WHS issues... Critical, no backups, file conflicts

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Well, the day has come that I'm having Windows Home Server issues. It started with it reported that I had a bad drive. Then the drive was fine (a restart sually fixes these issue). Then it got to the point that I couldn't backup any machines, and now I have 7 of 10 shared folders giving a status of "failing" because there are file conflicts.

The file conflicts are caused by "incorrect function" on 6 folders, and "the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error" on the last folder.

I chose to do a 'backup database repair', but then the windows closed and I don't know the status of the repair anymore. I don't know if I should reset the server, start doing a complete reinstall (which means juggling 8 terabytes around to redo the 10tb server), or just wait a while and see what happens. Backup service is currently offline, but I'm able to access the shared folders from any machine.

Anyone have any ideas?



EDIT:
Has anyone done a backup database repair? How long did it take, and how big (storage-wise) is your server?

 

[RebateMonger]

Hmmm...that's not good.

I've seen the "file conflict" message during simulated disk failures in WHS. When WHS detects a failed or missing disk, it basically shuts down access until the disk is either removed or replaced. Even if you have folder redundancy enabled, you won't be able to get to those folders until the disk problem is fixed.

Edit: It appears that the "file conflict" message can be presented for lots of reasons, including tombstone issues.

Can you access the WHS System Event Logs? Do you know which disk was being reported as "bad"?

I'd assume the problem is deeper than just WHS Backup Database corruption and I'd ignore the backup issue at this point. You can back up the backup database to some other disk if that's super-important to you (although it may, indeed, be corrupted).

A link or two:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en/whsfaq/thread/7ef4db6c-4a73-42e7-b79e-cacd41365442

"The following list shows common file conflict messages and the common steps to resolve the issues"

=The semaphore timeout period has expired
=The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error

Symptoms: This message indicates that a hard drive controller driver is waiting for an overlapped read/write operation to complete.

Cause: This is usually caused by problems with a faulty hard drive controller driver or possible hard drive hardware problems or MFT corruption. MFT corruption will indicate WINERROR 1117 STATUS_DRIVER_INTERNAL_ERROR.

Resolution: Ensure that you are using the proper driver for your hard drive controller that is certified to work with Windows Server 2003. If the problem persists, replace the hard drive controller with a supported make or model. For MFT corruption, run chkdsk /x c:\fs\* from a command prompt."

 

[heymrdj]

I got these errors after traveling the 115 miles with the server in the back of the car a few days ago coming home for xmas from my college. Turns out a sata cable had been tugged loose by a fan that shifted in transit on the 1TB drive in the system (it has many other drives as well). Pushed the cable in more firmly and now all is well.