How to Properly Handle NAS Drive Data Recovery

If your up‑to‑recently trustworthy NAS started acting up (or failed entirely along with your files), don’t be too quick to give up. In our simple guide, we’ll walk you through how to recover your lost data over the network (if your NAS still boots), and what to do if it doesn’t. Our team has handled NAS drive data recovery across all kinds of setups, and while it might seem like rocket science, most cases are quite straightforward once you know what to look for.

Can You Recover Data from NAS?

NAS recovery is usually possible, but its outcome depends on both the cause of data loss and your NAS device’s setup. Depending on the case, the reason your data disappeared might play a bigger role than your NAS drive’s setup when trying to recover your files. However, you should know how your NAS drive might differ from other solutions before you attempt to get your files back.

Although the term “NAS” applies to many seemingly similar storage devices, they can be vastly different.

• Affordable entry-level devices might use a single drive, which makes them great candidates for a successful NAS data recovery.
• Other entry-level/DIY NAS drives may be set up as JBOD – “Just a Bunch of Disks”, which presents many disks of various specifications within them as a single storage device. You can often recover the contents of those disks individually.
• RAID0 NAS setups “spread” data among an even number of (ideally) identical drives to boost read and write speeds. Unfortunately, precisely because only parts of each file are stored on each drive, recovery ranges from hard to impossible. Still, if dealing with data loss on a RAID0 NAS setup, our guide on how to recover data from RAID 0 might come in handy.
• RAID1 NAS devices use half of the even number of (ideally) identical drives within them as backups of the others. A successful NAS drive recovery from such setups is typically effortless and almost guaranteed as we’ve seen before – for it’s rare for all drives to fail together.
• RAID5 setups are an ingenious mix of RAID0 and RAID1. Similarly to RAID0, they offer higher speeds than each disk in their array but also increased resiliency, like RAID1. Recovery can be successful but relies on many factors (e.g., how many drives failed, whether the rest are in perfect working condition, etc.).
• RAID6, RAID10, and more. There are more RAID setups, but they’re actually somewhat more complicated versions of the above. For example, RAID6 is an “expanded” version of RAID5, using one additional disk for storing extra data (“parity”) that makes recovery of the array possible. RAID10 combines two identical RAID1 setups “striped” as RAID0 storage, to offer both top speeds and high resiliency. Similarly, RAID50 combines RAID5 with RAID0, etc.

First Response Before You Attempt NAS Recovery

In our long experience working in the data recovery space, we’ve seen all kinds of things go sideways (many of them totally avoidable). People often act fast, but those knee-jerk reactions are what often end up killing their chances. If we had to boil it down to a quick list of what to do (and what not to do) before starting any NAS recovery, here’s what we’d say:

How to Recover Data from NAS Drives

Alright, let’s finally get into the practical steps.

We’re going to walk through two main NAS data recovery cases, ones we see all the time:

• A working NAS where you accidentally deleted/lost files. Here, you can recover data over the network using NAS data recovery software. This is the simpler scenario; no need to disassemble anything.
• A failed NAS where the system is no longer accessible. This one’s trickier. You’ll need to take the drives out, connect them to your PC, and recover data from there. It takes a bit more effort, but still very doable with the right tools.

Let’s start with the first scenario: how to use data recovery software for NAS file recovery over the network.

Scenario 1: Recover Files from a NAS Device Over the Network

There are plenty of NAS data recovery software tools out there (and we’ll cover a bunch of them a little later), but for the actual step-by-step walkthrough, we decided to use Disk Drill because:

Disk Drill uses standard Secure Shell (SSH) protocol to recover files directly from a NAS, which is both secure and widely supported. Most NAS systems like Synology, QNAP, and TrueNAS offer SSH access, so compatibility isn’t usually an issue. But you’ll need to enable SSH on the NAS before starting.

The basic steps to enable SSH in your NAS are:

1. Run your favorite web browser on your PC, and type your NAS drive’s IP address in the browser’s address bar.
2. Use your administrator login and password to log in to your NAS drive’s web interface.
3. This part will be different depending on your NAS: You’ll have to visit its Control Panel, Settings, (Network & File) Services, or any similar entry from where you can customize its networking capabilities. When there, look for the settings for SSH, Terminal, Telnet, or SNMP. On a Synology NAS you’ll find them on the Terminal & SNMP page of its Control Panel.
4. Locate the option Enable SSH (service) and activate it.

With SSH enabled, you can run Disk Drill and start the NAS file recovery process remotely:

1. Download and install Disk Drill from its official site.
2. Run the app and expand Storage Devices from the panel on the left.
3. In most cases, Disk Drill will automatically detect your NAS on the network and show it in the main device list – if you see it there, simply select it and click Connect now.
4. If Disk Drill doesn’t detect it automatically, choose NAS & Linux via SSH, and click Add network storage.
5. Enter your NAS drive’s IP address, your login and password, and click Connect. Disk Drill should detect your NAS drive’s RAID setup and present it as a RAID volume. If not, it will show you individually your NAS drive’s disks.
6. Select your NAS’s RAID volume and click Search for lost data.
7. Let Disk Drill’s scan run its course to locate as many files as possible. When it’s done, click Review found items.
8. Go through the files Disk Drill found, and when you locate the ones you want to get back, mark them for recovery with a checkmark.
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   Looking for files you accidentally deleted? Check the Deleted or Lost and Reconstructed categories in Disk Drill’s scan results. These are the two most useful sections when dealing with deleted files or folders that went missing without explanation. “Deleted or Lost” shows files Disk Drill identified as removed from the file system, while “Reconstructed” lists content found via deep scan. It identifies them based on unique binary patterns (called signatures).

