Windows Home Server FAQ

Quick (stupid) question:
Using Drive Management add-in with the wireframe display, what is the best way to identify which hard drive is in which bay?

The smartest way would have been to plug them in and add them to the pool one by one and record them... but I didn't do that :) I know where *most* of them are.... but the 4x500gb drives are a mystery to me as well as two of the three WD 2 TB drives (I know where one of them is).

Basically my question is, is there a faster way to find out rather than:
1. Shutdown
2. Unplug one drive
3. Reboot
4. See which one says not available
5. Rinse and repeat

I'd like to just take care of it now if possible so in the unfortunate case of a failure or problem, I'm not having to deal with the added annoyance of hunting around for which drive is giving me issues.
 
rhouck said:
Quick (stupid) question:
Using Drive Management add-in with the wireframe display, what is the best way to identify which hard drive is in which bay?

The smartest way would have been to plug them in and add them to the pool one by one and record them... but I didn't do that :) I know where *most* of them are.... but the 4x500gb drives are a mystery to me as well as two of the three WD 2 TB drives (I know where one of them is).

Basically my question is, is there a faster way to find out rather than:
1. Shutdown
2. Unplug one drive
3. Reboot
4. See which one says not available
5. Rinse and repeat

I'd like to just take care of it now if possible so in the unfortunate case of a failure or problem, I'm not having to deal with the added annoyance of hunting around for which drive is giving me issues.
Click to expand...

On my WHS, in the wireframe setup, it tells me which sata adapter and port number in the dropdown menu. From there I know which physical drive is connected to the that port. For example, I have a LSI 8 port RAID HBA built into my mobo. That drop down menu in the wireframe setup has options like LSI SAS 0:0:0:0, LSI SAS 0:0:0:1, LSI SAS 0:0:0:2, etc. Those correspond to SAS port 0, port 1, port 2, etc on my mobo. I'm sitting at 8 drives plus the OS drive, so I don't have any drives on my SM SAT2-MV8 card yet and can't say what those ports will look like in the wireframe setup menu.
 
epimetheus said:
On my WHS, in the wireframe setup, it tells me which sata adapter and port number in the dropdown menu. From there I know which physical drive is connected to the that port. For example, I have a LSI 8 port RAID HBA built into my mobo. That drop down menu in the wireframe setup has options like LSI SAS 0:0:0:0, LSI SAS 0:0:0:1, LSI SAS 0:0:0:2, etc. Those correspond to SAS port 0, port 1, port 2, etc on my mobo. I'm sitting at 8 drives plus the OS drive, so I don't have any drives on my SM SAT2-MV8 card yet and can't say what those ports will look like in the wireframe setup menu.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the six drives I am unsure about are all on the SM card :p I am thinking I may be able to figure it out using that method just by unplugging one or two drives from it to figure out how they're ordered on the card. Thanks :)

(now that I think about it I actually have 7 drives plugged into the card since I could only get 4 of the 6 mobo sata ports to work at the same time, so if I can figure out where the one oddball drive, I might be able to extrapolate from there)
 
folder duplication..

Just got my WHS setup using a copy I picked up here :)

I didnt play with folder duplication on my eval, So I'm curious..

Say I have a shared folder "video"

It containts video/movies,tvshows,misc,etc Now, I want to backup certain tv shows, or videos that are hard to find / I don't have a working vhs copy etc.

Can I only duplicate root folders that are shared in whs? Would I have to also share the folder(s) I wish to duplicate?
 
erebus720 said:
folder duplication..

Just got my WHS setup using a copy I picked up here :)

I didnt play with folder duplication on my eval, So I'm curious..

Say I have a shared folder "video"

It containts video/movies,tvshows,misc,etc Now, I want to backup certain tv shows, or videos that are hard to find / I don't have a working vhs copy etc.

Can I only duplicate root folders that are shared in whs? Would I have to also share the folder(s) I wish to duplicate?
Click to expand...

You turn duplication on for the share. All content within that share is duplicated.
 
erebus720 said:
folder duplication..

Just got my WHS setup using a copy I picked up here :)

I didnt play with folder duplication on my eval, So I'm curious..

Say I have a shared folder "video"

It containts video/movies,tvshows,misc,etc Now, I want to backup certain tv shows, or videos that are hard to find / I don't have a working vhs copy etc.

Can I only duplicate root folders that are shared in whs? Would I have to also share the folder(s) I wish to duplicate?
Click to expand...

