This Server is EVIL!!!!

Again, all going well, until exactly the same thing happened. Won't boot again. Interestingly, got Server SMART sending me email warnings. Just before, got critical warning:

"NEW HPSERVER ERROR: High Bad Sector Count
There are 53 bad sectors on the disk surface. Their contents have been reallocated to the spare area."

About 2 hours before had:

"Server: HPSERVER
Disk: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0
Path: \\.\PHYSICALDRIVE0
Attribute ID: 5
Attribute Name: Reallocated Sector Count
Alert Status: Warning
Message: There are 47 bad sectors on the disk surface. Their contents have been reallocated to the spare area."

So looks like my server is seriously degrading my hard disks. As above, this was a brand new WD Caviar black (non-af). It's the second one that has gone in this server!

I remember researching this drive and others had posted that it was OK.

So - a full day's work for nothing again! I rue the day I bought this heap of......

Also, guess supports idea that not due to a power outage.

I'm going to try installing on my old Seagate 1TB, see if that makes any difference.

This has all been an appalling and thoroughly regrettable affair.

I have used WD BLKS for years and they have served me well. I did have one fail within a week or two of operation and I have one that's been running 3 yrs that needs to be sent back. I have had several Seagate Drives fail frequently within the first 3 months of operation and yet I have Seagate Drives that are old and still continue to run well. Hard drives can function well one day and not the next some fail without warning but most will provide you with warning signs and one of those tools for hard drive failure prediction is Home Server SMART.

The server is not evil the OS is very sensitive to hard drive issues especially with the System Drive as your experiencing. The better term may be demon possessed. There is nothing more frustrating then having to battle the issues your currently dealing with.

Hopefully you will get your server backup and running without issues but again keep an eye on things and Good Luck!

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

3 hours to install to the seagate, and this is how it sits.

I think I'm gonna have to throw in the towel. I now have 4 bad drives and grey hair.

Contacted WD to see if they'll replace my 2 WD blacks.

Currently deliberating on buying a totally new box (and henceforth embargoing anything HP - I should have known better) or buying a debug board and installing Server 2008/or 2013. If I could tell what the problem was - it would make my decision easier - dunno if it's the OS, hardware (is something in this bloody box trashing my drives) or incredibly improbably, 3 hard drives all choosing to fail at the same time.

I'm, gonna walk away from this for now, before I smash it.

Thanks again.

If they were all new drives I would be concerned but if they were all older drives then I would lean more towards the drives. However if you are no longer comfortable with you EX495 then it maybe better for you to find another solution one you can easily troubleshoot. Unless you already own a license for Server2008 I would not bother with it unless it offers you something the newer Server Software does not offer. Server 2012E is very nice I run it but I have yet to explore its fullest potential because its very easy to break so I have been taking my time with it but I absolutely enjoy the Domain Setup and the easy VPN connectivity. Thing is that Window Server 2008 and 2012 are expensive solutions so you really have to want what they offer to go that route.

WHS2011 is an expensive solution that works well. I build WHS2011 servers for others or repurpose MSS Enclosures to run WHS2011 and its a quite popular solution for those who have basic server needs and the OS at $50 USD or less will not break the bank and using Drive Bender or Stable Bit Drive pool you can use 4TB Hard Drives, and the AF Drives are a none issue for WHS2011 unlike WHS2011.

You do have other solutions available to you too like FreeNAS as you do not have to use a Microsoft Solution but you should already be aware of this.

The one thing you will always have to deal with are issues with Hard Drives so always keep an eye on your hard drives. You can also go with a RAID Solution but for this you will want very good hardware and drives to avoid drive drop out issues or the potential for drive drop out issues. If your leaning towards a RAID Solution please take the time to review what others are running, how long they have been running their solution and what if any problems they may have encountered or not. Hardware RAID is faster but more expensive to be done right but you will find that many are running a Software RAID Solution which is fine too.

I wish you well in your search for a new solution. Since your done with your EX495 MSS please start a new message thread if you want to discuss finding a new solution be it purchasing a ready to run Server Solution or a Build. If your thinking of building a server take a look at the DIY Build forum to see what others have done and what issues they may have encounter regardless of the OS they chose to install. Its also a good time to review your storage requirements to factor in just how large of an enclosure you will need but there is a lot more to it then that so read carefully.

Good Luck and so sorry you have lost interest in working with your EX495 but I do understand your frustration.

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

SUCCESS!!

Well, it took a lot of money, time and grey hair, but finally got WHS 2011 up and running.

And I gotta say - totally worth it!!! It feels so much more stable and faster. Over a weekend, I got it all installed and up and running. Also got MTorrent and Emule running as services without too much trouble at all. Updated the esata driver and did the drive lights thingy (although, wierdly for some reason, one drive not lighting up!?). This OS is sweet....

Just waiting for the ram upgrade to come now and all will be golden!!

On an ironic note at one stage was looking towards a UPS, but got lost in the complications around serial vs usb for communication. I thought "how often do I have a power outage!?" Got home tonight - had had a power cut... I envisaged Hard Drive heads skittling across platters. Checked all disks good

So onto the UPS issue.... want the cheapest and most compatible.

Thanks for your help guys.

Happy to hear you have your server up and running and that you like WHS2011. As for a UPS you do not need to break the bank to buy one they are not overly expensive. APC has a version of Power Chute which works well with WHS which you can download from their website. All you need is one that has a USB Communications cable so the UPS can communicate with the software. Just only connect essential devices to the UPS and not everything around the server to it. Set it up to keep the server running so that it will only consume about 20% of the battery power before the UPS instructs the server to shut down in the event of a power failure.

Keep in mind the batteries in a UPS are only good for 3-5 years so you will want one where access to the batteries is easy. Some of the older units had to be disassembled to get at the batteries and those are a pain. I have a could like that still in use and really hate it when it comes time to change the batteries but most of my units the batteries just pop out easily. Most small UPS's only have 1 battery but the larger ones have multiple batteries. Most of mine have 2 batteries but my rack units have 4 batteries each.

Again the UPS is there to protect your server not just from power surges and sags but there to also prevent the corruption of your hard drives that often occur during power failures when drives are being written to when power is lost because if setup properly they will instruct the server to simply just shut down.

Keep in mind that hard drives overtime will develop issues and sometime die without warning and with Home Server SMART you can keep an eye on the physical health of the hard drives, WHS will keep an eye on the health of the file system and the UPS will help with the rest. If you do happen to run external drive enclosures you will want those connected to the UPS as well.

Good Luck with your server!

_________________
Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

I may be late to this post, but thought I would add a few things for others looking that may address how data can be secured in the future. I follow this plan:

I have an EX495 (about 3.5 years old now) and replaced the shipped Seagate drives about a year ago as they both failed. I replaced these with 1Tb WD Black drives.

My backup policy is this (yours could vary due to your data volatility...IOW how often data changes).

1. I keep 2 separate WD 1 Tb black drives in the server.
2. I also have a 2 Tb ESATA backup drive attached to the EX495.
3. I also keep 2 separate standalone WD 1 Tb drives for offsite backup.
4. Every two weeks I backup the server shares via an RDP session to the ESATA drive.
5. One per month (on a father/son basis), I add one of the standalone 1 Tb drives to the server (not as pool storage) and backup all the shares to that drive.
6. I rotate the 2 standalone WD drives through my son's office (I'm retired now) and leave them there as offsite backup.

Kevin

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ASUSTOR AS6204T, 12 TB RAID-5 over three drive bays (3 * 4TB HGST drives), 2TB Fantom Esata backup drive

"In theory there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is." [Attributed to L. P. "Yogi" Berra]