9. If Disk Drill presents you with so many results that finding the files you require feels like searching for a needle in a haystack, use the app’s Categories (on the left) and Filters (above the results) to narrow them down based on values like their type, size, latest modification date, etc.
   👀

   Always check the preview. It’s usually the quickest way to tell what a file actually is, especially when the names are of no help. More importantly, if you can preview a file, that means it’s 100% recoverable. If it opens in the preview window, you’re good to go.

10. When done, click Recover.
11. Choose the destination where you want to store the files Disk Drill recovers and click Next.
12. After a short wait, you’ll find the files Disk Drill recovered in the destination folder you selected in the previous step.

Scenario 2: Recover Data from a Failed NAS

Now this case is a bit trickier. You can’t just connect over the network via SSH. If the NAS isn’t booting or the interface is dead, you’ll need to physically remove the drives from the NAS and hook them up directly to your PC. That means using SATA ports if you’re working inside a desktop, or a USB-to-SATA adapter if you’re on a laptop. This method bypasses the NAS hardware completely, which is what you want if the RAID controller failed, the firmware’s corrupted, or the unit won’t even power on.

Once you’ve got the drives connected, you’ve got two ways forward, depending on the condition of the disks.

Option A: Your NAS Drives Are Intact (No Data Loss)

Sometimes your NAS fails, but the drives themselves are fine.

In this case, you might be able to read the file system directly. Most NAS units use EXT4, BTRFS, or XFS (Linux file systems that Windows and macOS can’t read natively). But you can still mount them with the help of third-party tools. For this demo, we’ll use DiskInternals Linux Reader. It’s free, easy, and works well.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Download and install DiskInternals Linux Reader from their official site.
2. Connect the NAS drive to your PC using a SATA port or a USB-to-SATA adapter.
3. Launch Linux Reader and wait a few seconds (it should auto-detect the Linux partitions on the drive).
4. Browse the partition to find your files. It works like a file explorer.
5. Select what you want and click “Save” to export the files to a local folder on your PC.

That’s it. You won’t be able to modify anything on the original NAS drive (Linux Reader is read-only), but for safe recovery, that’s a good thing.

If you can’t find the files you’re looking for, the NAS volume doesn’t mount properly, or you see error messages instead of folders, in that case, you’ll need actual NAS data recovery software.

Option B: Your NAS Drive Has Lost Data (or Is Inaccessible)

You can perform data recovery on them using one of the best RAID data recovery software as if they were a local storage setup from the get-go. For this example, we’ll use Disk Drill again – it works seamlessly for both remote NAS recovery and direct recovery from detached drives.

Here’s how to perform data recovery on NAS disks when accessing them directly on your PC:

1. With your NAS drive turned off, unmount its disks and connect them to your PC. If your PC doesn’t have enough storage slots available, you can use an external disk enclosure for that.
2. Download the app from its official site. Then, install and run it.
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   Be careful where you install your recovery software. If you connected a NAS drive (or one of its disks) to your PC for recovery, don’t install the recovery app onto that same drive. It writes new data, which could overwrite the very files you’re trying to get back.

   

3. With all your NAS drive’s disks connected to your PC, Disk Drill will automatically build a RAID array from them. Select this array and then click Search for lost data.
4. Disk Drill will then ask you to choose a scan mode. Select – Universal Scan.
5. It’s best to allow Disk Drill’s scan to complete to maximize the chances the app locates as many files as possible. When the scan completes, click Review found items.
6. Go through Disk Drill’s scan results and check the previews and file names to spot what you’re looking for. If a file looks good, place a checkmark next to it, that’s how you mark it for recovery.
7. You can also use the search bar at the top to save time. Type in the full file name, part of the name, or even just an extension like .jpg, .docx, .zip, etc., and it’ll pull up all matching results.
8. If Disk Drill shows you thousands of files, you can narrow down its list based on characteristics like their type, recovery chances, size range, etc. For that, use Disk Drill’s Categories on the left or Filters above the files list.
9. Choose where you want to store the recovered files. If your desired destination isn’t among the ones suggested by Disk Drill, click Choose destination and pick another folder. Click Next to proceed.
10. Soon after, Disk Drill will show you a summary of the results. Click Show recovered data in Explorer to see your recovered files using the OS’s default file manager.

Open Disk Drill and go to the Byte-to-byte backup feature. Select the problematic drive, click Create backup, and choose a location with enough free space to hold the entire drive (same size or more).

