Christopher (Drashna)

First, stop using that drive. Unplug it, and leave it that way for now. IMMEDIATELY. Unfortunately, StableBit DrivePool doesn't maintain a list of files. We rely on the drives for that, and in most cases, that should be more than sufficient. In theory, the drive should give warnings before it starts head crashing. Did you have any SMART monitoring software on the system? That clicking sound is a head crash and VERY bad. And potentially damaging to the disk. Data recovery may work, but chances are....

Okay, good to know that it doesn't take that long. As for Windows Search, the database for that seems to get corrupted fairly often. For the USB drive, does the disk become inaccessible or experience any other sort of issues? Or is it just appearing the event log? And as for chkdsk, sometimes the normal fix pass doesn't work, and you need to run the "/r" option to get that working. As for DrivePool, is the disk that isn't being used smaller than the other two? If so, that would be why. Specifically, we place files on the disk(s) with the most free space. Since this is the absolute value and not a percentage, smaller disks may not be used until later on. The "Disk Space Equalizer" balancer changes that behavior, if you really want: https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Plugins

That's .... overly complicated, but I'm glad that you found a solution. As for the WIndows Search, this may help: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q7200705B For the "Controller Error", is this happening when the USB drive is under heavy usage? And do you have StableBit Scanner installed?

If you were using the C:\ drive in the pool, and it filled up the system disk, this can definitely happen. If there is no free space for the system.... it can get unstable.

First, are you running the most up to date version of StableBit DrivePool? (2.1.1.561) Second, when the Pool disappears, are the disks still present in the system? Check Disk Management (run "diskmgmt.msc"). Third, check for crash dumps: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_System_Crashes Namely, check to see if "C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP" or if there is anything in "C:\Windows\Minidump\" If they do, then upload using the above link. Forth, do you have any antivirus installed (such as Avast) or any disk tools (such as imaging/backup tools, or disk defragmenters?)

I'm very sorry to hear that! It's never fun when a power supply fails. Hopefully, you can get it replaced quickly. And if there is anything else that we can do or if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

It looks like that is version 2.0.0.420. Could you upgrade to the 2.1.1.561 and see if the issue persists? If it does, could you get a memory dump of the service? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Service_Memory_Dump And the error reports from the system? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Log_Collection After doing this, see if resetting the settings help: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q2299585B

I don't know if you looked at Alex's report yet or not. But basically, "not good" is about the best way to describe it: That's why I recommended the extensive memory test. If that doesn't help, then I'd recommend updating the drivers to the latest version, if possible. Even if you have the generic drivers installed. I don't think a reinstall will help though. Nor a reseating. But you never know. It maybe be a hardware issue (such as with the memory controller), and may require replacing the hardware.

Alex (the developer) has done a lot of testing with the different chipsets, and he prefers the ASMedia cards (which is what I linked you). Specifically, because they do seem to be the most stable. As for why you're only developing issues now.... it could be that the controller has been overworked and overheating. This can cause damage to the chipset. Which can be very inconsistent and hard to troubleshoot. It could also be an issue with one or more of the disks (or just a bad connection). Needless to say, the error can be caused by a lot of sources.... As for StableBit DrivePool, unless you have need of some of the features in the newer version, I would recommend staying on the 1.3 version, as it's a better experience on WHS2011

Well, I'd recommend re-enabling realtime duplication. Especially if you're writing a lot to the pool. Or keeping files open. This will prevent them from getting out of sync. However, Network IO Boost does use more resources, and based on some of the stuff you've said, I suspect that this may be part of the issue here. Read Striping is definitely optional, but it's good for boosting performance. But again, it uses a bit more resources. And if you haven't already, I would really recommend running an extended memory test of the system. (the extended option, and like 5 passes). http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q537229 Also, I'd check to make sure the drivers are up to date, or see if anyone else is having issues with them. Especially network and disk drives. And you mention the ntfs.sys and older disks? If you have StableBit Scanner installed, you can run a burst test on the disks, which is a good way to troubleshoot issues with them.

Ah, I had a feeling that it was going to be Linux. And yeah, from whatever reason, Linux and Windows shares doesn't play together nicely usually. However, the network issues you're experiencing definitely aren't normal. I'm running Server 2012R2 Essentials, and get 80-100MB/s regularly. That's from the server on a domain client. However, that's copying to an SSD to ensure sufficient speed. And the client is Windows 8. I do have a link for troubleshooting a lot of network issues, if you wanted to give Windows 8+XBMC a shot again. http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/8335-before-you-post-media-stuttering-playback-issues-performance-irregularities/ Some of it's meant for WHSv1, but the network stuff applies to every version of Windows.

What version of Forefront do you have installed? And did you use any special method to get it installed? And is this Server 2012R2 Essentials? Or is it 2012R2 Standard with the Essentials Experience role?

