Windows Home Server FAQ

I just ordered 5 of the Samsung HD204UI drives to add to my WHS v1 norco box, are these pretty much plug and play? I'm using 2x AOC-SAT2-MV8's for controllers.
 
cre3d said:
I just ordered 5 of the Samsung HD204UI drives to add to my WHS v1 norco box, are these pretty much plug and play? I'm using 2x AOC-SAT2-MV8's for controllers.
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Yes with a slight but. When I purchased mine it was in a time period where they were recommending the patching of the drives from a bug they had. I haven't confirmed this but I believe any drives manufactured after I think February don't need the firmware updated. Check the dates and roll.
 
I've been testing two DE replacements, Stablebit Drivepool and Drivebender. Both are in beta so obviously we should expect them to have bugs and not be feature complete. Looking at their roadmaps both are roughly at the same stage of beta and have a similar release cycle.

Drivepool has the nicer dashboard plugin but I was getting weird permission issues accessing shares from my mac and as well as working with them via a remote desktop client. Performance was around 30MB/s speeds when transferring to the pool over a network or even locally. I updated to the latest release last night and could no longer access my shares at all. They say you can pull the drives out and plug them in another computer and get your data but the drives showed no doubt despite windows reporting they were full.

Drivebender isn't quite as pretty but it's getting a dashboard update next beta. Performance is around 70MB/s transferring over my network. No strange permission issues. Accessing shares is much more responsive from either my mac or my Win7 machines. It just about feels ready for release.
The drives can be pulled and I can indeed seem my data and acces it. So that's good.
 
I haven't missed DE since setting up my new 2011 box. It's got all new 2tb drives so it feels like a moot point to me.

I do need to set up a backup solution before I wipe the old servers.
 
Alright. It has been smooth sailing for 2011 up until recently. I was able to rip movies, add them to the video folder and watch to my hearts content. But now I have run into an issue. I recently acquired some .mkv video that I want to watch on my PS3. I converted the video using mkv2vob and stuck them in my Recored TV folder but the PS3 won't show the folder or the files. I have a few seasons of another show in that folder so I know I am in the right folder but for some reason I can't transcode .mkv into anything that either the server can show on the PS3 or the PS3 recognizes. I am also having a similar issue with another folder in the same Recorded TV folder that is full of .avi's that won't show up.

Now, I posted this here because maybe I am missing some naming convention or something which I might have overlooked.
 
I am wondering it I am seeing signs of a potential issue with my WHS. I have noticed lately that when I delete files or remove them my free space isn't increasing as reported by Windows 7.

For example last night I had 1.15TB free and deleted a folder with 2.90GB. My free space only increased to 1.16TB. This morning I was up to 1.17TB free so maybe when the drives were balanced it updated a little. Now though this morning I just removed 6.42GB and my server is still reporting 1.17TB free.

Anyone know why this might be happening? I swear before when I would delete stuff my space would increase immediately.
 
What is the size of the WHS 2011 boot partition?

I would like to know the minimum SSD size necessary to install WHS 2011 using the CFG.INI CheckReqs=0 parameter. I have heard that 60GB may be the minimum, but I want to confirm. I intend to use other drives for backup/shared storage, as allowed in WHS 2011.
 
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I am at 23.6gb fully patched with a 4gb pagefile on the OS drive and a bunch of apps installed (chrome, hamachi, logmein, notepad++, netlimiter, orb, cpuid hwmonitor, hd tune, air video, sabnzbd, sickbeard, couchpotato, shark007 codecs, windows resource kit, videolan).

Suffice to say I'm pretty sure you could get away with a 20gb system partition, especially if you don't install a lot of apps and move the pagefile over to another drive.
 
cre3d said:
I am at 23.6gb fully patched with a 4gb pagefile on the OS drive and a bunch of apps installed (chrome, hamachi, logmein, notepad++, netlimiter, orb, cpuid hwmonitor, hd tune, air video, sabnzbd, sickbeard, couchpotato, shark007 codecs, windows resource kit, videolan).

Suffice to say I'm pretty sure you could get away with a 20gb system partition, especially if you don't install a lot of apps and move the pagefile over to another drive.
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Great information. Thanks!
 
Yea that may be all the space you need.

Too bad windows won't install on that though
 
nitrobass24 said:
Yea that may be all the space you need.

Too bad windows won't install on that though
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Just to add to cre3d's experience, I had no difficulty installing WHS 2011 directly to an Intel 40GB SSD yesterday. I used the following cfg.ini:

[WinPE]
InstallSKU=SERVERHOMEPREMIUM
ConfigDisk=1
CheckReqs=0
WindowsPartitionSize=MAX
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The installation took about 11.5GB of the 37.2GB partition, excluding the swap file.
 