I grappled with a similar issue, but important to remember that the point of duplication is just to assist by automating the backup process.

Solutions to your problem would be:
1. Create another share (called Backup or whatever), set Access to "none" (so no one sees it), and then manually make duplicate copies of the folders you want (Advanced Admin add-in is useful for this) whenever you add a "hard to find" video.
2. Leave one hard drive out of the pool and manually duplicate the folders you want as above.
3. Create another share and put all your "hard to find" videos in it and enable duplication (i.e. so you'd have "Videos" with dupe turned off and "Videos-Rare" with dupe turned on); if you are using some sort of media center with a "Library" function it shouldn't matter that your videos are split across two separate shares (but if you just browse your WHS using the shared folders then it's more of a hassle to have to browse both folders obviously)
 
Sounds like a pita. Secondly, When I add stuff to the server share, Can I just drop it in the data/share/sharename dir? or does it have to be \\servername\sharename?

I have about 3tb of data to migrate over :(
 
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erebus720 said:
Sounds like a pita. Secondly, When I add stuff to the server share, Can I just drop it in the data/share/sharename dir? or does it have to be \\servername\sharename?

I have about 6tb of data to migrate over :(
Click to expand...

Not sure if you found an answer to this (and someone will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure :p ), but iirc you have to do it through the \\share, as dropping it directly into the data folder can cause issues with duplication (i.e. it won't do it).

I know for me, I transferred 3 TB of data by installing all the drives and copying all the data from within the same computer but to the network share address. As I cleared drives, I'd add them to the pool. It was actually very fast considering the quantity of data.
 
Got everything moved over and setup, had a small problem WHS ate of the drives files before it was in the pool, I had a 200 seagate on as a spare to help with the transfer, Removed it and plugged in a 200 maxtor to pull files, and it nommed on it. Luckily we got the data back.

So, Is it okay to dl torrentsand ftp from d:/?

Or do I need another drive outside of the pool for this?

What about downloading directly into a share?
 
erebus720 said:
Got everything moved over and setup, had a small problem WHS ate of the drives files before it was in the pool, I had a 200 seagate on as a spare to help with the transfer, Removed it and plugged in a 200 maxtor to pull files, and it nommed on it. Luckily we got the data back.

So, Is it okay to dl torrentsand ftp from d:/?

Or do I need another drive outside of the pool for this?

What about downloading directly into a share?
Click to expand...

I download torrents on my desktop and transfer stuff over when it's done. But on WHS you'd install it to C and then tell it to save the files to a share.

Everything gets written to a share. You never send anything on WHS straight to the drive itself.
 
Archer75 said:
I download torrents on my desktop and transfer stuff over when it's done. But on WHS you'd install it to C and then tell it to save the files to a share.

Everything gets written to a share. You never send anything on WHS straight to the drive itself.
Click to expand...

QFT

Heres why:
If you tell it to use drive D:/foldername, it will but it will only use the space on the OS drive and not the rest of the pool, so you are limited on space if you do it that way.
Also permissions and duplication will not work.....even if you map it to D:\data\shares\downloads it will not work right.

You MUST use \\servername\share
 
nitrobass24 said:
QFT

Heres why:
If you tell it to use drive D:/foldername, it will but it will only use the space on the OS drive and not the rest of the pool, so you are limited on space if you do it that way.
Also permissions and duplication will not work.....even if you map it to D:\data\shares\downloads it will not work right.

You MUST use \\servername\share
Click to expand...

Another alternative (one I use) is use uTorrent on your desktop/client PC, have active downloads placed on a local folder on your client PC. In the option to store completed DLs to a specific location, point it to your WHS share. Basically it downloads everything onto your client PC and then transfers the file to your WHS automatically when completed downloading.
 
WHS is installed on a 320, Im dling stuff to d:/completed files and d:/incomplete files. we also have d:/ftp Im not concerned with sharing any of this over the network, we transfer the completed files into appropriate shares.

Space isnt an issue either, I just want to be sure WHS wont have a shit-fit If were using the d:/ (data) to dl and ftp from.

Also, we run Idrive to backup some of our stuff offsite, any problems backing up from a share with I drive? so far we havent had any problems yet.
 
Does anyone know if there are any issues restoring the storage pool during a reinstall, if the motherboard/CPU is upgraded in the process?

