Christopher (Drashna)

You can migrate to DrivePool very easily. And no, DrivePool never alters existing data on a disk. In fact, when you add a disk to the pool, it doesn't take complete control over the disk. It lets you use it as you were. And no, there is no need to reinstall to use DrivePool. You can just install it, and start using it. However, if you wish to migrate your data to the pool, just add the existing disks to the pool. And then move the existing data into the newly created, hidden "PoolPart.xxxx" folder in the root of each drive, and then it should show up in the Pool right away. After doing that, you'd want to run the "WSS Troubleshooter" and use the "Rebuild DrivePool Shares" to use the pooled folders instead. http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/254-adding-drivepool-to-a-existing-setup/&do=findComment&comment=1582 I think I've answered everything there. If I haven't, or if you need further clarification, don't hesitate to ask. Regards

That's definitely a bug. Could you get a memory dump of the "Dashboard.UI.exe" process? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Dashboard_Freeze

Glad to hear it!

The event viewer won't help with that. And there is some data in the AppData folder, but it shouldn't be affect that. But please, feel free to delete that stuff as well.

Yup, the program should still be 100% intact, except for the settings and the license. As for the file system repair issue, was this the same disk that was having the issue?

I think only the full sized ATX boards have the header for it. But considering I found an ASUS TPM module for $25 on Amazon... I think it's worth it, in my opinion. To the point, that I may be migrating away from my ASRock 990FX Extreme3 board to a comparable ASUS board. http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Accessory-FW3-19-Module-BitLocker/dp/B0085E4WQQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382069624&sr=8-1&keywords=tpm+module Though, that board you listed, I'd avoid it. Namely, because well, Technogod can confirm just how flaky ASMedia USB3 drivers are... (right?)

You mean the "Windows Server Client Backup Service", correct? If this is the case, I know this sounds weird, but could you try running "wbadmin delete catalog". This will "break" your server backups, but I've found that on ... well SBS2011E (the Small Business sister product) and 2012 Essentials, that this may actually help/fix the issue. The worst thing it does is that you'll need to re-setup server backup. That, or see if a location outside of the pool works properly. If it does, then could you move it back, and then do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Log_Collection

so, just to make sure, the only thing you did is reset the settings, and it cleared up the issue, correct?

Yup, DrivePool works absolutely fine with GPT disks. In fact, if you add a new, unformatted disk that is 3+ TBs, it will be formatted as GPT automatically.

Ah, you do have the Disk Space Equalizer installed. If that is the case, then try doing the "Re-measure" option.

Could you get a memory dump of the service? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Freeze And the ErrorReports? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_for_WSS_Error_Reports And I think it would be best to reset the settings (the Store) at this point. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Q4200749

That's great to know, actually! Now, does that motherboard have a built in TPM module? Because that would remove the USB/password requirement for the system drive, under BitLocker. But yeah, I'm not surprised, Intel tends to use different CPU sockets for server grade hardware, whereas AMD doesn't. And ASUS has always been more of the higher end boards. So, this doesn't suprise me. But this is definitely something to keep in mind for future purchases.

Well, that would do it. And glad to have helped.

SHPServer, That's actually normal behavior if you have both StableBit DrivePool and StableBit Scanner installed. When you have both installed, it adds a "StableBit Scanner" balancer to DrivePool which will clear out any disk that Scanner marks as damaged or bad, in an effort to prevent data loss. It will also try to not use any disk that has exceeded the temperature ratings/limits, as these drives are more prone to failure.

Okay, then it's definitely something crashing when it is trying to remove the disks. Worst case here, for the meanwhile, you could downgrade to an ealier version. http://dl.covecube.com/DrivePool/release/download/StableBit.DrivePool_1.3.3.7563_Release.wssx Or you could use the "File Placement Limiter" to clear out the drive in question, and once it's empty, to physically remove it. And then use DrivePool's UI to remove the missing disk. That should work. I've also alerted Alex to the issue, because you're not the only one having this issue, it seems.

That looks right for the most part. Unless you have the "Disk Space Equalizer" balancer installed, DrivePool doesn't necessarily try to keep each disk equally filled. It does try to use the least filled disk first, but that's not always a guarantee. Especially depending on what balancers you have enabled and running.

Well, with defragmentation, it's "set and forget" what you want out of the product? Regardless of the features, and the price?

You posted a support ticket about this, as well. So I'll say the same thing. (aside from posting logs). But recreating the partition on the drive may be the best bet here. That, and maybe resetting drivePool's settings.

It could be something as simple as a bad cable, or maybe damage to the connector that is preventing a good connection. And it's weird that switching it the one time causes a bunch of issues, but another time that it worked just fine. To me, that seems to indicate maybe a bad connection somewhere.

Well, on the damaged disk, you should be able to access all of the files in the hidden "PoolPart.xxxx" folder in the root of the drive. So basically, add the new disk to the pool, and copy the contents of the "bad/missing" disk's PoolPart folder, to the new disk's PoolPart folder (the "xxxx" part will be different on the disks). After you've done that, everythign should show up in the pool. After that, physically pull the "bad" disk from the system and then remove the missing disk from the dashboard. And then you'll want to "Re-measure" the pool, to make sure it identifies everything properly. And it should be that simple. Though, you may want to download the WSS Troubleshooter, and run the "Reset NTFS Permissions on the pool" option to make sure everything is configured properly. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Utilities

Absolutely. There should be no issues with that.

Yup, true, you got me there. Free is a nice price. If you haven't purchased licenses already. PerfectDisk runs on my server already, and it set to SMART Placement (Performance Aggressive). And I just let it sit and do it's thing. Though, one thing I'm not seeing that Auslogic's Disk Defrag has is a "fragmentation shield". And what I mean by that, is a filter that prevents fragmentation of new files. And while that may be arguable useful... (but then again, people still argue the merrits of defragging in the first place)... Either way, it looks like a good product, and very fully featured. Something I would definitely recommend to friends for free defragmentation.

haha, No, this time I wasn't going to blame the drivers. But now that you've said something... That depends on the drives, in a large part. I've seen that behavior a LOT from WD Green drives. It's one of the reasons they're trash, and I highly recommend against never using them. And just to make sure, you'd doing this disk to disk? If so, it could be possible that you're saturating the BUS (or it's getting saturated enough that it's having issues). It could also be where on the drives the data is actually located (it could be taking longer to grab all the data), and this is why a lot of people recommend defragmentation tools. Or it could be a faulty cable... This is why I hate hardware issues, and it is why over at WGS, I have a nice LONG thread about performance issues. Running a check of the disks, running a defrag pass on them (check the offtopic "Software I recommend" thread), and stopping the Windows Search service (at least while moving files around). http://forum.wegotserved.com/index.php/topic/8335-before-you-post-media-stuttering-playback-issues-performance-irregularities/

Well, glad to hear that both things have helped out!

Yeah, that definitely sounds like a poorly written driver. Or at least poorly tested. Hopefully, you have no more issues!