Christopher (Drashna)

Yeah, WHS2011's Server Backup only supports 2TBs per volume. If you want to back up a larger drive, then you need to split the volumes. Additionally, Server Backup has issues with Advanced Format drives, and can cause the backups to fail on those (the other part of the 2TB limit). The hotfix you refer to is the UEFI/GPT patch for the Client Computer Backup, which can backup much larger drives without a problem (Ironically). As for Switching, you could move to Windows 8. It would be a simple solution, but you give up the client backup, website and eas of management. Alternatively, there is always Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials. Yes, it's ~$400 price tag, which may dissuade most people... but if client backups are important .... well, I've looked into this recently, and .... well, Essentials is actually SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than most of the alternatives (as in $1000 or more to do what WHS/Essentials does for client backup). It depends on where you're looking at the disk from. In a few places, the driver does report that it's only a 2TB volume. This is for compatibility. However, in Explorer, it should show up as the proper size of the pool. It should show up as 2TBs in Disk Management and DiskPart. But explorer.... It should show up as the correct size. If it's not, please open a ticket at https://stablebit.com/Contact and we'll see about getting this fixed. Also, what OS are you using here?

Well, glad to hear that you have solved the issues! As for the features, a lot of them are showcased and dug into on the blog. It may be worth looking at that, as there is some really good information there. http://blog.covecube.com/ The manual tends to be more basic information, as to not overwhelm people.

Sounds like a chkdsk may still be a good idea here... As for the vss error, run "vssadmin list writers" from an elevated command prompt. You can use this to ID which writer was the error, and help identify what exactly the issue was. However, this does seem to be the "system writer" which basically means it's a disk error....

Our beta process is pretty simple. If we find a bug or somebody else does, we figure out what is causing it, write a patch, test the specific issue and then push the new installer. These are not well tested. However, we have a number of users (myself included) that run these "nightlies" on their systems in production. So we do get feedback about them. And for the most part, they are pretty stable. That said, I'm using the 2.2.0.586 build on my production server (where all my media resides, and my work VMs are), and it's been very stable. However, the release versions receive a lot more stress testing, to make sure that they are stable. But in either case, we are generally very quick about fixing serious issues (like this).

What is the error code for the BSOD that you're getting? And have you ran a memory test, and a chkdsk? And no, there isn't really a need for "gaming" ram in that. For the most part, its probably goign to be the same or very similar specs to what is in there already.

No, removing a disk removes the data from it, and puts it onto other disks in the pool. This is by design, as the assumption is that you want to keep all the data in the pool still. However, the Duplicate files later skips removing the duplicated files and removes the disk. Once it's removed, it will run a duplication pass and re-duplicate files as necessary. However, if you want to move the disks (and Pool) to another system, you don't need to remove the disks from the pool. If you have StableBit DrivePool installed on the other system, it will recognize the pooled disks and immediately recreate the pool. Aside from that, you can manually remove the contents of the hidden "PoolPart.xxxx" folder to the root of the drive, and then remove the "empty" disk from the pool. However, if you've been using the pool for a while, then only some of the contents may be on a single specific disk.

It absolutely can be rebooted during balancing. Or at any time. Specifically, when balancing files, we use a "copytemp" file to move or copy it. Once the file has been copied, we rename it and then delete the original (if needed). So if the balancing doesn't complete (such as a reboot, or stopping the service), your data is unaffected and it's integrity is never put in a position where it might be compromised. Also, stopping the service (like when you shut down), stops the service, and allows for gracefully cancelling the balancing.

If you mean the build that fixes the deleting folders issue: Not right away, we have a major change we want to include before pushing a new release build (as well a lot of testing with it). However, the built builds are available here: http://dl.covecube.com/DrivePoolWindows/beta/download/ The 2.2.0.586 build is the newest build as of day. It includes this fix. Please download that version for your system and see if that fixes the issue. If so, let us know.

At this point in time? No. I don't think there is a significant difference in RAM speeds, let alone CPU speeds. Not to mention, the motherboards are $300+ in general, you require 4 sticks of RAM (I beleive) ... and the CPUs that support it are either E5's or Core i7 Extremes. The only reason you'd need these is a LOT of virtualization (and on HyperV as I doubt ESX supports the hardware yet). Besides, you can find good, high end DDR3 based systems that will more than meet your needs and a fraction of the cost.