StableBit Scanner should automatically throttle based on file usage. There shouldn't be an issue there. Again, I'd really recommend that memory test first. Also double check the system settings to make sure it's configured to keep the crash dump. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_System_Crashes

Well, uninstalling will break the other. May not break the uninstall, but I'm not sure. In theory, it should not have let you install both versions. What version were you using specifically? And yes, I would recommend uninstalling both, and then re-installing the "WHS2011" version. I would also make sure you have a backup of the system before doing so, just in case.

I use XBMC on Windows 8, and it has no issue with SMB at all. I'm curious what base OS or device are you using for XMBC?

Well, I got some news that will make some of you guys happy. "StableBit FileSafe". It's in the planning stage right now. What does that mean? No code for it yet. Especially as we will have to consider exactly how to integrate it into our other products. And what features it will have. Etc. But it's definitely something we want to release.

That's a good suggestion! I've flagged it for Alex here: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/6263 Alex and I were actually talking about something like this recently. And to be honest, I feel that this would be better as a separate product, that integrates with the others and the dashboard, as opposed to integrating it with StableBit Scanner. I know that goes against the "less is better" idea (to which I wholeheartedly agree), but it feels too "bulky" to include it with StableBit Scanner. Especially as there will definitely be people that want to use that feature, but maybe not StableBit Scanner.

There may be a "MEMORY.DMP" file in "C:\Windows" as well as minidumps in "C:\Windows\MiniDump". If there are, these will correspnd with any time you experienced a BSOD. Additionally, they will contain the reasons for the BSOD. To read them, you'd need to install the WIndows SDK and the Windows Debugger to read them. Or upload them to us, so we can analyze them. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_System_Crashes (there is a Box.com upload widget at the bottom of the linked page) Alternatively, you could install "WhoCrashed" on the system (30 day trial, after which you would need to purchase the "pro" version to keep it running on your server). That will read these dumps, and give a basic idea of what is crashing the system. If there are no crash dumps, then that definitely makes it more difficult to identify what the issue is. And at this point, I'd recommend running a memory test. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q537229 And if you have StableBit Scanner installed, you could run a burst test on each of the disks (one at a time, ideally) to determine if there is an issue with the controller or cable.

Well, as for permissions, just set them in the dashboard. This basically rewrites the permissions to be what the "Essentials code" wants it to be. As for the balancing, I believe if you disable it, it may do that. If all the balancers are disabled, it should be save to set it to "automatic". And no, I don't believe there is a way to preview that.

Sorry for the delay! Looks like it was definitely an IO error. And it's definitely hardware. Specifically, it looks like it's this disk: "\\?\Volume{6f89df43-e9b4-11e3-8d17-00241d7f56d6}\" You can identify which disk that is by running "cmd /k mountvol". That should list all the disks and the "volumes" like this. If you're still experiencing the issue after replacing the controller, then it may be a bad cable or the disk itself.

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Alex had responded to the issue, and the response should be view-able via the link above. The main things are, is anything else indexing or accessing the pool at the same time? Or do you have antivirus or other disk tools installed? (use "cmd /k fltmc" to list the loaded file system filters).

Alex has responded to the issue, and you should be able to see the response: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/6256 However, is there anything else accessing the pool drives at all? If you're not sure, or certain that nothing is, then please enable file system logging, reproduce the circumstance, and note the directory time after it's changed. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Error_Reports

The only issue I ever experienced with the controller is that it occasionally would "lose" a disk. As in, it wouldn't be accessible by the controller. I'd have to pull it out and plug it back in. That or reboot the system once in a great while. Considering that I don't use RAID drives, and I wasn't using NAS drives, I can't say that I was surprised. And I think this is more of a controller firmware issue, than it was the UnsafeDirectIo setting. I had a "RocketRAID 2720SGL" card, which is a bit more high end oriented than the RR 642L card.

Yes, moving the files into the PoolPart folder is relatively safe. We recommend it for "Seeding" a pool, which is what you want to do. And the File Placement Rules feature is definitely what you want here. It will limit which folders go where. To "seed" the pool here: Create the "bare folder structure" that you need. Aka, create the folder structure that you want for duplication and to apply file placement rules for. Set up the File Placement rules for how you want them. Stop the "StableBit DrivePool Service", by using "services.msc" or running "net stop "DrivePoolService". Move the files into the hidden PoolPart folders. Repeat for each disk Start the "StableBit DrivePool Service" back up by using "services.msc" or "net start DrivePoolService". Change the duplication status for the folders you want Once you've done that, everything should appear in the pool, and remain where you want. And you're right, based on what you want, you could use the "Ordered File Placement" balancer (it's an optional download), but the File Placement rules sound like they'll do exactly what you want better. However, if you're interested in the balancer anyways, you can find it here: https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Plugins And while we do recommend using the "PoolPart" folders for seeding the pool, we also recommend that you do not use these folders afterwards. To do so could cause issues with the pool contents. Especially duplicated data.

Well, I hope you didn't install both on the server. You'd want to install the "Windows 7" version on a desktop/client computer. And this needs to be version 2.5. Once you've done that, you just load the normal UI on the client computer. On the top left corner, it should list the computer name. Click on it, and it should list all the computers on the network that have StableBit Scanner installed. Select the server, and then it will display all the information from the server.