NAS is a RAID array running on Linux, so recovering one means rebuilding both the array and its file system, offline and from images. Whether it’s a two-bay Synology at home or a rack of disks at work, we recover NAS units of every make across the UK. Post the unit in, or drop it off.
A factory reset or an unchecked resync can overwrite a recoverable NAS. Power it down and let the disks be imaged first.
It’s worth understanding what’s inside the box, because it explains why NAS recovery is a specialist job. A NAS is a small Linux computer running a RAID array across its disks — Synology’s SHR, or a standard RAID 1, 5, 6 or 10 — usually layered with LVM and a file system such as Btrfs, ext4 or ZFS. Your data is spread across the disks according to that structure, not sitting whole on any one of them.
So when a NAS fails, there are really two things to put back together: the RAID geometry and the file system on top of it — and both have to be reconstructed from images of the disks rather than trusted to a unit that’s already misbehaving. Crucially, the disks are very often perfectly healthy even when the NAS won’t boot; the fault is the box, not your data. We recover the data by working with the disks directly, away from the failed unit entirely.
A second disk fails in a degraded array. The classic RAID disaster — one disk drops, the NAS runs degraded, then a second fails before it’s replaced and the volume goes offline. Because the disks aged together, the second failure often follows soon after the first.
The NAS unit itself dies. A dead power supply or a failed mainboard, with the disks completely intact. Recovery is simply a matter of reading the disks outside the box.
The volume won’t mount or shows as crashed. Btrfs or ext4 corruption, an LVM problem, or a failed snapshot — the array is there but the file system on it is damaged, and needs rebuilding offline.
Ransomware on the shares. NAS units exposed to the internet are a favourite target, and encrypted shares are increasingly common. We can recover from earlier snapshots or unencrypted remnants where they exist — more on options under ransomware recovery.
A failed firmware update, reset or expansion. An update that bricked the unit, an accidental factory reset, or a pool expansion or migration that went wrong — recoverable if nothing has since overwritten the disks.
Accidental deletion. Files or a whole shared folder deleted by mistake — often recoverable, provided the NAS isn’t left running to overwrite them.
As with any RAID, most NAS data is lost after the failure, not during it. If your NAS is down, please avoid the following until it’s been assessed:
Don’t factory-reset the NAS or reinstall its operating system to try to bring it back — a reset can wipe the configuration and, on some units, the data itself. Don’t let it rebuild or resync a degraded array; if the array is inconsistent, a resync can overwrite recoverable data with bad parity. Don’t recreate the volume or pool, and don’t run the NAS’s own ‘repair’ or file-system check on a crashed volume. Don’t reorder the disks — label each with its bay before removing anything and keep that order. And with ransomware, don’t pay or wipe the unit before the disks are imaged and the options assessed. Power it down and let it be looked at.
We start by imaging every disk read-only, exactly as it is — and any disk that’s mechanically failing gets clean-bench attention first, because the recovery is only as good as the reads beneath it. Nothing is written to your original disks. From the images we reconstruct the RAID geometry, then reassemble the LVM and file system — Btrfs, ext4 or ZFS — virtually, and extract your shares and files. Because every stage happens on copies, we can work out the correct structure by trial and verification without any risk to the originals. Where snapshots exist, they can be a route back from corruption, a failed update or ransomware.
We recover from every major NAS brand — Synology (including SHR and Btrfs volumes), QNAP, Western Digital My Cloud, Netgear ReadyNAS, Buffalo, Asustor, TerraMaster, Drobo (including its proprietary BeyondRAID), and TrueNAS / FreeNAS ZFS systems. Single-bay units like the WD My Cloud through to large multi-bay and rackmount enclosures, and every underlying file system they use. If it stores your data across disks on a network, we can reconstruct it.
NAS recovery starts with a free diagnostic: we image and assess the disks, work out whether the array and file system can be reconstructed, and give you a fixed written quote with a file listing to check before any chargeable work. On most jobs it’s no fix, no fee, and pricing is per case. We know a downed NAS can stop a home or a business, so a priority service is available, with NDAs and confidential handling for business data as standard. Bring the whole unit and its disks in their original order, by insured courier — we recover NAS units for people and businesses right across the UK and Ireland.
Usually not. When a NAS won’t power on it’s very often the unit — the power supply or mainboard — that has failed, while the disks inside are perfectly intact. We recover the data by reading the disks directly, outside the box, and reconstructing the array and file system. Bring the whole unit and all its disks in their original order.
No — not if you need the data. A factory reset can wipe the configuration and even the data on some units, and letting an inconsistent array rebuild can overwrite recoverable files with bad parity. When the data matters, the safe path is to power the NAS down and have the disks imaged first, then reconstruct offline. Ask before resetting or rebuilding.
Sometimes, and it’s worth assessing before you do anything drastic. Depending on the attack, we may be able to recover from earlier snapshots, from unencrypted remnants, or from versions the ransomware missed. Don’t wipe or reset the unit and don’t pay before the disks are imaged and the options assessed — once it’s wiped, those routes are gone. See our ransomware recovery page for more.
Yes. Synology’s SHR and Drobo’s BeyondRAID are proprietary layouts, but we reconstruct both — imaging the disks and rebuilding the specific geometry each uses. Drobo in particular is notoriously opaque, but it’s a layout we recover from regularly.
Yes. Single-bay units like the WD My Cloud store data on one disk, often with a proprietary Linux file system. If the disk has failed we recover it with the appropriate drive recovery; if the unit has failed but the disk is fine, we read it directly and rebuild the file system. Bring the whole unit if you’re unsure.
No. Our lab is in Belfast, but NAS recovery is done by post or courier, so we work with people and businesses right across the UK and Ireland. Send the unit and disks in their original order by insured delivery — the service and pricing are the same wherever you are.
Power the NAS down, note the disk order, and get in touch. We’ll image the disks, work out whether the array and file system can be rebuilt, and give you an honest, fixed quote before any chargeable work — priority service available.