Hello all,

My WHS will not boot and it was previously reporting that my system drive was about to fail. I started the process of copying my data to external drives so I could rebuilt however the drive (according to WHS did not make it).

Currently I'm running a check disk on the system drive.

Here is my dilema, the system drive was a 20gb partition on a larger physical drive and the remainder of the physical drive was a second partition which was mounted as a member of the DE pool. I had two other drives in the system that were also members of the DE pool and I had folder duplication on for any data that I considered "sensitive".

I have a new drive to replace the system drive, however what I'm not clear on is if I put in the new drive (along with my other two pool drives) and go through the restore/rebuild process, will the DE pool be fully rebuilt properly?

Should I partition my new drive in advance, copy the DE pool data over, then pop the drive into the WHS and re-install the OS? Will it find the DE data and properly rebuild?

Thank you, I realize the answers to my questions may lie buried in the forums, but there is only so much searching (or perhaps I wasn't searching the right terms) and reading a man can do!

Cheers,
-R

When you have a bad system drive that needs to be replaced, and you have other pooled drives and have duplication turned on.
The new replacement drive does not need anything done to it. (I stick mine in a usb to sata dock, format it just to make sure it is not DOA) but in theory you could stick a brand new un-formatted drive in the bottom bay, have all the other drives in/attached and do a recovery (Not Factory Re-set) and yes, if all goes well, everything will be rebuilt.

This being said, it is always a good idea to have a backup copy of the data you can't lose as server recoveries can and have gone bad.
Most of the time they work, but, CYA is my way.
My first ex-470 had two failed recoveries, so I am glad I had backups of my data.

During the recovery, the server will format and partition the new system dive and lay down a new OS, then it will start the rebuild.
You will need to get all the updates (windows and HP) so it will take awhile.
Now might be a good time to upgrade your system drive to the Max size of 2TB as well, or maybe a 1TB.
I buy WD 2tb reds when I catch them on sale and have a few on the shelf, just in case. Some prefer the WD blacks for the speed.

I prefer to save all my data on non-pooled drives, do a factory reset, then do a copyback of my data, but in theory the recovery should work.
Good luck and have a happy new 2016!!!!!

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