QNAP NAS systems are widely used for business storage solutions, providing data redundancy and fault tolerance through RAID 5 configurations. However, if a RAID 5 array is accidentally reconfigured to RAID 0, it causes total data loss, as RAID 0 has no redundancy and overwrites the original RAID structure.
This case study details how we successfully recovered critical business data for a local veterinary practice after their QNAP RAID 5 (6 x Western Digital HDDs) was accidentally converted to RAID 0, leading to complete data inaccessibility.
As Oxford Data Recovery, with 25 years of RAID and forensic data recovery experience, we used RAID metadata reconstruction, parity analysis, and deep data extraction techniques to restore the lost veterinary records.
The Challenge: RAID 5 Accidentally Changed to RAID 0 in QNAP NAS
A local veterinary business contacted us after a misconfiguration in their QNAP NAS settings caused RAID 5 to be overwritten with RAID 0. The reported issues included:
- QNAP system no longer recognizing the RAID 5 array.
- All six Western Digital hard drives appearing as a new RAID 0 setup.
- No access to critical patient records, invoices, and scheduling data.
- Concern that further use could permanently overwrite existing files.
Since reconfiguring RAID 5 to RAID 0 overwrites essential RAID metadata, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the QNAP NAS with 6 Western Digital hard drives arrived at our cleanroom facility, we conducted a full RAID-level diagnostic. Our findings:
- RAID metadata was partially overwritten due to the accidental RAID 0 conversion.
- The original RAID 5 stripe pattern was still recoverable, but needed manual reconstruction.
- No physical damage to the drives, meaning logical RAID recovery was possible.
Since standard RAID controllers do not store historical RAID configurations, we had to manually reconstruct the RAID 5 array from the original parity data.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging All 6 RAID Drives
To preserve the original data, we:
- Cloned each of the six Western Digital HDDs sector by sector.
- Prevented further overwrites by working on forensic disk images.
2. Manually Rebuilding the RAID 5 Array
Since the RAID 5 configuration was lost, we:
- Analysed stripe size, parity rotation, and drive order manually.
- Rebuilt the RAID 5 array outside of the QNAP system using professional forensic tools.
- Bypassed the QNAP NAS firmware to extract stored veterinary business data.
3. Extracting & Verifying Veterinary Business Data
Once the RAID array was successfully reconstructed, we:
- Recovered all patient medical records, appointment schedules, and billing data.
- Verified the integrity of veterinary X-ray images and case histories.
- Transferred the fully recovered data to a new external RAID storage device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our RAID 5 metadata reconstruction and deep parity analysis, we successfully recovered 100% of the veterinary business’s critical data, including:
✅ Patient treatment records and medical case files
✅ Appointment schedules and staff work logs
✅ Financial transaction records, invoices, and supplier orders
The veterinary clinic was able to fully restore their business operations, ensuring no disruption to patient care.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful RAID recoveries, we are the leading RAID 5 data recovery specialists in Oxford and the UK. Our expertise includes:
✔ QNAP RAID 5 to RAID 0 reconfiguration recovery
✔ RAID metadata repair & RAID stripe reconstruction
✔ Enterprise business data retrieval
✔ Secure & confidential veterinary & medical data recovery
If your RAID 5 system has been accidentally reconfigured, overwritten, or is failing to mount, stop all further attempts and contact us for professional RAID data recovery.