A photography studio in London contacted Bristol Data Recovery after their Drobo 8-disk BeyondRAID system suffered multiple drive failures. The reported issues included:
- Two hard drives had failed, with red lights on the Drobo system.
- A buzzing noise was coming from the unit, indicating possible mechanical failure.
- The Drobo system was not accessible, and Drobo support could not assist with data recovery.
- The NAS contained critical photography files, including raw image archives and client projects.
- No backup was available, making professional data recovery essential.
Since Drobo’s BeyondRAID system uses a proprietary RAID structure, standard RAID recovery techniques would not work, requiring advanced forensic RAID reconstruction.
Our Expertise in Drobo RAID Data Recovery
With 25 years of experience, Bristol Data Recovery specializes in:
✔ Recovering data from Drobo BeyondRAID storage systems with multiple drive failures
✔ Forensic RAID reconstruction & sector-level data recovery
✔ Using advanced tools like Acelabs PC3000, DeepSpar, RapidSpar, and Atola Insight Forensic
Diagnosis & Recovery Process
Upon receiving the Drobo 8-disk RAID array, our engineers conducted a detailed forensic assessment. The key findings included:
- Two out of eight hard drives had suffered mechanical failures, preventing the system from operating.
- BeyondRAID’s proprietary file system had become unstable, requiring custom RAID reconstruction.
- The remaining drives contained data, but the RAID configuration was incomplete.
To successfully recover the studio’s photography data, we implemented a multi-step forensic RAID recovery strategy:
Step 1: Safe Drive Cloning & Bad Sector Imaging
- Used DeepSpar Disk Imager to create sector-by-sector forensic clones of all working RAID drives.
- Opened the two failed hard drives, replacing faulty read/write heads.
- Extracted maximum data from degraded sectors to reconstruct missing RAID structures.
Step 2: BeyondRAID Proprietary RAID Reconstruction
- Used custom RAID analysis tools to manually rebuild the BeyondRAID data layout.
- Matched file system metadata with Drobo’s proprietary structure to recover missing files.
- Patched corrupted RAID sectors to allow logical file system access.
Step 3: File System Repair & Data Extraction
- Repaired damaged BeyondRAID file system structures to restore missing directories.
- Extracted and validated all recovered photography files, including RAW images and client archives.
Step 4: Secure Data Transfer & Future Backup Solutions
- Conducted final validation checks to confirm all recovered files were intact.
- Successfully transferred the restored data to a secure external RAID system, formatted for business use.
- Provided guidance on RAID health monitoring, data backup strategies, and alternative NAS storage solutions.
The Result
We successfully recovered 99.1% of the studio’s lost photography data, including:
✅ RAW image files from ongoing and past projects
✅ Edited high-resolution images for clients
✅ Archived wedding, commercial, and portrait photography files
The photography studio was able to retrieve all critical image files, ensuring they could continue serving clients without data loss.
Why Choose Bristol Data Recovery for Drobo RAID Recovery?
✅ 25 Years of Expertise – Specialists in BeyondRAID storage recovery.
✅ Forensic RAID Reconstruction – Restoring data even after multiple drive failures.
✅ Fast & Reliable Service – Trusted by photographers and businesses for 25 years.
If your Drobo RAID system has suffered multiple drive failures and is not accessible, contact Bristol Data Recovery today for expert RAID data recovery services!