Windows Home Server - how to replace OS drive?

[Maximus96]

I built my WHS machine last week and now regret using the smaller 200GB drive as the OS install drive because its loud and annoying when it clicks. i have three other 500GB drives in there as storage and was wondering if i can move the OS to one of those instead. I was thinking of removing one from the storage pool, and imaging the OS drive to it. Will that work?

thanks

 

[Binky]

You cant image the OS drive. You should look in the wegotserved forums.

I'd suggest starting here (migrate data off drive): http://wiki.wegotserved.com/index.php?title=Force_Data_Migration_off_the_Primary_Data_Partition

And here (OS backup): http://wiki.wegotserved.com/index.php?title=Can_I_Backup_my_WHS_OS

Disclaimer - I haven't ever done this, so do your homework and don't take my word for it!

A clone has been reported to be capable, but it's a long process and I'd be worried. Just move the data off, then reinstall.

 

[corkyg]

Just clone the smaller drive to the larger drive proportionally using Acronis TI 2010. Best done using TI created Rescue Media. That way it is OS independent, and the cloned drive will boot immediately with no restoration.

 

[RebateMonger]

Just clone the smaller drive to the larger drive proportionally using Acronis TI 2010.

I don't think it's quite that easy. I've posted links here before about work posted in WeGotServed.com on cloning the WHS System disk to a larger disk. There are some Registry changes necessary before it will work properly.

You could either search my posts in AnandTech or join WeGotServed.com's Forums and do a search. A bit of looking will discover the posts and the technique, which was first published around January of 2010.

 

[JackMDS]

Since cloning the small drive to a bigger one does not hinder the smaller drive, you can try this and keep the old drive aside until everything works OK.

Clone the small drive to a bigger drive using Acronis TrueImage boot CD.

Choose the as is option so that the OS partition stay the same size.

After the cloning boot a partition manger from a CD (like Acronis Disk Director10, or the free http://www.partitionwizard.com ) and make sure that the OS partition is the same size and that the additional space is either added to the Data Partition or partitioned as an additional data disk.

At the moment None of the cloning boot programs records the original ID number that WHS needs to Run with on the new drive (instead they issue a new number to the new disk). As a result the Cloned OS' partition would not work.

At this point install a new OS installation onto the OS old partition of the cloned drive. Run WHS and re-build the indexes etc.

If the extra space ended up as new clean partitioned drive you can add it to the WHS pool.



😎

 

[brxndxn]

ARGHHH! Why the fuck do we put up with this goddamn artifical Microsoft bullshit? Seriously.. Why is it okay for an OS to stop working if the hard drive is changed out - considering it's the most failure-prone component in any PC?

Microsoft intentionally wastes our time.

/end rant

 

[JackMDS]

ARGHHH! Why the fuck do we put up with this goddamn artifical Microsoft bullshit? Seriously.. Why is it okay for an OS to stop working if the hard drive is changed out - considering it's the most failure-prone component in any PC?

Microsoft intentionally wastes our time.

/end rant

Try an intellectual exercise, let see if you can put yourself in other people mind and find Technical Reasons for such a System (take into consideration that the engineers that design it are rather good in their profession).



😎