When you need serious RAID 5 NAS recovery, there’s no room for error. In this case study, we tell the story of how PCS Recovery restored 12 terabytes of critical business data from a crashed Synology RAID 5 NAS—despite multiple drive failures and complex rebuild attempts.

What looked like total loss became a success—but only because the client avoided common mistakes and came to us fast. Read how we handled this high-stakes recovery from start to finish.

🔎 The Situation: Crashed RAID 5 NAS

A mid-sized marketing company in California reached out after their Synology NAS went offline. Two of the five 4 TB drives had failed, and the system had attempted a rebuild—overwriting vital metadata. When all five drives were brought to us, the NAS no longer booted and showed no network access.

The data included client campaigns, financial records, and video assets totaling approximately 12 TB. Losing this would have cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in downtime and re-creation costs.

⚠️ Critical Missteps Before Calling Us

  • Ended the rebuild prematurely—leaving the array in a partially initialized state
  • Mixed up drive slots—altered the original RAID order
  • Patched firmware via Synology UI before backup was complete

Luckily, the client acted quickly after realizing their mistake. The drives were shipped to PCS Recovery within 48 hours.

🧠 Our Approach to RAID 5 NAS Recovery

1. Free Evaluation & Diagnosis

Upon arrival, our team performed a non-destructive evaluation. We confirmed:

  • Two failed drives (mechanical failure and unreadable sectors)
  • Altered RAID metadata and changed drive order
  • NAS firmware changed during the failed rebuild

We documented the original drive order based on serial numbers and metadata reconstruction analysis.

2. Cloning and Imaging

We cloned all five drives using hardware imagers—prioritizing the damaged units. Even drives with unreadable sectors were cloned at the binary level, ensuring zero data loss from the originals.

3. Logical Reconstruction in Lab

Using proprietary and open-source tools, we rebuilt the RAID architecture based on the client’s Synology configuration. We restored critical metadata structures and sorted out the scrambled drive order.

4. File-Level Recovery & Reconstruction

Once the array was logically recreated, we mounted the volume in secure lab systems. We manually repaired file system journals to restore client campaign folders, financial spreadsheets, and video assets.

5. Final Verification & Secure Delivery

Recovered data was copied to a new 16 TB NAS and verified via checksum to ensure every file was intact. We then securely shipped the restored NAS back to the client along with a full report.

📊 Outcome & Benefits of RAID 5 NAS Recovery

  • 12 TB of data recovered, including client-sensitive and legal files
  • Downtime minimized—company back online within 5 days
  • New NAS setup with improved backup strategy implemented post-recovery
  • No data = no charge—client only paid after successful restoration

🔧 Lessons From This Case Study

  • Avoid DIY rebuilds or partial fixes on RAID systems
  • Keep the original drive order and never run rebuild commands mid-crash
  • Use cleanroom or professional tools for hardware cloning
  • Incorporate offsite backups even for multi-drive arrays

🛡️ Why Choose PCS Recovery for RAID 5 NAS Recovery

Recovering from complex NAS failures isn’t about luck—it’s about lab expertise, forensic-level tools, and careful processes. PCS Recovery offers full-service RAID 5 NAS recovery with:

  • Certified cleanroom cloning and imaging
  • Advanced RAID reconstruction tools (including Synology, QNAP, Drobo, etc.)
  • File-level restoration and emergent data export
  • Flat-rate pricing and secure nationwide shipping

📞 Need RAID 5 NAS Recovery Help?

If your NAS has failed or RAID rebuild went wrong, don’t risk your data—submit a recovery case or call us at (716) 539-9555. PCS Recovery is ready to help with expert RAID 5 NAS recovery nationwide and a no data = no charge guarantee.