Once the image is saved, go back to the main Storage Devices section and click Attach disk image at the bottom. Load the backup file you just created.

From there, select the image and follow the same recovery steps as before. You’ll be scanning the backup, not the damaged drive – which means zero risk of making things worse during recovery.

After your data’s safe, it’s technically possible to fix the original corrupted hard drive if the issue was software-level (like file system damage). But if it’s something physical, don’t trust it for anything important going forward.

You can check the drive’s health under Disk Drill’s S.M.A.R.T. monitoring tab. If you see any warnings (reallocated sectors, CRC errors, pending blocks), we wouldn’t be comfortable using that drive for more than one last job. Even if it still works, it’s not reliable. Better to retire it.

More DIY NAS Recovery Software

Now, as promised, here’s a quick overview of several apps that can help you recover deleted or lost files from NAS drives, besides the main method we just walked through.

Solution 1: Home NAS Recovery

Home NAS Recovery has some significant pros going for it, which might make it the optimal choice for many people who want to recover data from a NAS drive without overthinking it. The app offers one of the most straightforward interfaces among its peers, is relatively quick, and supports the most popular RAID layouts and NAS manufacturers.

However, even after testing it, we can’t talk about specifics since neither the app, its official documentation, nor its site offer enough information about its capabilities.

Another major negative is that its per-drive pricing can render it more expensive than, for example, R-Studio, depending on your data loss scenario.

Still, downloading and trying it on your NAS drive’s disks is free.

Solution 2: UFS Explorer

UFS Explorer may become your tool of choice for NAS drive recovery since it’s relatively affordable, easy to use, and probably offers the features you require.

“Probably” because you’ll first have to make sense of all its versions to pick the best one for your needs and requirements. Many features overlap, and there’s no clear explanation of what each version supports. Should you go for a more expensive one that supports RAID “natively”, or is a “standard” (and more affordable) option that requires an extra “RAID module” adequate?

Theoretically, you could dig through their extensive online documentation or try all of the app’s versions to find out. Practically, most users will probably skip that and check the alternatives for NAS data recovery.

Solution 3: R-Studio NAS Recovery

Many professionals vouch for R-Studio as one of the best data recovery solutions, not only for NAS drives and RAID setups but for any data loss scenario. And they’re not wrong.

R-Studio is, indeed, one of the most versatile and powerful data recovery apps, and can usually successfully recover data from a NAS drive, no matter its RAID layout or file system used.

However, it’s also a relatively (actually, “very”) complicated tool, targeting primarily said professionals who are familiar with terms like “MDADM”, “LVM”, and “UUID”, and who will probably jump directly to its full-priced unrestricted version.

Solution 4: Runtime Software NAS Data Recovery

With one of the most approachable interfaces out of all NAS data recovery solutions, the aptly named NAS Data Recovery by Runtime Software should be extremely friendly and usable even by absolute beginners. You only have to select the disks of your NAS drive’s RAID setup, scan them, and recover their content to another storage device.

Practically, though, those “absolute beginners” will still have to:

• Unplug the disks from their NAS drive
• Connect them directly to their PC
• Recognize them among the rest of their PC’s storage devices
• Select the correct drives from the app’s interface

Thus, despite Runtime Software NAS Data Recovery’s easy-to-use interface, it’s not a user-friendly solution. Those who don’t know (or don’t care to learn) how to handle delicate HDDs would be better off sticking with Disk Drill, which we walked through in the main section of this guide. It’s far more approachable for typical NAS recovery jobs.

Solution 5: EaseUS NAS Recovery

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is regarded as one of the best solutions for recovering files under various data loss scenarios. Although it doesn’t specialize in networked storage, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard also presents itself as a NAS recovery solution and can help you get your data back from networked RAID setups.

The app has some advanced features, like its ability to attempt repairing/reconstructing image and video files. Still, its support for File Systems is lackluster, and its pricing plans are far from enticing.

Tips for the Tough Cases

The tools and methods we covered here should work for most people trying to recover data from a NAS setup. Whether you decide to run a data recovery tool over SSH or take the more hands-on route of disconnecting drives and plugging them directly into your computer, both paths have a solid track record.

From what we’ve seen across our team and community tests, one of these approaches typically leads to success unless you’re dealing with a physical failure or some obscure issue like a bricked device from a bad firmware update.

In our recent survey, about 79% of users who tried a DIY software route managed to recover their files successfully.

That said, not all cases are this straightforward. If your drives freeze, vanish mid-scan, or behave erratically, there could be an underlying hardware issue that makes DIY recovery risky (or sometimes impossible). In those scenarios:

• You might still be able to recover files using a byte-to-byte backup (we walked through that).
• Or you might need professional help.

Data recovery labs have tools and expertise that most of us simply don’t have (cleanroom setups, chip readers, and experience handling damaged drives). The problem is, they’re not cheap. To put it mildly.

But not every service charges a fortune. If you want to know which data recovery companies offer solid results without wrecking your wallet, our team has put together a full guide on the best data recovery services out there.

FAQ