Christopher (Drashna)

Okay, I just wanted to make sure. And I'm assuming you mean the "DPI" setting. That could definitely make it hard to find.

Not a problem. There are a number of nice features that are kind of hidden (may be a good idea to really look at those balancers too, and check out the ones on the plugins page too http://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Plugins) And no files should be lost in the removal. Worst case, they will remain in the hidden "PoolPart.xxxx" folder, for you to recover/move at your convenience.

Nope, definitely not. If it was, then the "Skip duplicated files" option would allow you to remove it from the pool without issue. And PerfectDisk shouldn't have caused any issues. I run it on my server as well, and I've not had issues removing disks. Though, you can stop any ongoing scan, if it's occuring. Also, you can use the "file placement limiter" balancer, and uncheck both "Duplicated" and "Unduplicated" check boxes and the pool will try moving all the files off that disk. This would make it easier to remove the pool (or at least safer to just pull the disk and then remove it from the pool). However, the reason I mentioned that log file is that it will log what files it errored out on. And there may be a damaged file that is causing it to hang on.

The License management stuff should be in the actually settings of the dashboard, just click that, and there should be a "DrivePool" section, and in that, a "Manage License" link. However, I agree, the 2.0 UI is a lot better, and a lot cleaner. Thankfully, it works with WHS2011 as well. Worst case for the license "release", is you can contact us and we can do it. (http://stablebit.com/Contact). Regards

Logbit, copy the config file to your desktop, edit it there, and then copy it back. Some times it does this. I believe it's an NTFS permission/security related issue, (as those can act funny some times). If that still doesn't work, I'll see about uploading a copy of the modified file.

There should be a "force drive removal" option. This will skip any file that errors out (which is likely the issue). And then proceed to remove the drive from the pool. You will retain files on the drive using this method though. You can access those files in the "PoolPart.xxxx" folder (may be hidden). Worst case here, physically remove the drive, and then remove it from the pool. Then copy the contents of said "PoolPart.xxxx" folder back into the pool (it should mirror how the pool is laid out). Also, you can check "C:\ProgramData\StableBit DrivePool\Service\Logs\Service\" for the logs and see what file(s) it is erroring out on. Regards

When you remove the drive, it sets the pool as "read only", so you can't write to it. But you can still access the pool during this time. However, because it is read only, any thing that relies on altering data will fail, such as client backups. But media streaming should work fine during this time. However, because one or more drives maybe written to during the removal process, it may make the system laggy. If you want though, you could use the "File Placement Limiter" balancer to move the data off the drive in question, and once that's done, remove that drive from the pool immediately. And since there should be no pooled data after it's "balanced" the data, it should take minutes (if not seconds) to remove it from the pool.

Normal: That error could have been caused by the bad drive, or a crash. If you wanted to post log files (ideally to "http://stablebit.com/Contact"), I could look through them and see what is going on (or you could do so yourself, if you want). The directory in question is "C:\ProgramData\StableBit DrivePool\Service\Logs\Service". And Shane is right, you should remove the bad drives immediately, or potentially risk data loss/corruption. Just add the other drives to the pool, and remove the affected drive. It will migrate the data for you. There is also an option to basically ignore duplicated files which makes the removal faster, but puts your data more at risk (as there will only be one copy in the pool. Once the drive is removed, definitely check to see if it's under warranty still, so you can RMA it and get a working drive. Regards

Sometimes the config file does that. Usually copying it to the desktop (or elsewhere) and back will help.

Doug, If you could, report this over at http://stablebit.com/Contact as this is definitely a bug.

When you remove a disk from the pool, part of the removal process is to move all the files off of the disks. You can skip "duplicated" files which may be a good idea! Given that you don't have the space to remove the drives *and* maintain duplication... That would be the bigger issue here. If you have the money, opt for the "advanced replacement". It requires a credit card (or debit card), and they put a hold on the card equal to the amount they charge for the HDD. Then they send one out to you immediately and give you a window of time to return the bad drive. Once they get it back, they remove the hold from your card. Otherwise, if you take too long, the charge goes through. I'd recommend this method to you, because you can get the two new drives, add them to the pool also, and then remove the bad drives from the pool. Otherwise, you'll want to use the "skip duplicate files" option when you remove the disks, and disable duplication temporarily. Which isn't optimal at all.

Randomrage: I just want to cover all the bases. As for the drive, I run Server 2012 Essentials and *all* of my pooled drives are 3TBs (all seagate), so that's definitely not the issue. I'd be more inclined to blame the USB hardware here (either the controller, or the enclosure itself,). Especially if it's USB3. Some of the chipsets are still very flaky as of yet (as USB3 is very new still). But if you remove the external, and *still* have issues with the backups, then please do that log collection (linked above), as that is a very detailed log of what is happening. However, if the issue goes away when that external HDD does, well, you know what the issue was.

Are you using the "/r" switch when running chkdsk? (you said you're on WS2012? have you tried "chkdsk x: /r /scan"?) Also, have you tried installing StableBit Scanner? It grabs smart data, and does a file/surface scan. And have you scanned any of the other drives? And if so, have you tried resetting the client backup database? Create a folder in that directory, move the backups to that folder, and restart the service. This keeps your old backups in case they are fine, and lets you create a new backup database, in case the old one is actually corrupt (it is possible). If that works fine, then that's the issue. If it still has the issue, then it may be some interaction with DrivePool. And if that is the case, then do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Log_Collection Regards

yes, it should detect the client backup database. It may (most likely rather) will put all the disks in the "Archive" category, but they should be available. Just make sure you have the server all updated before doing this to avoid issues. As for the disk passthrough, that is entirely possible. So no more issues after using the host?

... With my dying breath, it will be in there one way or another. Alex has said that he is considering it. But to be blunt, he's been very busy with fixing bugs, and trying to get v2 to a "stable" build, so this isn't a priority right now. In the future possibly, but not at the moment. But yes, I would absolutely love to see the dashboard integration back as well. And Alex knows how I feel about this.

And thank you both for the feedback.

MVD, could you submit this as a ticket at http://stablebit.com/Contact ?

Yes, sorry, you are right. Any modifications of any system file violates the EULA for anything from Microsoft. There is also a trick to "restore" the session to the computer after you're done RDPing into it. This just takes advantage of built in tools. http://www.tenniswood.co.uk/technology/windows/how-to-restore-a-media-center-session-after-using-remote-desktop/

mvd, do you have any other balancers enabled? If so, try disabling those (especially "prevent drive overfill").

Ah, yes, CableCard.... I'm sorry. That's a very good reason to set things up that way.

What Doug said. The trial is fully featured. If you decide you want to transfer it, you can deactivate it on the original machine, and then activate the licenses on the "new" machine. And to answer the other question, the license is valid for any version of the product. Not just to the WHS version, or the Windows version.

When this happens, does restarting the "StableBit DrivePool Service" fix the issue? Either way, could you do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Error_Reports

Both are supported for WHS, but for now, v1.3 definitely works better (and has an stable version out).

That really depends on the type of "backups" you mean. If you mean the client computer backups, these aren't compatible between different OS's, but are compatible within the same OS (as long as it's the same "patch level"). As for the server backup, that depends as well. But if you mean just files, then the pool should move over to different OS's just fine (and can move between v1.x and v2.x without issue)

Yup, very simple, and super fast. One more thing.... you may want to download the WSS Troubleshooter util, and use the "Reset NTFS permissions on the pool" option to make sure it's all "kosher". (otherwise, you could get security permission issues). http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Error_Reports