Recommended Posts

I just learned the hard way not to trust New File System Technologies, and wanted to share my experience with you all, in hope you can learn from my mistakes.

I received two new drives in the mail yesterday, and after 24 hours of stress testing in a seperate system, I went to put them in my Server case. My server consists of the following:

LSI 9260-8i raid controller

Intel RES2SV240NC sas expander

4x Supermicro 5 in 3 drive cages

4x Samsung HD204UI 2TB drives (RAID 10)

5x Seagate 3TB drives (RAID 5)

The Samsung drives were formatted as ReFS, and were used solely for my virtual machines (Email, nzb downloads, etc). When I went to insert the two new drives, something happened, and the drive lights lit up on all bays occupied. I rebooted the server, and when it came back up, it said the cache was lost but the controller recovered, and it came back up fine, except Hyper-V would not load any VMS. I checked in windows, and drive E (my VMS /ReFS drive) did not have a full/empty bar. I clicked it, and got a message saying that the drive repair was unsuccessful.

So what does this mean? Something happened to the supposedly "Resilient" file system, it couldn't repair the issue, and it basically wiped my drives (well not wiped, but it thinks it's empty, and won't let me access it" see image:

post-26332-0-93795900-1360985609.png

the only fix is to reformat and restore from backup, which in my case is about a month old.

Moral of the story? Don't trust ReFS yet, and keep better backups. My two other Volumes were fine, both of which are NTFS volumes. I have reformated the RAID 10 volume as NTFS instead of ReFS, and will be investing in a battery backup unit for the LSI controller, just in case this happens again.

http://redmondmag.com/articles/2012/05/11/microsoft-offering-improved-chkdsk-utility-in-windows-8.aspx

?

Also, I find it highly annoying that most (big) backup providers have not even come out with a solution yet.

  On 16/02/2013 at 03:32, Tech Greek said:

http://redmondmag.co...-windows-8.aspx

?

Also, I find it highly annoying that most (big) backup providers have not even come out with a solution yet.

I tried chkdsk, but STUPIDLY enough, it won't run, giving a message "This volume cannot be checked because it cannot be accessed", yet diskpart works fine at selecting it, and even says that the volume is healthy. I posted a shot showing that diskpart thinks the volume is completely empty

  On 16/02/2013 at 03:48, Tech Greek said:

Did you try any software to recover the partition information? I've got almost all of my servers running on 2012 now and haven't had any issues (most are on RAID1 though)

I didnt. Fortunately it was only VMS, and since I had a backup from 20 days ago, I only lost about 80 emails worth of data. I've got a RAID 1 offline box that is only powered on to backup VMS and other critical data, so I'm fairly protected. I also found out the cause of the original issue, one of the pins in a molex connector that powers the SAS expander came out of the connector, thus cutting off power to the SAS exapander and bringing all drives off at the same time.

In your server 2012 instance, are you useing REFS?

  On 16/02/2013 at 04:24, SirEvan said:

I didnt. Fortunately it was only VMS, and since I had a backup from 20 days ago, I only lost about 80 emails worth of data. I've got a RAID 1 offline box that is only powered on to backup VMS and other critical data, so I'm fairly protected. I also found out the cause of the original issue, one of the pins in a molex connector that powers the SAS expander came out of the connector, thus cutting off power to the SAS exapander and bringing all drives off at the same time.

In your server 2012 instance, are you useing REFS?

I've got a mixed environment right now for the most part. The mission critical ones (exchange - sharepoint) I keep on NTFS just because I didn't want to be a test pig with over 500 employees worth of data.

The power will do it in a heart beat, but doesn't the expander have a battery on it as well?

  On 16/02/2013 at 05:01, Tech Greek said:

I've got a mixed environment right now for the most part. The mission critical ones (exchange - sharepoint) I keep on NTFS just because I didn't want to be a test pig with over 500 employees worth of data.

The power will do it in a heart beat, but doesn't the expander have a battery on it as well?

Nah, the expander receives power directly from the motherboard, or in my case, a 4 pin molex cable (which in this case had a pin come loose) no BBU for intels expanders, HP's may have one. I suppose in hindsight it's a good thing it was power to the expander that failed, since if something happened to say, 2 drives in the RAID 5 array, or 2 in one of the RAID 10 arrays parts, since then I'd probably have lost EVERYTHING.

The entire box has a 1 hour UPS on it, and until I get a BBU for the card, I've disabled write-back on all VD's, as an added precaution.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Yes, because Google's ad platform dominates the internet and most sites use Google's ad platform. Microsoft cares about their own ad platform. And they whitelist their ads. Edge is still on mv2 on desktop but they have officially announced they will stop supporting it. They haven't announced the date, but it is on their roadmap. Microsoft HAS the resources to keep it, but they have announced they will remove it unlike other chromium based browsers like Brave and Opera which have announced they will try to keep it. They postponing it in an attempt maybe to gain some market share from Chrome, but their end goal is the same, the deprecation of mv2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions-chromium/developer-guide/manifest-v3#manifest-timeline-for-microsoft-edge-and-partner-center
    • I'll say this again:  This hasn't changed since Windows 10.  This customization issue is not unique to Windows 11.   Windows 10 was released about 10 years ago.  I didn't look at changing default fonts in Windows 8 or 7.  Most (sane) people would look for supportability -- you might have the desired customization in those OSs but not able to play games, apps, that one typically gets the OS for.  No one is going to trade off getting an ancient OS just so they can have larger fonts but not be able to play games or run apps.   There are many options that are not exposed in the default UI because they have a lot more potential harm than benefit.  Doesn't mean they don't exist.  Hence, registry changes. "What's the harm by leaving it in Settings?"  Imagine if you changed the default font to something unreadable.  How would you change it back if you can't read anything?  The settings UI allows one to change size and style, but not font, so you'd still be able to read it.  Changing the font itself to Wingdings might render an OS unusable. Now YOU might be savvy enough to make that change and/or undo it, but that's why it's not exposed in simplistic UI and instead is moved to registry changes. Your 3rd party app is most likely causing conflict with the registry as it wants to make its own changes.  It's not voodoo magic here, that's typically what these apps do.  I'd bet you a beer if I spin up a new VM for Windows 11 and try my links above with no Winaero Tweaker it'd work just fine.  Introduction of 3rd party apps is always suspect -- who knows what else it's doing.  
    • Yes, and the reason is the defaults is has. The masses have no interest to change settings etc. It feels cluttered by default. The default home/NTP feels cluttered with so much stuff from MSN. The sidebar has too many buttons with Microsoft services. The default search engine is Bing. Just compare Edge defaults with Chrome defaults. The masses open Edge or are "forced" to open it, they don't like what they see and close it and go back to Chrome.
    • PrivaZer 4.0.106 by Razvan Serea PrivaZer is a PC cleaner that helps you master your security and freedom at home and at work. PrivaZer permanently and irretrievably erases unwanted traces of your past activity on your computer and on your storage devices (USB keys, external drive, and so on) which prevents others from retrieving what you have done, watched, streamed, visited on internet, freeing up valuable hard disk space, and keeping your PC running secure. PrivaZer key features: Deep Cleaning: PrivaZer thoroughly cleans your PC by removing unnecessary files, traces of activity, and potential privacy risks. Advanced Scan Modes: With multiple scan modes, including Quick and Deep scans, PrivaZer ensures comprehensive cleaning tailored to your needs. Customizable Cleaning: PrivaZer allows you to customize cleaning settings, so you can choose exactly what to clean and what to keep. Privacy Protection: PrivaZer safeguards your privacy by securely erasing traces of your online and offline activities, including browsing history and temporary files. Secure File Deletion: PrivaZer securely deletes sensitive files beyond recovery, ensuring your confidential data remains private. Startup Manager: PrivaZer helps you control which programs launch at startup, improving boot times and overall system performance. Automatic Updates: PrivaZer regularly updates its cleaning algorithms to adapt to new threats and ensure effective protection. Scheduled Cleanups: PrivaZer offers the convenience of scheduling automated cleanups, so your PC stays optimized without manual intervention. Portable Version: PrivaZer offers a portable version, allowing you to carry it on a USB drive and clean any PC without installation. Detailed Reports: PrivaZer provides detailed reports after each cleanup, giving you insights into the space reclaimed and the areas cleaned. File Shredder: PrivaZer includes a file shredder feature to securely delete files, making data recovery impossible even with specialized tools. Context Menu Integration: PrivaZer integrates with the context menu, enabling quick and easy access to cleaning functions from any file or folder. Multi-Language Support: PrivaZer supports multiple languages, making it accessible to users worldwide. Automatic Traces Detection: PrivaZer automatically detects traces of activity on your PC, ensuring thorough cleaning without manual intervention. System Restore Point Creation: PrivaZer creates system restore points before cleaning, allowing you to revert changes if needed. Disk Health Analysis: PrivaZer analyzes disk health and alerts you to potential issues, helping you prevent data loss and maintain system stability. Browser Extensions Cleanup: PrivaZer cleans up browser extensions and add-ons, improving browser performance and security. File Association Management: PrivaZer helps you manage file associations, ensuring files open with the correct programs for optimal usability. Intuitive User Interface: PrivaZer features an intuitive user interface, making it easy for both novice and advanced users to optimize their PCs for better performance and privacy. PrivaZer 4.0.106 changelog: New cleanup : BAM (Background Activity Monitor) Improved cleanup : Clipboard Improved UI Download: PrivaZer 4.0.106 | Portable PrivaZer ~30.0 MB (Freeware, paid upgrade available) View: PrivaZer Home Page | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Epaminombas earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Veteran
      Yonah went up a rank
      Veteran
    • First Post
      viraltui earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      viraltui earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      LunaFerret earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      481
    2. 2
      +FloatingFatMan
      264
    3. 3
      snowy owl
      238
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      231
    5. 5
      Edouard
      176
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!