Western Digital My Cloud NAS devices are commonly used for home and business storage, offering RAID redundancy for data protection. However, adding an incompatible or mismatched drive to a RAID 5 array can trigger a rebuild failure, making the entire NAS unreadable and causing data loss.
This case study details how we successfully recovered 20 years of family data and office work files from a WD My Cloud NAS with a failed RAID 5 rebuild, after WD Support was unable to restore access.
As Glasgow Data Recovery, Scotland’s oldest and best data recovery company, we have 25 years of experience using RAID 5 reconstruction, NAS file system repair, and deep forensic recovery techniques to restore lost files.
WD My Cloud NAS Failing After Adding an Incompatible Drive
A client contacted us after their WD My Cloud NAS stopped functioning properly, with the following issues:
- One drive in the RAID 5 array had failed, and they replaced it with an incompatible drive.
- The NAS attempted a rebuild but failed midway, making the system inaccessible.
- WD Support was unable to assist with recovery.
- The NAS contained 20 years of family photos, videos, and critical work office files.
Since forcing another rebuild attempt could overwrite remaining data, an immediate professional recovery solution was required.
Diagnosis & Evaluation
When the WD My Cloud NAS (4-disk RAID 5 setup) arrived at our cleanroom facility, we conducted a full RAID and file system diagnostic. Our findings:
- RAID 5 parity data corruption – The failed rebuild left the array in an inconsistent state.
- NAS file system corruption (EXT4/XFS) – Making the stored data unreadable.
- No mechanical drive failures detected – Meaning logical recovery was possible using RAID reconstruction.
Since RAID 5 failures require precise data extraction to avoid parity mismatches, we prioritized manual RAID rebuilding and file system repair.
The Recovery Process
1. Cloning & Imaging All NAS Drives to Prevent Further Data Loss
To preserve recoverable data, we:
- Created sector-by-sector forensic clones of all four RAID 5 disks.
- Used specialized NAS recovery tools to extract readable sectors despite parity corruption.
2. Rebuilding the RAID 5 Array & Repairing File System Corruption
Since the RAID 5 metadata was corrupted, we:
- Manually reconstructed the RAID 5 array outside of the WD My Cloud system.
- Repaired missing RAID headers and parity data to restore file access.
- Rebuilt the EXT4/XFS file system to recover missing directory structures.
3. Extracting & Verifying Family & Office Work Files
Once the RAID 5 structure was successfully rebuilt, we:
- Recovered all family photos, videos, and personal documents.
- Restored business files, spreadsheets, and office records.
- Transferred the fully restored data to a secure external backup device.
The Results: 100% Data Recovery Success
Thanks to our RAID 5 reconstruction and NAS file system repair techniques, we successfully recovered 100% of the client’s lost data, including:
✅ 20 years of family photos and videos
✅ Personal documents, archived emails, and digital memories
✅ Work office files, business documents, and financial records
The client was able to regain access to all important data, ensuring no family memories or work-related files were permanently lost.
Why Choose Us?
With 25 years of experience and tens of thousands of successful RAID recoveries, we are Scotland’s leading NAS data recovery specialists. Our expertise includes:
✔ RAID 5 rebuild failure recovery & metadata reconstruction
✔ EXT4/XFS NAS file system repair & missing data extraction
✔ Family photo, video, and business document retrieval
✔ Secure & confidential data recovery services
If your WD My Cloud NAS RAID 5 has failed due to an incompatible drive, rebuild failure, or file system corruption, stop using the device immediately and contact us for expert NAS data recovery.