MediaSmartServer.net http://mediasmartserver.net/forums/ |
|
How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. http://mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6826 |
Page 1 of 13 |
Author: | ymboc [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 1:08 am ] |
Post subject: | How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. Special thanks to Yakuza for his help in developing & testing the procedure. Background: WHS uses Unique DiskID numbers found in the partition table of each disk to help identify them. The WHS Storage Manager stores these DiskIDs and other important information about its disks, folders and volumes in the windows registry. When using disk imaging software to migrate an operating system from one disk to another disk, these DiskID numbers are typically not cloned during the disk imaging operation. When the destination disk is of a different size (typically larger) the volume geometry and as a result the volume identifier will also change. A newly imaged WHS system disk with mismatched DiskID number, volume geometry and/or volume identifiers will still boot normally but the server will not be able perform its functions. The WHS console will exhibit a number of Critical Health Warnings the most easily identifiable of which is the "Backup Service is not Running" warning. For WHS to function properly, the DiskIDs, volume geometry and volume identifiers saved in the registry must match that of the newly imaged system disk. These instructions show how to obtain and clone the DiskID when performing an imaging operation as well as update the windows registry with the system disk's description, new volume geometry and volume identifiers. Tools Needed: 1) A 'Workstation' running Vista SP1 or newer OS. 2) Disk Imaging Software* 3) Destination Disk (the disk you're upgrading to) 4) Appropriate hardware/cables/etc to connect harddrive(s) to your workstation. (I recommend USB or eSATA connection for simplicity). 5) Either: . a) Second set of hardware/cables/etc to connect a second hard drive to this system or . b) Enough free hard drive space to fit the entire contents of your WHS system disk *If cloning to an Advanced Format (AF) drive, use AF-aware Disk Imaging Software. If you use AF-unaware tools you will have to perform an addition alignment step after cloning the disk before continuing with the procedure. Please be aware, some AF drives (Seagates) have 'SmartAlign' features that require no further action even if the partitions appear to be out of alignment. Instructions: Part 1: Cloning the System Disk 1) Shutdown your WHS Server and remove the system harddrive. 2) Connect the system harddrive to your workstation. If you're connecting the harddrive to your workstation's internal components (powersupply & sata) it's probably a good idea to do this with your workstation powered off. 3) Open up a Command Prompt window on your workstation and run "diskpart". You will see the following prompt. Code: Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001] Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Users\user>diskpart Microsoft DiskPart version 6.0.6001 Copyright (C) 1999-2007 Microsoft Corporation. On computer: WORKSTATION DISKPART> 4) Type "list disk" (and press enter) Code: DISKPART> list disk In this case Disk 0 is the workstation's harddrive and Disk 1 is the WHS system disk. You may have more disks than this example so you may have to take a moment to determine which disk is the WHS system disk you've just connected.Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ---------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 149 GB 0 B Disk 1 Online 466 GB 0 B If you're having trouble identifying your WHS system disk, these disk numbers correspond to those shown in the "Disk Management" graphical interface. 5) Type "select disk #" where # is the disk number you identified from the list. Code: DISKPART> select disk 1 Disk 1 is now the selected disk. 6) Type "uniqueid disk" Code: DISKPART> uniqueid disk This is your WHS System disk's DiskID number. Write it down and/or copy & paste it to a safe place. You'll need it later.Disk ID: C83A8445 7) type "exit" Code: DISKPART> exit We're done with diskpart for now. Don't close the command prompt window just yet. You'll return to it later.Leaving DiskPart... C:\Users\user> 8) Connect your destination disk. 9) Using the disk imaging software of your choice, clone your WHS system disk to your destination disk (often a larger disk). Optional) If your destination disk is an AF Disk and you used AF-unaware disk imaging software, this is the point where you should use partition (re)alignment software such as those typically available from the support section of your hard drive manufacturer's website. 10) Safely disconnect your (source) WHS system disk. 11) Return to your Command Prompt and run "diskpart" Code: Microsoft DiskPart version 6.0.6001 Copyright (C) 1999-2007 Microsoft Corporation. On computer: WORKSTATION DISKPART> 12) Type "list disk" (and press enter) Code: DISKPART> list disk In this example you can see that the destination disk (disk 1) has 466GB of unused space after the cloning operation. Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt -------- ---------- ------- ------- --- --- Disk 0 Online 149 GB 0 B Disk 1 Online 932 GB 466 GB 13) Type "select disk #" where # is the disk number you identified from the list. Code: DISKPART> select disk 1 Disk 1 is now the selected disk. Optional) Type "uniqueid disk" Code: DISKPART> uniqueid disk You can see that despite the 'clone' operation your destination disk still has a different DiskID. Newer versions of popular disk imaging software may someday have the option of cloneing the DiskID when cloneing a drive.Disk ID: 31318FF5 14) Type "uniqueid disk id=%" where % is the Disk ID number you recorded earlier Code: DISKPART> uniqueid disk id=C83A8445 This command doesn't give you any feedback but you can verify that the operation completed successfully by querying the diskid again:Code: DISKPART> uniqueid disk This concludes the main operation of cloning the system disk & its diskid. Disk ID: C83A8445 Part 2: Extending the Data Partition Depending on the disk imaging software used, you may have already been presented with the option to resize your partitions during/after the cloning operation. If so, skip ahead to step 19. If not, the following steps show how to extend the Data Volume to take advantage of your larger destination disk. 15) Type "list volume" Code: DISKPART> list volume In this case volume #5 is the WHS Data Volume.Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- -------- Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media Volume 1 F DVD-ROM 0 B No Media Volume 2 C SYSTEM NTFS Partition 70 GB Healthy System Volume 3 D DATA NTFS Partition 70 GB Healthy Volume 4 G SYS NTFS Partition 20 GB Healthy Volume 5 H DATA NTFS Partition 446 GB Healthy 16) Type "select volume #" where # is the volume number you identified in the list. Code: DISKPART> select volume 5 Volume 5 is the selected volume. 17) Type "extend" Code: DISKPART> extend DiskPart successfully extended the volume. 18) Type "list volume" to see the new size of your data volume Code: DISKPART> list volume Close the command Prompt Window. Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- -------- Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media Volume 1 F DVD-ROM 0 B No Media Volume 2 C SYSTEM NTFS Partition 70 GB Healthy System Volume 3 D DATA NTFS Partition 70 GB Healthy Volume 4 G SYS NTFS Partition 20 GB Healthy * Volume 5 H DATA NTFS Partition 912 GB Healthy 19) In Windows, Navigate to the \Windows\System32\ Folder on the WHS system drive. Select the Config Folder and make a backup copy of it to your workstation or elsewhere on the WHS system drive. This backs up your WHS Server's registry in case something goes wrong when you're editing it in the next part of the instructions. 20) Safely disconnect your destination disk from your workstation. 21) Insert your newly cloned disk into your WHS Server. While not required, you may wish to remove/disconnect your data drives from your Server until all the remaining operations are complete. Part 3: Updating the WHS Registry 22) Turn on your WHS Server. Your WHS Client Connector Software (and WHS Console) will alert you to Critical Health Warnings -- don't be alarmed. 23) Connect to your WHS Server with the Remote Desktop Client on your Workstation. Alternatively, if you have console/VGA access to your WHS Server you can carry out the following operations directly on the Server. 24) Go to the Start Menu. Select Run. Type "regedit". Press OK. 25) Updating the Name of the System Drive as it appears in the WHS Console "Server Storage" Tab:
26) Updating the WHS Volume Information:
27) Updating the System MountedDevices Information:
28) Close Regedit. Shutdown your WHS System. 29) Reconnect your data drives if you disconnected them earlier and Start up your WHS Server. 30) Open your WHS Console and check your WHS Network Health for (new) errors and health warnings. If you see a "Backup Service is not running" Health Warning in the WHS Console (possibly among other critical warnings), some aspect of cloning the diskid and/or updating the registry has failed... (Done) Edits: Errors, typos, tweaked formatting etc... Edits: Replaced references to "SYS" and "Primary Volume" FriendlyNames with "C:\" & "D:\" MountPoints Edits: Added information about Advanced Format (AF) drives, AF-aware Disk Imaging Software, (Re)Alignment options for when using AF-unaware Disk Imaging Software. Added an additional optional step to perform (Re)Alignment of partitions (if required). |
Author: | yakuza [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 1:10 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
Well done, ymboc! I've written a blog post showing my experience following your guide. |
Author: | Comp1962 [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:05 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
This information is worth its weight in gold. Next time I purchase additional hard drives I will give these instructions a try. Since I have a 2 drive SATA Docking Station connected to an eSATA Port on my primary Client performing this proceedure is relatively simple which is why I recommend them to others. ymboc & Yakuza, Which cloning or imaging software did you use? ymboc I realize you mention using the software of your choice and for me the cloning software I generally use is an acronis product packaged with Seagate Drives as I find it to do a fine job. However in the event I do this with this software and my attempt fails it would be nice to use the software you use as its obvious that you have been successful. I think in time there will be a list of software that works as well as one that does not work. This is what I am refering too. Thanks for all your efforts! |
