windows home server problem............

[rob123]

just started it up and got a disk read error. it seems that smart was bad.

yes, it is one of those "bad" seagates. in fact all 4 of the 500 gigs are "bad" seagates.

anyway, i remove the power plug from the drive and replaced it with another one. just for the heck i removed and replaced the sata cord. then i started it up and got the usual disk access noise and the server is back up.

i have file duplication turned on. due to the amount on the server some of the duplicated files are on the primary hard drive.

my question is, had this been a real drive failure, the primary where the operating system is installed. would there have been a chance of rebuilding it or would i have been out of luck.

if i was out of luck would there have been any hope of recovery for the other files. i realize i could have reloaded the operating system on a new drive but as soon as i added the other three to the storage pool the OS would have wanted to reformat them.

any thoughts appreciated


rob123

[Digikid]

Replace the HDD with Western Digital Models. Better in every way.

I also have a home build WHS System. What are the specs on yours?

[b1lk1]

Are you running RAID? If so, are you running motherboard RAID? If you are not running RAID then why would you want protected data on those drives? There is nothing wrong with Seagate drives and updating their firmware is so simple a first grader can do it. If you hate them so much you can feel free to send them to me.

Otherwise, if your data is that important then you really need to get a good RAID PCI/PCI-E card. Motherboard RAID is garbage and hardly ever works the way it is supposed to. The other problem is that if you have a motherboard failure you are forced to buy another board with the same chipset to be able to save your array unlike having a dedicated RAID card that would let you move it from PC to PC effortlessly and safely.

By the way, the only issue with Seagtes is that they drop off the map. They do not magically begin working again if you expereince the known failure so there is somethingelse wrong in your OS or system.

[Varroa]

I believe you can back up the server OS drive as well and then restore it later. I just installed WHS a week ago and I am still playing around with it. So far I like it.

[yamawho]

Originally Posted by Varroa

I believe you can back up the server OS drive as well and then restore it later. I just installed WHS a week ago and I am still playing around with it. So far I like it.

Are you running the trial version?

[Varroa]

Yes but I ordered the full version as well, just haven't gotten it yet.

[rob123]

b1lk1, i do not hate seagate drives. no where in my post did i say that. i dont know where you got the idea. i shouldnt have to update the firmware, never had to do that or contemplate it for any other brand. they usually did it right the first time.

it is obvious that the problem was with the system and not the OS. sorry for not mentioning that.

forgot also to mention that i dont do raid with windows home server.

Digikid, my system specs are as follows

msi p965 platinum motherbaord
intel e8400
2gb ram
asus 8800gt
samsung dvd burner
4 X seagate 500gb Hdd
keyboard. mouse ,etc


thank you to all for replies. it happened in the middle of thenight and i panicked looking for an answer. in the calmer light of a new day i have found that i can indeed recover the system onto a new drive if i have to. there are many sites out there who go to great length to describe the process. again thx for the answers

rob123

[Varroa]

For those not familiar with Windows Home Server, you don't need to run raid to get redundancy. If you have more than one HDD in the server there is an option to "duplicate" all data so there is two copies of all the data with each copy being located on a different drive. This does also take up twice as much room for everything you store but if a drive ever fails you simple remove the drive and replace it and WHS will do the rest. WHS also doesn't have "drives" like a regular OS, it sees all the HDDs as one big drive so you can keep adding drives and it just increases the total storage on the machine. You can add IDE, SATA, eSATA and even USB drives to the mix and it just sees them all as one big drive. So far it is a great way of storing and protecting all my media and it give me piece of mind knowing that it backs up all my computers on my home network automatically and all the data is reduntant on 2 drives. You can also access all your data remotely with a website that the server host for you.

I can't wait to get my full retail copy. Final system specs for for the WHS are : 939 X2 dual core 3800+ (currently running a single core 3000+), 4x512mb mix of ram (currently running 2x512mb), Winfast NF4 vanilla mobo (currently Asrock 939 dual vsta), seasonic 80+ 400watt PS, ATI 2400pro (currently GF2 MX), SATA dvd, 2 IDE HDD (160 and 260 Gig), 3 SATA HDD (80, 500 and 1TB WD Green), one USB HDD (150 Gig for server backup only) and a cheiftec dragon full tower case (great server case).

[NyteOwl]

The other problem is that if you have a motherboard failure you are forced to buy another board with the same chipset to be able to save your array unlike having a dedicated RAID card that would let you move it from PC to PC effortlessly and safely.

Requiring an identical controller to recover an array due to controller failure is not unique to motherboard RAID. If you are using a dedicated RAID card and your data is that important, I recommend you not only have spare drives on hand but a spare controller card as well.

WHS also doesn't have "drives" like a regular OS, it sees all the HDDs as one big drive so you can keep adding drives and it just increases the total storage on the machine.

This is known as JBOD mode (Just a Bunch Of Disks) where they all get spanned into one large drive. While it can be useful in some circumstances it can also be a very dangerous way to store data and is not really recommended for anything critical.

[Varroa]

Originally Posted by NyteOwl

This is known as JBOD mode (Just a Bunch Of Disks) where they all get spanned into one large drive. While it can be useful in some circumstances it can also be a very dangerous way to store data and is not really recommended for anything critical.

Why is this dangerous? If one drive fails it does not take out the entire JBOD disk. You just remove the dead drive and replace it (provided you have the redundance turned on).