When you guys built your new WHS2K11 builds, did you just straight copy your WHS v1 stuff over network or does 2K11 offer some sort of way to port v1 backups?
Getting ready to build a new fileserver, but wondering if should run them in parallel until all data is moved over. I'm just going to go for all 3TB drives this time around.
 
You just have to copy all your data over, no getting around it. Easiest would be via network, but you can also just plug the drives in and copy everything off them that way.
 
So just had what I think is a disk failure on my WHSv1 server. Wanted me to make sure the disk was connected, said it was missing. I pulled the drive and hooked it to my main PC. From what I remember I should be seeing files on there right? I can view the HDD and it shows up in My Computer. It shows there is 937GB used, but I don't see anything. Reasonable to expect it's toast and I need to order a new drive?

Thanks
 
Hello, guys.

As most of you know, I have been following this thread for quite a while now, since before the WD EAxxEARS 4K sector drives appeared. Since that time, this thread has grown something like 20 pages, which I simply cannot thoroughly scan.

Thing is, I'm in need to add storage to my WHSv1 box, possibly involving a reinstall of sorts, since right now the OS drive is the smallest and most power hungry (Samsung F1 1TB) of all of them. Also, right now it is already virtually impossible to find non-4K HDDs on the market, especially from Samsung (I'm most likely getting 204UIs)

So, what was the final answer on reliability and installation of 4K sector HDDs on WHSv1, as both OS and data drives?

- Does a data drive formatted in a Vista/7 machine (thus, properly aligned) get its partition recreated when added to a WHSv1 machine, or just re-formatted? If it's only reformatted, then I'm probably OK, I just need to pop the HDDs on a USB enclosure pior to adding them to the WHS box.

- Is it easy to "shift" both partitions on the OS drive to +1 sector (remember, I'm getting Samsung drives...), or the data partition, if WHSv1 re-partitions the HDD? If yes, how exactly? Does WD Align work with non-WD HDDs?

Finally, what do you guys think it's the best way to migrate? I'm at 16% free of ~5.5TB right now, and basically nowhere to dump all that data... Maybe installing WHS on the new HDD (with everything else disconnected), then adding the new spare disk(s) (1 or 2 tops) to have DE adapt, then plug each of the old HDDs one by one and move the files by hand, finally adding the HDDs to the pool to help out spreading the load? Does that sound right?

Thank you very much for any help you may give me.
 
Fritzz said:
It shows there is 937GB used, but I don't see anything. Reasonable to expect it's toast and I need to order a new drive?
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late reply, I was on vacation the last couple of weeks.

It may be the drive is toast, but it may also be the drive was only used as a duplication drive in WHS. AFAIK, WHS duplication files are not visible to the user (meaning they get put inside an invisible OS drive), or at least they have the "hidden" attribute set, which means you should only be able to see them with 1) the "Show hidden files" option enabled or 2) with special software that can read hidden OS directories (there are a few of them, actually).

Hope this helps.
 
Hello,
I'm using WHS 2011 64bits on my server and I've got a problem with my brand new raid 5 (Dell Perc 5/i), it seems to be a problem with Windows that can't handle >2048GB drive. After a bit of research I've found that I have to convert my virtual drive to GPT disk but here is my problem :
1311105641.PNG

1311100455.PNG

Do you have any idea ?
 
Zycker said:
Do you have any idea ?
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You're doing it wrong, Zycler. Right MMC Plugin, only wrong mouse pointer placement. :p

It's not the partition that needs to be converted to GPT, it's the Disk/Array. Right-click the disk area (where you can read "Disk 4 / Basic") and you should have a "convert to GPT" option available there. If not, try removing all partitions on that Disk/Array (WARNING: ANY DATA ON THAT PARTITION WILL BE LOST!) and give the conversion a go again.

Hope this helps!
 
Thank you, TASL, and you're welcome, Zycker.

Oh, I hate it when an important question ends up at the bottom of a page... If you guys don't mind going to the previous page and check out my question on 4K-sector HDDs and WHSv1, it would be great. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold off buying more storage space, and I don't want to mess it all up...

Pretty please? lol

Thanks in advance.
 
Setup a new WHS2011 box and so far have ran into one snag.

I keep getting alerts on my desktop pc via the launcher that "The server was restarted". Except it hasn't. I delete the alert and it comes right back about 30 minutes to 1 hour later. I have verified that the server hasn't been restarted.


So far I have restarted both my PC and the server a couple times to try and clear this up and I still receive the alerts. Delete the alert and it comes right back. This seems to have started yesterday evening after a power outage at my place.

ideas?
 
@ _Miguel_

Get a Hitachi drive. They aren't 4k drives.

4k drive aren't working well for data and certainly aren't working well for the OS.
 
S-F said:
@ _Miguel_

Get a Hitachi drive. They aren't 4k drives.

4k drive aren't working well for data and certainly aren't working well for the OS.
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Thanks for the input.