Author: | ymboc [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:39 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive |
Comp1962: I tested with Acronis 8. Yakuza tested with the 2010 Home Version version. Some Free Versions Available: Acronis True Image WD Edition Software (Free for WD Users) Seagate DiscWizard (by Acronis) (Free for Seagate & Maxtor Users). Edit: Updated WD Edition Link |
Author: | Texas-Hansen [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 9:52 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
Great work ymboc!!!! |
Author: | hotspot_2 [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:10 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
Hello, i tried this with a german version of Acronis True Image Home 2010. The backup of the disk (creating the image) worked fine, but i am not able to restore the image to the bigger drive. Acronis tells me that i am restoring a server os and this isn't possible with the home version. Do you have a freeware programm where this is working fine? Thanks a lot. All other steps succeeded so far . Thanks for your work! |
Author: | ymboc [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 3:53 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
hotspot_2: Sorry to hear that, maybe there's an update to your version of Acronis that can distinguish between WHS & Server 2k3 SBS (which WHS is built ontop of). Have you tried either of the free versions of Acronis linked above? While I can't recommend a specific one, there are some opensource disk imaging tools you may find useful. |
Author: | Cliff [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:03 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
That's a lot of work you put in. I'm unclear on the problem this is intended to solve. Is this intended as a work around for performing a system restore? |
Author: | yakuza [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:09 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
This is only meant to be a process by which you can upgrade your System drive to one of larger capacity without needing to perform a Server Recovery. |
Author: | hotspot_2 [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:13 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
ymboc wrote: Have you tried either of the free versions of Acronis linked above? While I can't recommend a specific one, there are some .... you may find useful. No, i haven't tried one of the free versions. The hard disk which i am trying to backup is a seagate, the hard disk which i want to restore is a samsung. Does this tool work without a seagate/maxtor disk? |
Author: | Cliff [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 4:18 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
yakuza wrote: This is only meant to be a process by which you can upgrade your System drive to one of larger capacity without needing to perform a Server Recovery. I meant to say server recovery rather than system restore. Sorry for the confusion. So it is intended to be an alternative to that process then. Based on the occasional horror story I read about, an alternative should be rather welcome. Thanks for the clarification. |
Author: | yakuza [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:05 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
Actually, no, not a replacement for Server Recovery. Server Recovery will allow you to recover from a failed system drive. This process will only allow you to duplicate your current system drive, this is not a backup process for the system drive. |
Author: | ymboc [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:13 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
hotspot_2 wrote: No, i haven't tried one of the free versions. The hard disk which i am trying to backup is a seagate, the hard disk which i want to restore is a samsung. Does this tool work without a seagate/maxtor disk? I haven't used one of the free versions myself but I'd expect them to function so long as one of the drives involved in the operation is a seagate/maxtor (or WD) drive.One more question: You're not trying to install acronis on the server are you? Acronis should be installed onto the workstation and all the cloning operations carried out on that system. |
Author: | hotspot_2 [ Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:21 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
ymboc wrote: One more question: You're not trying to install acronis on the server are you? Acronis should be installed onto the workstation and all the cloning operations carried out on that system. No, I have installed acronis true image on my workstation. The backup of the disk worked fine (on my workstation) but the restoring fails with an error. You are trying to restore a server os ist prompted an i can't restore the image. I only tried the windows version of acronis true image home 2010, i will try the boot cd version later. |
Author: | yakuza [ Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:54 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: How to successfully clone and upgrade a WHS system drive. |
hotspot, I had no issue with cloning the drive to another drive using Acronis Home 2010, I did not try creating an image and then applying it to another drive. If you can attach both the original and new drive to your workstation at the same time you should try that method (I describe it in my blog post). |
Page 1 of 13 | All times are UTC - 7 hours [ DST ] |
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |