Sign in
Microsoft.com
 
Microsoft
 
 
 

locked
Any new way to automatically migrate data off of system disk? RRS feed

 > 

  • Question

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    Theo's LZReallocator application is what I used prior to the last update.  This no longer works as expected with the latest update.  Is there a way to move data off of the system disk?  I had a bunch of system disk errors pop up in the system event viewer and am worried that the system disk if failing.  I'd like to migrate all data off of that disk prior to replacing it.

    In the mean time I'll simply uninstall the latest update and run Theo's little app.

    (I tried contacting Theo but there doesn't appear to be a way to send forum members personal messages)

    Thanks

    Monday, December 1, 2008 11:44 PM

Answers

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Guys, with the latest update LZReallocator is no longer needed:
    • WHS now reports the total free space in the storage pool as free space for any of the shares (admittedly there's a bug where it reports only the size of the D: partition as the total size, which makes for an alarming mapped drive list)
    • WHS, for some time, has not landed files on the primary data (D: ) partition. They go straight to one of the secondary disks.
    As a result, even if you only have a couple of GB free on the primary data partition you should still be able to copy files up to the limit of free space in the storage pool.

    So, umm, what's the issue exactly? :)
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Wednesday, December 3, 2008 12:30 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Lliam said:

    Think you could pack that function into an addin?  If not I may end up doing it. :P

    Lliam,
    As Ken indicated LZReallocator was meant as a work around for a problem in WHS that was solved with the latest update. So I see no use in supporting the tool any longer. I will keep the download on-line for a while but expect it to be removed within a few weeks.

    But feel free to (re)use the code as you like.
    Theo van Elsberg.
    No home server like Home Server
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 6:55 PM
    Moderator

All replies

  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Over at wegotserved.co.uk, someone posted a small script that writes 5GB files to the system drive, which forces WHS to migrate data off the drive.  The end result - a completely empty system drive.  Here's the link to the wiki:

    http://wiki.wegotserved.co.uk/Force_Data_Migration_off_the_Primary_Data_Partition
    Tuesday, December 2, 2008 1:44 AM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    kegobeer,

    This is exactly what LZReallocator does. But apparently this does not work for Lliam?

    Theo.

    [Edit: Did not test the effect LZReallocator has on a WHS with the update installed?]


    No home server like Home Server

    Tuesday, December 2, 2008 10:56 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    Theo, LZReallocator doesn't appear to work with the latest update.  I ended up uinstalling the latest update, running LZReallocator, reinstalling the update.

    Think you could pack that function into an addin?  If not I may end up doing it. :P
    Tuesday, December 2, 2008 11:15 PM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Guys, with the latest update LZReallocator is no longer needed:
    • WHS now reports the total free space in the storage pool as free space for any of the shares (admittedly there's a bug where it reports only the size of the D: partition as the total size, which makes for an alarming mapped drive list)
    • WHS, for some time, has not landed files on the primary data (D: ) partition. They go straight to one of the secondary disks.
    As a result, even if you only have a couple of GB free on the primary data partition you should still be able to copy files up to the limit of free space in the storage pool.

    So, umm, what's the issue exactly? :)
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Wednesday, December 3, 2008 12:30 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Ken Warren said:

    Guys, with the latest update LZReallocator is no longer needed:


    Yep!
    No home server like Home Server
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 6:41 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Lliam said:

    Think you could pack that function into an addin?  If not I may end up doing it. :P

    Lliam,
    As Ken indicated LZReallocator was meant as a work around for a problem in WHS that was solved with the latest update. So I see no use in supporting the tool any longer. I will keep the download on-line for a while but expect it to be removed within a few weeks.

    But feel free to (re)use the code as you like.
    Theo van Elsberg.
    No home server like Home Server
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 6:55 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
     
    That's understood Theo, and I very much appreciate the tool. :)

    One of the scenarios that the tool would be useful is if the user needs to replace the system drive.  While the install section of the system drive is easily replaceable, the data on the share portion is not.  That data needs to be copied off the system drive and onto another drive.  There currently is no easy way to do this.  The system drive doesn't have the 'remove drive' option enabled.
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 8:03 PM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Lliam, in that scenario, turn on duplication for all shares. Wait an hour or three before you replace the drive. At that point, all files are duplicated (except the backup database, which is hopefully not on the system drive) and pulling the drive will cause no harm.

    Or copy the files off the system drive (they're in D:\DE\Shares\etc.) before you start, and copy them back afterward.

    And please, please, submit a product suggestion on Connect, because an advanced feature (probably in the toolkit) which allows forcing all real data off the system drive would make for a good suggestion. At worst Microsoft will say that replacing the system drive is an operation only to be performed in extremis, and there's no need to do so just because you have a small system drive anymore.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 9:45 PM
    Moderator
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote


    I'm only concerned with system drive failure, not drive storage size.  I don't see a reason for users to expand their system drive (since power pack 1 at least).  In my case I had a bunch of disk errors show up in the event viewer originating from my system drive.  The options are to ignore it and hope for the best.  Replace it and lose all data that's stored there.  Or manually copy the data to another drive and copy it back when the system drive was replaced.

    Before submitting a suggestion, I'm trying to validate the need for a way to 'remove' your system drive via the console or at least move the data from the shares off of it.

    While the system drive is not a landing zone any more, there are still ways for data to get on it:

    1. Other drives on system run out of space so WHS copies data to system drive, subsequently adding more space does not migrate the data off the system drive.
    2. Removing a drive can cause WHS to copy data to system drive if there is space limitation.  Subsequently adding another drive does not migrate the data off of the system drive.
    3. Duplication (in which case there isn't really a problem)


    The common work arounds really expect there to be sufficient space to store data.  Turning on duplication on all folders for instance requires you to have enough free space.  Copying all folders to a back-up requires all shares to be small enough to fit on atleast one attached storage device.


    I don't believe this is a "required" feature.  Neither do I expect users to have to use it either.  Which makes it less likely that it'll be implemented.  This makes it a better candidate for a user created add-in.  It's simple enough to do, I've more or less stopped making add-ins due to time constraints (I don't have time to support the ones I've created - PowerSwitch is supersceded by LightsOut & ToDesktop does what I need it to do) - but perhaps this will get me interested in making more time. :P

    Thursday, December 4, 2008 10:16 PM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote
    Lliam, please consider that if your system drive is failing, Windows Home Server may be unable to read files off the drive. The console may not be usable due to disk issues, and WHS may even be unable to start successfully. You absolutely should not rely on a system running off a failing drive to do anything sensible. Drive failure guarantees corrupted data; the only question is what data is corrupted. If the corrupt data is in system files (perhaps in the DE file system filter driver) you could wind up corrupting every file that you read or write.

    In that case, the right answer really is to pull the system drive, replace it, and try data recovery, using various tricks like freezing the drive, software you've purchased, or a professional (and spendy) data recovery firm if it's really important.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Thursday, December 4, 2008 10:29 PM
    Moderator