RAID Server Recovery

It’s every business’ nightmare. Mission critical data, perhaps accounting, perhaps SQL or Oracle databases, brought down by a multiple RAID hard drive failure. The first inclination of many IT people is to “diagnose and fix”, which in some cases is OK, but in many cases, can actually worsen the issue.

RAID server recovery is always best performed by a professional, especially because the data contained on most RAID server hard disks tends to be crucial to the operation of the organization. But, there are mistakes people make when faced with RAID drive failure, and at Hard Drive Recovery Group, we’re here to help you avoid them.

Utilities

Ah, utilities. The “fix all solution” so many IT administrators, particularly those with less experience, look to when in a jam. But when a hard disk drive failure occurs that requires physical RAID server recovery, utilities can be a bad choice for Diagnosis and THE WORST choice for recovery and repair.

This is typically because real RAID hard disk failures are typically hardware issues, often the loss of two or more drives because of problems with the drives. Attempting to fix a failed hard drive using software is basically useless, but can actually affect the way your server sees the RAID array. Utilities can corrupt the parity disk itself, meaning that even if you get your hard disks repaired, you may NOT be able to recover the data on the RAID anyway!

Additionally, Utility programs can overwrite data on your hard drive that could be critical to your business. Let’s face it, would you trust your entire business to a $100 piece of software? Neither would we.

Fix All Software

Funny thing about people looking at an emergency RAID server recovery situation: they tend to panic. After all, if your company’s critical data – the data that without which, your business is in dire straits – is in jeopardy, you might tend to get a little irrational. It’s a human reaction, really.

But what is truly unfortunate is that there are a group of companies out there that prey on this panic. Offering “RAID Server Recovery” software, these companies charge anywhere from $500-2000USD for the opportunity to download their software. Trouble is, with no guarantees, and the potential that you’re really just using an extremely expensive utility package, you are likely digging yourself a VERY expensive hole!

Know how it feels to be down $1000 and discover that your RAID server recovery cannot be performed because of what a “recovery software” did? Neither do we, but it’s got to be horrible.

$299 Too Good To Be True?

In a word, yes. And when you trust your business’ personal data to a company that claims to be able to recover RAID servers for under $300, you’re likely getting what you’re paying for. Remember, time is money, and we can guarantee you that about 19 out of 20 RAID server recovery situations will require more than just a simple cheapie fix. So that means sending out your server, waiting for the “shop” to say they can’t do anything (and worrying every minute), and then re-sending it to a Clean Room equipped RAID specialist like Hard Drive Recovery Group to get the job done. Hmm. Seems like that first step is avoidable.

Call A Professional

If you realized that this last topic is actually what you SHOULD do, then congratulations. You have taken a course of action many people do not. Remember that any RAID server recovery shop worth its salt will always consult with you for free, at least to give you a path to action (or inaction, in some cases). That’s a zero cost way to calm down, assess the situation and determine what to do next. Some call it therapy, we call it our job.

Our experienced RAID data recovery engineers are available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to help. Contact us at the toll free line above, or fill out our handy RAID data recovery request here.

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