I have taken a look at the Hitachi website, and apparently their drives are still non-AF, as you said (yay!), but I then took a look at my usual IT stores (retailers and e-tailers, from across the country), and guess what, not only most of them don't even carry the drives, but those couple that do carry the 2TB low-power drive (which I don't even know how they work, and quite frankly, am somewhat skeptic to try) charge at least €20 extra for it, when comparing it to both the F4E (~€68) and EARS (~€72), which is A LOT... :(

Not good... Not good, at all...

Also, could you clarify that "4k drive aren't working well" part? What exactly is happening?

Anyway, thanks again for the input.
 
About the alerts, you can delete them, but if the OS still feels they are happening ( even if they aren't ) they will still pop back up. It's a bug.
So far the only fix is to reinstall, or just ignore.
 
Is there a way I can run an Itunes server on WHS V1 oem? I love the function of the HP version but I have never been able to find the msi package for it. So I am now looking for a thirparty solution or a way to run a stable Itunes server. My second question is there a way I can have my home server work with time mach?
 
Check out the Firefly Media Server. I believe it's pretty much what the HP servers are running.

Download: Here
Tutorial: Here
 
@ _Miguel_

I saw your post on WGS but am responding here because that thread is dedicated to Samsung drives.

Any of the Hitachi 2 TB drives will work for you. You don't need the lower RPM ones. They are great fir storage true (they are tried and true) but the 7200 RPM versions will also work. Can you get those where you live for a decent price? One of the perks for us in the US is that the slower drives are cheaper. With the price gouging you're talking about it might be in your best interest to get a friend in the US to get a bunch and ship them to you.
 
Thanks, S-F. Interesting to see the perks of having a single nickname... lol

In the meanwhile, I re-checked the prices I had, and it seems I might have been drunk (do note I don't drink) while posting my previous post on this thread. Hitachi HDDs are still the most expensive, but not by €20 (which is A LOT). They're about €5 more expensive than WDs (which are like €2~€5 more expensive than the Sammys), though that's still more than 10% extra per drive... :( (yeah, I'm Uncle Scrooge... lol). Ordering from the US is NOT a good idea. The drives might be slightly cheaper, but P&P eats the difference up in a flash, plus I might get the package stuck in Customs, which is not only a MAJOR pain but also add quite a bit on the price tag... My peace of mind is worth a few Euros more... lol

Also, one user from the other forum suggested I go with the WD drives, simply because they have a "set it and forget it" jumper. This suddenly feels right, though I'll have to re-check power and noise figures. This is for a 24/7 server, after all, and I can hear the system fan running 6m away with a brick wall in the middle (standard 12cm CoolerMaster LED fan), so noise can't be too high.

As for the slower drives being cheaper, the same also applies in Portugal. The difference between green and non-green drives is about 20% or something. I've never really checked, since I don't buy large capacity 7200rpm drives. I have small (sub-1TB) high-speed system drives, like 320GB or 500GB, and low-speed data drives on the NAS.

So, I'll re-check all this new data, and I'll see what I come up with.

Also, since I'm on the subject of drives, do you think a 160GB or 320GB Scorpio Black (which is rather cheap nowadays, plus it's non-AF) makes a good system drive? Or something else might be better?

Again, thanks for your time, and for any help.
 
Is it me or is the backup in WHS 2011 shitty?

If I have three drives designated as backup drives why can't the backup service roll onto the next one when the first one get's full.
 
Ok, guys. I'm back.

I was in between jobs when I last posted, plus my parents were on vacation with me (which is always a pain, at one point we were 6 in a single-bedroom, ~70m2, or about 750 square feet, apartment... ugh), so I had to put the breaks on the upgrade.

Right now I'm debating on moving on to WHS 2011 and taking my chances with one of those 3rd-party "DE-like" implementations (which are still non-RTM), or keeping WHS v1. DE is one of the main reasons I use WHS, so what do you guys think?

Also, about hardware: I've decided the new data drives are going to be WD Greens. The "set it and forget it" jumper approach is just fine for me, plus they're only about €4,5 more per drive from the F4 Ecogreen Samsung (which would be a good choice if, and only if, WHS didn't mess up the partition alignment, which I haven't found an answer to, unfortunately).

I do have problems with the controller and boot drive, though. As for the boot drive, I was considering the (if I remember correctly) 2.5'', 7.2K, 500GB Hitachi boot drive from my HP TM2 tablet (getting a 60GB Vertex2 to replace it... hehe). I'm guessing it should work fine (though slower than my current 1TB F1), right?

On the controller side, and since I only have 2xPCI plus 1xPCIe 1x (the PEG slot on the G31M-GS compatibility with non-GPU cards is unknown), I'm limited (in terms of availability in my country) to
- a PCI SiI 3124-based 3+1 port controller (here);
- a PCIe SiI 3132-based 2-port controller (here);
- a PCIe Marvell 88SE6145-based 4+1+PATA controller (here).

