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[t121anf]

before committing too much data to my NAS i wanted to make sure that i could get it back (in addition to a backup on a usb drive)

well i finally got a SATA USB cable and downloaded Ext2Read available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/

nice little app saw the drive without issue and 2 partitions (other software saw 3 but wouldn't read them)

anyway, i successfully "saved" files from the nas hhd to my laptop.

i only tested the right hard drive due to running out of time, but if the left is meant to be an exact copy i can't see that being a problem, and anyway what are the chances of losing a NAS and harddrive at the same time.

time to copy all the rest of the data across now.

[t121anf]

ps, despite removing the drives and reading from them the NAS didn't rebuild the raid (providing it would have been logged)

[JavaLawyer]

before committing too much data to my NAS i wanted to make sure that i could get it back (in addition to a backup on a usb drive)

well i finally got a SATA USB cable and downloaded Ext2Read available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/

nice little app saw the drive without issue and 2 partitions (other software saw 3 but wouldn't read them)

anyway, i successfully "saved" files from the nas hhd to my laptop.

i only tested the right hard drive due to running out of time, but if the left is meant to be an exact copy i can't see that being a problem, and anyway what are the chances of losing a NAS and harddrive at the same time.

time to copy all the rest of the data across now.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with ext2read. A number of DNS users have heard about this product and a few have successfully used it. It's good to read about success stories with this software product as it provides DNS users with some peace of mind that their data is recoverable in the event of a DNS hardware failure.

[JavaLawyer]

ps, despite removing the drives and reading from them the NAS didn't rebuild the raid (providing it would have been logged)

Removing and subsequently replacing the HDDs from any of the DNS models should not cause a rebuild. One important rule of thumb you should follow when removing and replacing HDDs is to write the slot number the HDD was originally located with a magic marker on the actual HDD. Placing the HDDs in the wrong order, especially with the DNS-343 (RAID 5) will cause issues.

[petehiggins]

t121anf

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...

After two months use my DNS-320 failed in early August. I was told by D-Link Technical Support that my 800+ GB of data couldn't be recovered. They said if my DNS-320 was repaired or replaced the returned unit would have to reformat the hard drives. As an Engineer, I found that design implementation unconscionable!. It is good to know that your NAS didn't try to rebuild your test drives. I am still working with their RMA department to get a working DNS-320 replacement.

My 1.5 TB RAID 1 drives were formatted as follows:
HDD_L
sdb1 linux-swap 517.69 MiB
sdb4 ext3 500.04 MiB
sdb2 ext3 1.36 TiB (the large data partition)

HDD_R
sdc1 linux-swap 517.69 MiB
sdc4 ext3 500.04 MiB
sdc2 ext3 1.36 TiB (the large data partition)

When I tried to mount sdb2 or sdc2 under Ubuntu I got the following message “Not running, not enough components to start”. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to recover my data.

After reading your post, I downloaded Ext2Read and ran it under Windows XP MCE. One DNS-320 RAID 1 HD was hooked-up to a motherboard SATA controller. Ext2Read mounted and read sdb2 (the large data partition). I was able to transfer several files to an NTFS formatted partition. I did not try the RAID drive in a USB enclosure but assume since it worked for you it would have worked for me also.

Bottom line, it appears this program works to recover DNS-320 RAID 1 data if the drive is connected by either a USB or a SATA controller.

Ext2Read belongs in every DNS-320 owners toolkit.

I'll probably spend the weekend copying the RAID contents to an NTFS drive. I'll post back if I encounter any problems.

Again, thank you for taking the time to experiment.

[JavaLawyer]

There is a second software application, "R-Studio", used by DNS ownersto successfully mount RAID arrays. This application is actually more versatile than Ext2Read in many respects in that it can recognize multi-drive RAID arrays, such as RAID 5.

petehiggins - had I known you had this problem, I would have pointed you to these two apps a long time ago. 

[t121anf]

sorry i should have said i was only using raid 1.

i would prefer to only have the NAS and rely on that but there was always a niggle at the back of my mind, what if the nas drives, then what.  this has reassured me.

in 12yrs of working in IT i've never seen all the drives in a raid die, watch mine die tonight now hahahaha

also if you put them in a different unit i have no idea the consequence as i only have 1

[petehiggins]

t121anf,

Thanks again for your input.

Using Ext2Read, today I successfully recovered 815GB of data from one of my RAID 1 DNS-320 drives.

Donna @ DLink tech support (877) 453-5465 said there was no way to recover that data. She even had me on hold for a long time while she confirmed it with her supervisor.

Hopefully, D-Link will ship me a working DNS-320 replacement next week. Both of my original drives appear undamaged and are marked with the slot they resided in. When I receive my new unit, I will install the original RAID 1 drives and report back if I am up and running or as tech. support said their design requires a reformat of both drives forcing data loss.

[JavaLawyer]

Both of my original drives appear undamaged and are marked with the slot they resided in. When I receive my new unit, I will install the original RAID 1 drives and report back if I am up and running or as tech. support said their design requires a reformat of both drives forcing data loss.

As long as the manner in which your original DNS-320 died (five units ago?) did not cause any corruption in the way the DNS-320 recognizes/mounts/accesses the array, the next "working" DNS-320 you receive should accept your original RAID array without issue.

I've swapped HDDs between DNS units on many occasions.  As long as you use the slot numbers the HDDs occupied in the original unit, you should not experience any problems.