I'll bet you a beer that the replacement unit isn't any better. I think there is a design flaw. The product is still fairly new... and I bet the a miniscule percent of the owners every attempt a test Server Restore or Factory Reset.

If you are going to put Linix on it... I would use a fresh hard drive and keep your factory original so that you can become functional on WHS if you so choose.

/Jim

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My family website: www.pappas.me

Yup I'm thinking the same thing. I plan on taking an image of the WHS installation in keeping it around just in case. Wouldn't want a 1TB drive to go unused

You would think they would have tested the functionality...

I spent several more hours on this and still no joy. This time I took a 2TB drive and erased all the partitions... Nothing happened. Then I took the same drive with a single partition formatted NTFS.

This 2nd test was the same as when I tried with my existing system drive. It would fail on step 3 of 4 if using a W7 client. It would make it into "Server Recovery" mode... but would fail soon thereafter.

I just got an email from Tech support asking me to go back to DHCP settings on the client computer after they told me that they wanted me to set a static IP address. The directions do not specify static IP addresses... but they had previously felt that a recovery would not work unless I used 169.37.37.42 as a static IP address. I will try their suggestion, but I am not too sure when I will get to it. I'll try it from my XP netbook because that is the only way I have ever been able to get into server recovery mode.

Bottom line for today's testing was that using a freshly formatted drive did not help at all.

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

Have you opened up the TFTPD program that sits in the tray while the transfer is going? I notice mine always gets stuck at 95%. If you keep it open during the transfer, a brief dialog box opens asking you whether you want to cancel. I hit the no option but it still closed.

Maybe there is a way to run our own TFTPD and transfer files manually? Not ideal but better than nothing.

Yes, I have been monitoring TFTPD and I have been sending the log files from it to HP. With the XP netbook (and only that machine)... TFTPD transfer will complete 100%. Next I will get the "successful" message saying that the server is in "server restore" mode and I can choose either factory reset, or system restore. At that point, after a short delay, the process will crash saying that the client and MSS cannot make a network connection.

The situation above is the BEST that I have been able to achieve so far. Now HP wants me to go back to the publicized method of keeping DHCP active rather than their previous instructions to set up the client with a specific static IP address.

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

JimP

While I do not have an EX49x unit to play with I wonder if you have connected say your Netbook directly to your unit to attempt the recovery issue. By the way I have a netbook they are absolutely wonderful but thats another topic. Unfortunately the reported issues people have reported with the EX49x units prevented me from purchasing one this month.

_________________
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

Comp1962,

Yes... 100% of my attempts have been made with the client computer directly connected to the EX495. In this model, it is required. I have tried a desktop (Vista), two laptops (both W7), and a netbook (XP). Of these... I have gotten the furtherst with the netbook running XP.

I am going to be out of commission for a week... so this will have to wait until after the new years. I just cannot spend time on this "hobby" for the next week or so.

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

JimP,

Hopefully when you get back to it you will have better success until then take care.

_________________
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

It looks like I just managed to do a successful Server Restore! Mind you I didn't need to, but curiosity was getting the better of me. I had some extra time on my hands this morning, so I shut down the server and removed all of my drives, then I inserted a spare 250 GB hard drive I had lying around. My first two attempts failed at Step 2 or Step 3, but each time I did something different and each time I got further along. Here is a recap:

1st Attempt - Failed at Step 2.

1. Copied entire contents of Server Recovery disk to a directory on my hard drive of a Windows XP computer.
2. Removed all partitions/data from 250 GB HDD and inserted into MSS.
3. Started the recovery program from the PCs HDD directory. Hooked MSS and PC directly as per instructions.
4. Fired up Server, pressed reset button and followed instructions.
3. Server Recovery failed about 5-7 minutes later at Step 2.

2nd Attempt - Failed at Step 3.

1. Realized I still had the WHS Connector and MSS software on the PC. Removed those programs.
2. Everything else as per 1st Attempt.
3. Server Recovery failed about 8-10 minutes later at Step 3.

3rd Attempt - Success

1. Recreated a single partition and formatted target HDD to NTFS defaults (note: full format, not quick format.)
2. Everything else as per 1st and 2nd Attempts
3. Server completed all 4 steps and presented me with Recovery or Reset option. Selected Recovery.
4. Server Recovery Success!! I go everything to the point where the drive lights were pulsing as you see when a MSS comes out of the box.
5. Removed HDD and confirmed presence of a 20 GB partition with WHS file structure present. Remaining Space shows as Unallocated.

Hopefully this will help those folks who are having trouble. The key points are:

1) Pre-format target drive with a single partition using teh defaults of NTFS. The restore process will reallocate the partitions, but seeing a pre-formatted drive seems to make a difference.
2) Copy Restore CD contents to HDD of PC doing the restore. This may not be necessary, but I suspect that there may be some truth to the earlier comment of a timing issue when restoring directly from the CD.
3) Operating system of PC doing the restore?? I used XP for this one only because I had an extra XP box lying around.

_________________
X510 w/7 TB (100% WD Green EARS)
Stock Processor, 4 GB Memory Upgrade

It sounds like the 4th key point is making sure that the WHS connector software is REMOVED from the machine that is hosting the restore process.

TechVet,

Thank you for the note. It is good to see an existence proof of it working!!!

I do have a few questions... specifically regarding the network configuration of the XP machine:

1) Did you keep the default "Automatically get an IP Address" settings, or did you assign a static IP address.
2) If static... which did you use
3) What are you using for anti-virus and for a firewall?
4) Assuming windows firewall... did you simply disable it via the Windows Control Panel?
5) Which tool did you use for the reformat of the drive?

Almost all of my testing (per instructions from HP) have been with various states of network configurations. They have been having me use 169.37.37.38 or 169.37.37.42. When the MSS sets up for discovery, it defaults to 169.37.37.37 and they felt that having an IP address in the same subnet would help.

I am really looking forward to trying this out in about a week when I have some time. Thanks for the testing!

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

One more quick question:

If the HDD needs to be formated... then how would one perform a "Server Restore" instead of a "Factory Reset"?

/Jim

_________________
My family website: www.pappas.me

Yes, that would be #4


1. Yes, Automatic assignment of IPs
2. N/A
3. I use Avast for AV and I left it on. I use the standard Windows Firewall
4. I turned off in the Control Panel/Security Center
5. To format the HDD, I went into Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Storage, Drive Management. The drive was attached via one of the USB to SATA interface devices.


I don't think that would be a problem because with a Server Restore (i.e. data preserved) the drive already has an acceptable format. I suppose I could try that at some point if the time becomes available.

_________________
X510 w/7 TB (100% WD Green EARS)
Stock Processor, 4 GB Memory Upgrade

This is great news

I had my EX495 apart on the bench this weekend, and I spent some time playing with the Recovery mechanism, timing each section, etc with a video display connected. I also took pictures of the various stages of the Recovery from the Server perspective. Nothing is giving me any indicators about what could be causing your failure, but I'll put together a writeup in the next couple of days in the hopes that it will help.

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Alex Kuretz
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