So, yeah, not much to choose from, especially when I have a potential of at least 12 drives maximum... Well, more, if I install the 2.5'' drive out of the way, and get some sort of mounting system going on below the motherboard (3 expansion slots free, nothing to sneeze at). In any case, PMs seem to be a no-go in Portugal, so :mad:.

Do you think the Marvell card is usable with WHS? The controller seems to be able to work in non-RAID mode, plus I could conceivably plug two more SATA drives to the PATA port - not sure if Master/Slave situations won't crop up, though (and, while I'm at it, doing the same with the boot drive, and plug it directly to the ICH7 IDE controller, leaving all the SATA ports for data disks), plus it's one of the best per-port prices (~€13/port for the 3132 card, but only two ports, since there is no PM; ~€15,5/port for the 3124 card; ~€14/port for the Marvell card, IF I end up using six drives on it.

OK, way too much for a post, but I still think it kind of fits here in the FAQ thread (usable controllers, maybe? :p). I'll shut up now.

Any thoughts appreciated, as usual.
 
__Miguel_ said:
Right now I'm debating on moving on to WHS 2011 and taking my chances with one of those 3rd-party "DE-like" implementations (which are still non-RTM), or keeping WHS v1. DE is one of the main reasons I use WHS, so what do you guys think?
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If you have a spare PC, test out WHS 2011 and those 3rd party DE implementations on that. If any of your data is remotely valuable to you, then I highly highly recommend testing, testing, and more testing of those DE implementations to make sure that there are no surprise gotchas or issues.

__Miguel_ said:
I do have problems with the controller and boot drive, though. As for the boot drive, I was considering the (if I remember correctly) 2.5'', 7.2K, 500GB Hitachi boot drive from my HP TM2 tablet (getting a 60GB Vertex2 to replace it... hehe). I'm guessing it should work fine (though slower than my current 1TB F1), right?
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That Hitachi drive should work fine. Though if you haven't bought that SSD or can return it, I do no recommend getting the Vertex 2 at all unless it was on sale for $1 a gig or less. This subforum is filled with people who have had issues with the Vertex 2 line. Then there's the fact that its real world performance was significantly lower than the stated specs or other comparable SSDs to begin with. Then OCZ lowered the performance of the Vertex 2 even further when they switched NANDs. So what you are going to have a is a relatively slow and unreliable SSD. If you can find it, I recommend getting the Intel 320 or 510 series SSD or Crucial's C300 or m4 series SSDs.
 
Danny Bui said:
If any of your data is remotely valuable to you
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Ah, WHSv1 it is, then. :p x64, prettier interface, Homegroup integration and 2TB+/AFS support is not worth the trouble for me... Or time spent (which is WAAAAY too much already... lol) Thanks for the heads-up.

Danny Bui said:
That Hitachi drive should work fine.
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Cool. Reusing is sweet, especially since the drive is about one year old only.

Danny Bui said:
Though if you haven't bought that SSD or can return it, I do no recommend getting the Vertex 2 at all unless it was on sale for $1 a gig or less.
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I have been reading on the v2 V2s, thanks. Still, unless it's THAT bad, it would still be better than the HDD, right?

In any case, I tend to take a HUGE amount of time researching before I buy anything. I spent about two months hunting down the perfect motherboard+CPU for my WHS machine, which ended up being G31+E3200 at a dirt-cheap price (under €90 for both parts), with Gigabit Ethernet and an idle power draw of 15W to 20W or so... hehe (the CPU idles at 5W, it's sick coming from LGA775), so I'm just getting started on the drive choices.

The only reason I was thinking about the V2 was the price. At €89,90 is the second cheapest available, the first one being a 1st-gen 40GB 320, which is way too small and only €5 cheaper. At that same price of €90, there is a FM-25S2S-64GBF1 G.Skill unit, then a 60GB Agility 3 for €100 and a Corsair Force 3 for €110. I'd like to keep it under €100, if possible. SSDs are a rather scarce commodity here. Crucial, OCW, Patriot and the likes are nowhere to be found. Only Intel, Samsung (I've seen a deal on an M470 64GB, €100), Kingston, OCZ and Corsair. G.Skill pretty much vanished from the market.

Anyways, SSDs are not really on-topic for this thread. Hit me up on PM, please, so I don't hijack the thread, ok?

Oh, and thanks for your input.
 
Anyone able to give me a hand on WHS2011? I can't get the connector software installed on one of my computers.

According to this kb, I need to set Windows Media Center Receiver Service and Windows Media Center Scheduler Service to manual in Services.

The only problem is, those aren't available services on my x64 7 Pro computer. I've looked upwards and sideways for it, even exporting my services list to text file and searching for it. Any idea how to get those services installed?
 
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