About half of my drives are using onboard SATA at the moment, and about half are using a Supermicro 8-port card. I'm planning on setting up the WHS trial, then reinstalling using an OEM copy once I make sure that it will work for my needs. I would most likely be upgrading to a MB/CPU combo that is a bit more current and uses less power (using a socket 939 board at the moment).

My main concern is that I would need to retain the same port order for the drives between installations, and that this could be problematic given that half of the drives are using onboard, and half aren't.
 
I'm planning on setting up the WHS trial, then reinstalling using an OEM copy once I make sure that it will work for my needs.
Click to expand...

Many people, including yours truly, have had various problems with the reinstall feature by itself much less changing major hardware while trying to do it.

If I knew then what I know now, there's no way I bother with the trial.

This is just a word to the wise.......;)
 
Trying to find the specifics on this, but not finding the exact answer I am looking for.

Just got my WHS up and running. Have a 500GB as the system drive and a 1TB as storage. Transfered all the files from my 1TB drive in my main rig into the WHS and have connected the drive to the WHS. I went to add the drive into my disk manager, and I get the option to either add to the storage pool or add it as a server backup. I get what the differences are, like that the backup does not get add to my total storage, the backup is designed to be taken off site and away from the WHS. I guess I am specifically wanting to know if I add it to the pool, I still have the ability to rebuild my WHS if one of my drives gives out on me right? Or is this where the duplication function comes in? Starting to get all my data on there and don't want to make the wrong move and lose it all.
 
This where duplication comes in

If you want to make a backup, and take it offsite or somewhere safer...then do that.
Otherwise add it to the pool, and turn on duplication.
 
I use internal drives for duplication and external drives for server backup.
 
I'm looking to finally getting around to doing my build. Going to be using an Intel BadAxe2 as MoBo and an E5120 (I think) as CPU.

I want to get the SuperMicro PCIe 8 Port cards (one initially and then get another when the funds become available). My question is this. If I install and load everything up on MoBo SATA ports, can I just unplug and plug into SM Card when I get it? Or should I wait for SM Card and then do the install. It could be a couple of weeks between when I build and when the SM Card gets in. Will WHS think the drives are "new" or will it recognize the drive as part of the pool?
 
They should be recognized.
It wont matter for the data drives, the only thing I can see it being picky about is the boot drive. You have to disable INT13 or something in the cards bios.

Im not quite sure on the details, but its in this thread somewhere.
 
I could always keep the boot drive on the MoBo SATA port and just move the data drives to the SM Card and it won't be an issue. correct?
 
So I just did a reinstalltion (not new install) and it failed during the last stages.

WTF right?

Well then I pulled the data drives to just check, and every single data drive was formatted.

WTF x a million.

5TB of data poof.
 
Archer75 said:
Here's a link to the official forums. Let somebody know.
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windowshomeserver
Click to expand...

Yea... but it won't get the data back.

I mean crap, what good does duplication do if it all gets erased?

I was only reinstalling because the Console got corrupted and I needed to add another user, and I've done reinstalls before without incident so I figured I'd be down for a few hours no big deal.

Prior to the reinstall all data was there with no issues.

What happened was when it was trying to recreate the D: volume it errored out there and said the installation failed because of an external component. At this point I turned off the rig and checked the drives and was quite mad.

I have all my really important data elsewhere but just the fact I have to go reacquire 5TB of stuff is overwhelming.
 
WTF d00d

jeez that blows
have you tried get data back? I mean the data may still be there...just the partitions might be fucked up.
 
thebeephaha said:
Yea... but it won't get the data back.

I mean crap, what good does duplication do if it all gets erased?

I was only reinstalling because the Console got corrupted and I needed to add another user, and I've done reinstalls before without incident so I figured I'd be down for a few hours no big deal.

Prior to the reinstall all data was there with no issues.

What happened was when it was trying to recreate the D: volume it errored out there and said the installation failed because of an external component. At this point I turned off the rig and checked the drives and was quite mad.

I have all my really important data elsewhere but just the fact I have to go reacquire 5TB of stuff is overwhelming.
Click to expand...

No, it won't get the data back. But the devs need to know.

There are various data recovery apps you could try.

I personally don't do reinstalls because it makes me nervous. So I "remove" drives from the pool and then transfer data from the pool to those drives. Remove more and transfer more data. I also have a external for server backups.
And then I physically unplug my drives and do an install of WHS. Then I "add" the empty drives to the pool, transfer data back over, add more drives, etc.
Time consuming, yes. But I don't want to take chances. I've only had to do that once though.
 