I haven't seen the stability part... in fact, I have a friend that reverted back to 8.1 because the explorer crash issue... Also, install Start8 or another start menu replacement, and you get the ease of use there. But that's really dependant on personal usage. Worst decision by Microsoft. That and cutting out Media Center support in WHS2011.... However, I'd definitely disagree with the "no reason".... RANT: On Home Server Show forums, a fun topic has come up: Backups. Somebody wanted WHS style backsup without having to to WHS or Server Essentials. The pricetag? $1500 from one solution to do this, Or ~$200-300 for another, PLUS licenses for EACH client ($25-50). Either way, that makes Server 2012R2 Essential's $400 price tag seem downright reasonable, especially with all the additional stuff you get with it. /rant

Not really. These options are HEAVILY dependant on your disk's firmware. We expose the options and settings. But there is only so much we can do. Any more .... and it could cause serious problems. For instance, there are other tools that will FORCE the mode, but generally, the disks do not wake up at all until manually woken up. I believe that HDDScan does this. At best, you may be able to set the windows Power Management settings to help facilitate the behavior automatically.

Yeah, seeding a new pool is dead simple. There are some other bits to make sure everything works fine and doesn't run into issues. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q4142489 As for moving the disks to the new controllyer... it depends on the controllers in question. If you pass through the disks, it should allow you to access the contents of the disks without messing around with stuff. However, it's worth testing with a single, unimportant disk first, as some RAID controller cards are .... finicky about that. If the drives and their contents are seen just fine, then you shouldn't need to move data around. In fact, we do have a user made guide on how to migrate from DriveBender to Stablebit DrivePool: http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/511-migrate-from-drive-bender-to-drive-pool/ It is worth checking out. This would mean, you'd just have to uninstall Drive Bender, and then install StableBit Drivepool. As for the drives... we allow a LOT of control over them. You can change the drive letters, mount to a folder path, or completely remove any mount points. Specifically, the virtual drive for the pool uses the "Volume ID" for the disks, which means they're always accessible, no matter what you do to them. Mounting disks to folder paths: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q4822624

Speaking of DRM.... http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q2159701 Also, are you seeing any errors in the event viewer? Either Shadow Copy, VSS, Disk or controller related? This is on the client, specifically.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure, as you do appear to have the feature installed.

To clarify, the UI at the bottom is what the CURRENT file placement is, not what the projected layout. Also, what are the balancing settings, on the "Settings" tab. This will influence how quickly the files will be migrated off of the disk. And what balancers do you have enabled (on the balancing tab)?

You only need the license for systems you want StableBit Scanner to monitor. If you're using it just to view another system, then you only need the one license. However, that said, StableBit Scanner is good for just about every system, and may be worth buying the second license. Especially, as there is a $9.95 discount for each license after the first. (so $39.95, 24.95+15)

Well, that works too.

I'm glad to hear it. And definitely a small price to pay. It's saved a bunch of files on my personally system several times actually (caught at least two drives literally right before the failed... a day or two after moving all the data off). And you are very welcome. If you need any clarifications there, or have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

To clarify here, this depends heavily on the main balancing settings. Check the "General" tab here. By default, should be set to balance immediately, but no more than once every X hours. This will cause the delay in balancing files here. Additionally, if you're seeding the disks, you need to make sure that you reset the settings or remeasure the pool afterwards, or it won't properly update the status of the pool and won't balance properly.

If you're unable to change the values here, then it is because your drive is providing the settings a "read only" mode. that means that you can view it, but it won't allow you to change them. Unfortunately, in that case, there isn't a whole lot that we can do. Additionally, Alex has a long post detailing a lot of the ins and outs of the disk control and power management functionality: http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/48-questions-regarding-hard-drive-spindownstandby/

Depending on who you ask, some people beleive that the external drives are 'sub-par' disks, that didn't met some quality standard. Since they won't be on all the time (in theory)..... should last longer that way... But the reality may be simpler, they use different firmware than desktop drives. So they may not do as much. Hence cheaper. And yeah, WD Reds or Seagate NAS drives (or Hitachi NAS drives) are the better choice.

Okay. And good luck!

Do you have quotas set up on the pooled drives? Also, file flagged, issue here: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/13452

Okay, I just wanted to make sure. And no, a reboot shouldn't be necessary here.

It's been requested already and is on our "To-do" list: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/5251 As for the WD LifeGuard Tool, it may be picky about the controller. Most of these OEM tools tend to be very picky about that. And even some of the good third party tools as well. However, I am going to bug Alex about this again, as it should be simple to implement (altering the built in Scanner balancer that we already have). In the meanwhile, you can do this manually, by using the Disk usage limiter balancer. Just uncheck both "duplicated" and "unduplicated" options, and save. Once it's scanned, check both again, and it will start using it.