Servers rarely fail as servers — they fail as arrays, usually having lost more than one member behind working redundancy. Downtime creates pressure to act quickly, and most of the damage we see was done in that first hour. Here is what to do instead.
$ mdr diagnose /dev/server → Server: Dell PowerEdge · RAID 5 · 6 × 2 TB → Status: ARRAY OFFLINE — 2 disks failed → Client: confidential · Manchester M2 $ mdr engineer-working → Member disks: all 6 imaged read-only → RAID 5: rebuilt off the controller → Windows Server: volumes mounted $ mdr verify → ✓ file shares — 6.1 TB → ✓ SQL databases — restored → ✓ server recovered — data back
A failed restore that writes back onto the source destroys exactly what a recovery would have retrieved. If the backup is uncertain — and it usually is, or you would not be reading this — image the array first. You can always restore afterwards.
Server failures cost money by the hour, which creates pressure to act. Most of the damage we see was done in that first hour.
Not out of caution for its own sake — a degraded array running is an array with no margin, and every hour is an hour at full risk.
Whether triggered manually or automatically on a replacement disk. It reads every sector of every survivor and writes as it goes, which is the commonest way a recoverable array stops being one.
“Just to see if it comes back” writes fresh metadata over the description a recovery would have used.
Until you know the backup is complete and current. Restoring over the source removes the fallback if it turns out not to be.
In order, including anything already attempted. That account changes the approach more than the hardware model does, and nobody is judged for what is on it.
The chassis, the PSU and the OS are replaceable. What is not replaceable is what the disks were holding.
The part that separates a server job from a drive job, and where file-level recovery quietly falls short.
A SQL Server, MySQL or Exchange store pulled out of a failed array is not automatically usable. These formats hold internal consistency structures — page checksums, allocation maps, index trees, log sequence numbers — and a file assembled from a damaged volume can be byte-complete and still refuse to attach.
So recovered databases are checked structurally rather than simply extracted. Where pages are damaged we identify which tables and which records are affected and report those by name, rather than handing back a store that fails on attach and leaves you to work out why. The same applies to virtual machine files, mail archives and anything else with an internal format: the difference between a file count and a working system.
Priced by the reconstruction, not the capacity.
Server, RAID and NAS recovery starts from £500 +VAT, confirmed after a free 48-hour diagnostic. Enterprise SAN is priced separately from £1,250 +VAT. Where members need physical drive-level work there is a 50% deposit, with the balance on success.
NDAs are signed as standard, work runs through one named contact from diagnostic to delivery, invoicing is available rather than payment up front, and data remains in the UK. Priority handling is quoted alongside the recovery so you see both figures before deciding.
Get the drives to us, and tell us the server make, RAID setup and role. The diagnostic that follows costs nothing, and one figure goes in writing before any work begins.
Nothing starts until the drives — labelled in bay order — or the whole server to us is on the bench. Pack it properly and put your contact details in with it. The diagnostic that follows costs nothing, and one figure goes in writing before any work begins.
Posting it? Use something tracked and insured — whatever is on the drive is worth considerably more than the postage. Bringing it in? Weekdays, 9am to 5:30pm, and it still wants packing as above for the journey.
Not sure it is worth sending? Tell us about the server, RAID setup and fault, plus anything already attempted — an engineer reads every one of these and comes back with an honest view of the odds and a price band, before you post anything.
We’ll be in touch shortly. If it’s urgent, call 0161 871 0788.
The questions we’re asked most about recovering a server.
Power it down and leave the disks in their bays. Don’t let a rebuild run, don’t re-create the array, and don’t restore a backup over the original volume until the data is secured. Most of the damage we see was done in the first hour.
Yes, and they are checked for structural consistency rather than just extracted. A byte-perfect file can still refuse to attach if captured mid-transaction or holding damaged pages, so we identify the affected tables and records instead of returning a store that fails on attach.
Yes, including any already marked failed — an ejected member frequently still holds readable data and is often the difference between partial and full recovery. Label them by bay before removing them.
The diagnostic is free and normally back within 48 hours. Straightforward array work usually completes in a few working days from approval; donor parts or heavy imaging take longer, and the timescale comes with the quote.
Both, as standard. Work runs through a single named contact, data stays in the UK, and established businesses are invoiced rather than paying up front, with PO references carried through where finance needs them.
From £500 plus VAT for server, RAID and NAS work, fixed in writing after a free 48-hour diagnostic. Enterprise SAN environments are priced separately from £1,250 plus VAT.
Chassis vary; the failure modes do not. Cache battery faults, blackout losses and rebuilds begun on marginal disks account for most of what arrives, across every one of these.
From £500 +VAT, with enterprise SAN environments quoted separately from £1,250. Out-of-hours collection across Greater Manchester where a room full of people is waiting on it, and a named contact from diagnostic to handover.