Archer75 said:
No, it won't get the data back. But the devs need to know.

There are various data recovery apps you could try.

I personally don't do reinstalls because it makes me nervous. So I "remove" drives from the pool and then transfer data from the pool to those drives. Remove more and transfer more data. I also have a external for server backups.
And then I physically unplug my drives and do an install of WHS. Then I "add" the empty drives to the pool, transfer data back over, add more drives, etc.
Time consuming, yes. But I don't want to take chances. I've only had to do that once though.
Click to expand...

Did that before too, PITA but seeing as what has happened may be how I do in the future.

nitrobass24 said:
WTF d00d

jeez that blows
have you tried get data back? I mean the data may still be there...just the partitions might be fucked up.
Click to expand...

YEA...

I will try Runtime Get Data Back NTFS tonight but for 12 data drives it's gonna take FOREVER... Lol

Anyone know something that can just rebuild or restore the partition without me needing to move the data elsewhere then copy it back?
 
I decided not to use WHS duplication for any large data sets. Most of the data stored is static anyway - movies, music, pics etc. Instead of adding storage to WHS and duplicating these, I attach external drives and do server backups periodically. This has multiple benefits -

- immune from any WHS data loss (like the guy above who lost all 5TB of data)
- external backup disks are portable and independent
- the backed up data is safe - those disks are running only during a backup, and the hdd's will last a lot longer than those running 24x7 in WHS

Server backup is missing a few key features (like the ability to tell in the console if a share has been backed up and where) but it works well enough.
 
After my recent disaster I reinstalled and started over.

Now my network speeds are down from 80MB per second to 30MB and I'm using the same drivers and settings and the hardware is the same.

WTF

I'm going crazy.

EDIT...

nm, I'm retarded...

Fixed it:
network.jpg
:D
 
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thebeephaha said:
After my recent disaster I reinstalled and started over.

Now my network speeds are down from 80MB per second to 30MB and I'm using the same drivers and settings and the hardware is the same.

WTF

I'm going crazy.

EDIT...

nm, I'm retarded...

Fixed it:
network.jpg
:D
Click to expand...

what was wrong?
what did you do?
 
I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but I haven't found any solutions on the wegotserved site....

After leaving my WHS box running for around a week or so, I end up getting messages that the SYS drive is failing. Running repair and rebooting clears the problem. Heck, just rebooting the system seems to fix it most times.

The interesting thing is that this happened when I was using a single 500 GB drive as the system drive, as well as my current setup with 2x250 GB drives. It gets more interesting because it happened when using my Core2Duo setup (ASUS P5B Deluxe) as well as my AMD setup (ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe) so it doesn't appear to be a specific hardware limitation.

The only apps running on the box besides WHS is Utorrent and SageTV...
 
How ram hungry is WHS? On a budget right now planning to build a new desktop and rehaul my current tower into a WHS machine: using an MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum with 1 gig ram (2 x 512 in dual).

So I could get another 2 x 512's or go for 2 x 1gig sticks which would give us a total of 3gigs: worth the extra £40 for this machine?

Also, would an Antec 380 Earthwatts handle the above plus an Athlon64 X2, Radeon X550 and 7-8 sata drives. Used a couple of psu calc's with quite varied results.
 
I have 2gb in mine. It doesn't even come close to maxing it.

I use a 400w psu in mine with 11 hard drives and a 2.4ghz P4. No problems.
 
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I have a few options for building a server and I'm not sure the smartest route to go.

I have access to (legal) copies of 2003 & 2008 through certain Microsoft programs. I can buy a copy of WHS on Newegg, or demo it for $5 shipping.

My question is, if you understand (and prefer), hardware raid how good is WHS? I am thoroughly non enthused by this 'copying' option and the 'balance' it provides. I would really prefer WHS if I could just give it a 250gig drive to use as the system drive and then install my large array after that.

Is WHS just 'good enough' to be worth it due to the lower price compared to the real server operating systems or is it different enough to justify it going forward rather than using a (free, legal) copy of Server 2008 or 2003.

I am not afraid to administer a server but I just wonder where the headache balance is. I'd trade a few setup headaches for the constant headache of fighting WHS to do what I want, the way I want it.
 
Just the WHS Backup system in and of itself is worth $100.

BTW you can run Hardware RAID on WHS just like you would 2003 or 2008.

I know you said your not afraid to have to administer a server....but if you dont have to why would you?
a WHS is pretty much ZERO maintenance.
 
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