Christopher (Drashna)

Yeah, WHS2011 likes to use MBR, but either should be fine (we prefer GPT). And yes, StableBit DrivePool is smart enough to know which partitions are on which disk, and will place duplicated data on different PHYSICAL disks. And as for the sleep/spin up stuff, yeah, that's why I've never bothered. I use my server a lot, and share it with friends and family, so there is no reason to spin down (that, and we have solar )

Okay, we do have that link already. However, I'm not sure if Alex has access to the installer or not. I'll bring this up with alex, at our next meeting (monday). Also, to double check, you are exclude the pooled drives, and the drivepool program folder?

Unfortuantely, because Windows Server Backup is a block based solution that is not deduplicated, this makes it very difficult to back up the pool. Especially as we don't support VSS. As for GoodSync, that is a file based solution, so it should work without any issues. Additionally, programs like Allways Sync (which Alex, the developer uses, IIRC), Free File Sync, or even SyncToy and Robocopy are good file based solutions that may work very well. Additionally, you could use a set of disks, and pool them for the backup destination, in conjunction with the file based solutions. This. The server backup and bare metal restore has saved me more times than i can count. It's very good (if slow) about restoring, and depending on the size of the backup disk and the size of the disks being backed up, it can store a good range of backups, as well. Additioanly, if you're using Essentials (and the topic header indicates you are), and you're client computers are connected to the domain, then this is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY and even CRUCIAL. Why? because if you reinstall the server, you LOSE all the domain accounts and all the settings in them. A backup lets you restore without this issue.

Yikes. As for the firmware, make sure that you don't have any critical data on the drives before updating the firmware. As with all firmware upgrades, there is always a risk of bricking the device when doing so. As for the full format... that may not have been necessary, after the chkdsk pass, it should have been fine. However, running the surface scan afterwards should have verified that. And I'm sorry to hear about all of the disk issues with the drive.

I've split and locked the thread to keep it clean on very focused. I apologize for any issues there. However, for reference, this is about: http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/37-faq-unduplicated-vs-duplicated-vs-other-vs-unusable/&do=findComment&comment=6570 I think I've already answered that in a ticket, but I'll answer here again. The 1TB of "other" definitely seems off. If you haven't already, "remeasure" the pool. This should hopefully update the contents. Specifically, once the pool is measured, we just update the information as data is added. So if it's off to start off with, it will stay that way until another remeasure is triggered (removing or adding a disk, manually, a missing disk, resetting the settings, etc). Additionally, disk errors can cause this to be miss reported. If you think that is the case, then let us know. Regards

Well, thanks for showing the enthusiasm. While Alex may not see these right away, I usually do, and I do talk to alex directly about frequently requested features (we've talked a LOT about parity, RAID, compression and encryption). So we definitely do pay attention, and consider all the stuff you guys request and want.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really make sense. It's hard to get a grasp on what exactly you mean. However, I do know that we've had render issues with the list on some versions, due to the 3rd party graphical controls we use. Sorting the list or changing the theme usually fixes this. Or if you download a beta build, it should help. Otherwise, could you get images of what you mean? (That should be the easiest way). Additionally, when you have all the disks hooked up, could you use the DirectIO test app and see if that gets the information (and correct information) from your disks? http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/36-how-to-contribute-test-data/

It should start right away with newly connected drives, or whenever the work window is for StableBit Scanner. As I suspected, it's reading from the disk, and then doing a full write zero pass to the disks. I'm not really a fan of doing this multiple times. Generally, once should be enough. Heck, reading the disks start to finish should be enough to detect any issues with the drive.

You are very welcome, and I'm glad to hear it! yeah, HyperV isn't good about passing through hardware devices.

It could be hard to tell. Could you enable file system logging and reproduce the issue? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Log_Collection

Well, once StableBit CloudDrive has been released, Alex should be able to devote much more time to working on StableBit FileSafe and other projects. Hopefully, both will be soon.

I use StableBit Scanner. Once the surface scan gives it a clean bill of health, I add it to the pool. I know a number of people that use SpinRite on disks before putting them in "production." However, SpinRite does not support drives larger than 2TBs. Aside from that, I used to do a full format. That writes zeros to most of the disk, and should flag any issues and fix them to start off with (and may trigger SMART errors).

Posted on the Home Server Show forums, right? And glad to hear it!

Nope. This is an issue with installer packaging that we use. Normally, this error code indicates a pending reboot but not always. Usually, it does go away after rebooting, though. Uninstalling the software should be fine regardless. The software is designed to be very good about recovery. Especially if you're reinstalling, or moving the pool to a new system. If you're still having issues, then try downloading the "managed deployment" installer (it's a .msi file). StableBit.DrivePool_2.1.1.561_x64_Release.msi First, uninstall any current version, if it's still installed. Reboot. Once you've done that, open up an elevated command prompt (hit the windows key, type "cmd" and find "Windows Command Prompt" or something similar, right click on it and select "Run as administrator"). Run "msiexec /i C:\path\to\StableBit.DrivePool_2.1.1.561_x64_Release.msi /lime C:\drivepool-install.log". If it errors out, then grab the "C:\drivepool-install.log" file and upload it to us.

Recommended? Yes. It was 5-6, IIRC, but now it's 8. I'm running 8 without a problem. So, there really isn't any practical limitation on the number you can run. I (and others) suspect that the "limit" is based more on vibration than anything else.

I'm glad to hear it. And you are very welcome.

Nope, no problem at all. In fact, I run mostly 4TB WD Red drives (and a few 4TB Seagate NAS drives as well). No issues at all In fact, as long as the disk is initialized as GPT, there is no practical partition size limit, as it supports well past the TB range for sizes. And StableBit DrivePool will initialize and partition disks "properly" when adding them to the pool, if needed.

In the folder with that log file, there should be other Drivepool logs. Could you grab those as well? Additionally, have you tried uninstalling and then installing the newer version?

For the client backups, that really depends. The easiest way is to do a registry hack to use the new location. Otherwise, if the files have been copied to the pool already, stop the client backup service on the server, delete the old folder and "recreate" the new one at the correct location. And as for the user accounts, I'm not sure. Check to make sure the users actually exist on the system first. If they don't then you may need to delete the "users" folders.

Yeah, BlueIris is a CPU hog. Even without using HD cameras. I've found that it's better to run it on a dedicate system (or even in a VM...) to help curb it's CPU usage. As for the hardware, a Xeon and a server board (SuperMicro or ASRock RACK) may be a better buy. But that's personal preference.

To clear the drive's status, open up the StableBit Scanner UI. Find the disk in question, and click on the "+" next to the disk. This opens up the sector map section. On the left side, there should be four buttons. Click on the fourth button (it should have a green circle with a yellow circular arrow). There should be a "mark all damaged sectors as unchecked". This will cause StableBit Scanner to rescan the disk.

Reboot. Generally, this error indicates that the system has a pending reboot. Once you've done that, if the issue persists, then try uninstalling StableBit DrivePool and rebooting the server. Then install the newer version.

Unfortunately, that can happen due to how the WHS2011 installer works (eg, it's overly complicated...) However, I'm glad to hear that you were able to get everything settled down.

Sounds like a good plan. I know that I've been happy with the 1245v3 processor (and I'm a heavy user).

Ah, you're using a "very" old version. Could you update to the newest version and see if that fixes the issue altogether. https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Download The newest version is "2.1.1.561". and it has a lot of bug fixes. If the issue persists, then there should be the "troubleshooting" option.