Here's my setup on the current MSS (EX470)
500GB system drive
1TB (90% full)
1TB (90% full)
1TB (90% full)

I have additional plug-in and software installed. I will like to just remove the original 500GB system drive and replace it with 1.5TB to increase the overall storage capacity. Can I just take out the physical drive and use some disk mirroring tool in a different computer and do a 1-1 copy to the 1.5TB drive? Put the 1.5TB back to the slot and all the settings are retain and everything is good to go?

I don't have another place to copy all the stuffs in the 3TB drive that I can do a complete re-build using the restore disk.

Thanks.

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EX490
E6300
8x Samsung 1.5TB

Welcome to

How much of the 500 GB drive is being used for data storage? (Might need to use the Disk Management Add-in to find out that info). If none of that 500 GB system drive is being used for data storage, then you could pull out that drive, put the 1.5 TB new drive in the system slot and perform a System Recovery (not a Factory Reset) with the other three 1 TB drives in the MSS. The system recovery will install WHS on the new 1.5 TB system drive and set it up so that your data drives are part of that pool.

If the 500 GB drive has data on it and your other drives do not have enough room to move that data to them, then it might come down whether that is duplication data or original data. If duplication data, then turn off duplication and use the approach suggested above. Turn duplication back on once done. There is an add in (can't recall name) that helps to trace where the duplication versus original data is stored.

If all original data on 500 GB drive, then one option is remove that drive, install new 1 TB as discussed above, and then put the 500 GB drive in an enclosure or another PC on the network and migrate that data over to the pooled drives. Or, get another drive, put in enclosure, add to pool and migrate data over that way.

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HP MSS EX490 with Intel E6300
4 GB RAM
7 TB Drive Storage

MediaSmartServer.net Wiki, it's loaded with helpful information about WHS and the HP MediaSmart Server.

At the current time, my Disk 0 is at 7%. In order to use the system recovery, I will lose all the customs application on the system drive. I have config other uPnP server in this case + some database. I really don't want to go through another installation after the system recovery.

Just wonder if I can mirror everything on the system drive to a larger drive and will simply work putting the new drive in the lower slot of the EX470

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EX490
E6300
8x Samsung 1.5TB

This has been debated several times in the past and I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from. Unfortunately the consensus is NO.... imaging a drive will NOT work.

I personally have not tried it but I remember (a Looooong Time ago) somebody did and it was not successful. If I remember (and my memory is not what it used to be) the problem is tied to the disk "guid" which is used by the Drive Extender Migrator to determine where specific files have been moved or stored. Since all disks have a different guid, the system gets confused as to where data is stored.

Somebody can probably explain this better but I believe that is the gist of it.

I think you need to ask yourself where you expect to be a year from now, storage-wise. Now may be the time for you to just bite the bullet and get an external multi-bay enclosure and add a disk to the pool from that, leaving the 500GB System Drive in place.

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....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Hi,

I have the same situation with my HP EX470. After my system drive was cloned 1-1 to the new 2TB WD RE4-GP and installed in first bay of WHS, OS was started successfully, but WHS Backup Service is unable to start. It is NOT include the new system drive in the Storage and the old one is still presents in it (but actually it lays near the server and disconnected).

Does anybody knows where the Drive Extender database/config files/registry entries located? I think there have to be solution on how to replace original hard drive GUID in this config files.

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EX470 (2TB WD RE4-GP system drive + 3 x 1TB WD Green), 2 GB, APC UPS
PC1: Windows 7 Ultimate x64, 2x500 GB (RAID-0)
PC2: Windows XP SP3, 250 GB
PC3: Laptop, Windows Vista Ultimate x86, 250 GB
Zyxel OMNI P-660HTW EE Internet Center

I tried a couple of times to image my system HDD to a new drive without success. The first time, I copied the drive with Casper XP, and the Server booted on the copy, but was not accessible across the network. The second time I tried it, I used Acronis Home 10.

The Server actually booted and was accessible across the network, console, etc. but there were file conflicts GALORE. I'm not sure if it's the drive extender technology, or WHS looks at the drive serial number or what, but needless to say I could not copy the system drive.

I think the consensus is that if you have a single-drive WHS, (yeah, like that's useful! ) you can copy the system drive. As soon as you add drives, it's a no go!!

Actually, a made my WHS working after cloning the system drive, but it required some research and hacks. By the end of manipulations with registry my WHS was been able to see new drive connected and marked as 'system' in Storage tab, but Backup Service was unable to start properly and there are some folder conflicts in top level of shares.

If someone wants to fix these conflicts, one have to find utility which could recreate shadow files for Drive Extender.

PS: Personally I decided to stop experiments with my data and done server recovery process with manual file backup. I was wondered when I saw all my files from the second partition of the system drive, because everything on the forum manual backup (or migrate) of data was suggested.

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EX470 (2TB WD RE4-GP system drive + 3 x 1TB WD Green), 2 GB, APC UPS
PC1: Windows 7 Ultimate x64, 2x500 GB (RAID-0)
PC2: Windows XP SP3, 250 GB
PC3: Laptop, Windows Vista Ultimate x86, 250 GB
Zyxel OMNI P-660HTW EE Internet Center