Error during file scanning of RAID5

[IanM]

I accidentally deleted a large amount of data (~350GB) from a 6TB 4 drive RAID5 array. I have verified that the array itself is still working. I'm trying to use iRecover to retrieve the data. After scanning for a long time it threw this error:

Severe error:
UNABLE TO CONTINUE:
Unable to recover anything - there was no data in Solver input. Check the log file for details.
Unable to continue processing, program will now terminate.
Not a bug - data is probably beyond repair, or something is misconfigured.

Where do I find the log file? Is the data definitely beyond repair or am I doing something wrong?
Any help is appreciated.

[Joep]

Hello,

What file system was on the array? You're doing 'data recovery for Windows and Linux' if the array is still intact, right?

[IanM]

Right, some things I should have mentioned. It's NTSF formatted and I'm working with Windows XP.

[Joep]

Hello,

To be honest I was expecting you to be using some kind of non-supported file system because it is rare we see this happen on NTFS. Basically iRecover tells us that it didn't find anything it recognizes as file system and file structures. Did any blue and green dots show while you were scanning?

I accidentally deleted a large amount of data

How? What was the procedure for deleting the data?

I have verified that the array itself is still working.

So I a assuming you are using the 'data recovery for windows and linux' when scanning the array?

Where do I find the log file?

In the iRecover installtion folder.

[IanM]

The deletion happened because I browsed to the folder for my project using the Folders view on the left side of windows explorer, then clicked on a subfolder and pressed the Delete key. It seems Windows must have still be highlighting the main folder in the Folders view and deleted the entire project, instead of just the subfolder. I was expecting there to be a large amount of data deleted, so I clicked Yes on the usual Windows "Do you want to permanently delete" warning.

Yes, I was trying to use Data recovery for windows and linux and I was seeing blue and green dots while it was scanning. It was running for a couple of days (I'm assuming because of the large size of the array) and when I checked back after about 48 hours it had thrown the error.

[IanM]

Some of the files are much more important than others, so I grabbed iUndelete in the meantime and I'm running a scan for some specific file extensions. Is this also likely to take a long time because of the size of the array?

[Tom]

Given the scenario running iUndelete is a good idea. It will take some time but nowhere near as long as iRecover.

[IanM]

How long would be a reasonable amount of time to expect iUndelete to get results when scanning 6TB of drive space? It's been scanning for about 24 hours now, using a filter to search for a specific file extension. If there is supposed to be a progress bar it isn't filling up at all. It does still say Scanning... on the status bar at the bottom of the window.
Thanks.

[Joep]

Hello,

No idea really. Never had the chance to test that. However the size of the volume itself is not so much an issue. Real issue is the size of the $Bitmap NTFS system file and the number of deleted files found. iUndelete builds a list for *all* deleted files. Filters are applied after the scan finishes. It's a 'narrow-down' search so to speak, it simply does not show files not matching the filter.

If there's no progress after 24 hours I'd stop it and try something else, for example FileScavenger from www.quetek.com.

[IanM]

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. Any chance of a refund on my iUndelete purchase if it's not going to be able to recover the data for me?

[Joep]

Hello,

Sure: send us (support@diydatarecovery.nl) your order ID and we'll take care of the refund.

[Joep]

Done! And good luck!