WHS - Want sys partition only on install drive?

L

Low Roller

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 24, 2004
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My WHS's 20GB system partition is starting to get very annoying. Its sitting on a 500GB WD. I want to rieinstall WHS and have only the C:sys partition on there occupying all 500GB, but there aren't any custom install options like this in the install wizard. I want D: DATA starting on a different physical drive. What's the best way to achieve this?

I got a WHS box with the following:

1 x 500GB install drive, w/ 20gig syatem partition and the rest D: DATA.
2 X 1TB storage pool drives

I'm getting ready to add a 2TB storagepool drive. I'll use it initially to back up the data on my WHS before reinstalling.

Thanks in advance for the input! :)
 
Well, first I'd like the sys drive to be by itself so I don't lose any data if the sys drive crashes. I have several apps installed I run on my WHS, and I use it for dowloading large files. When that 1st storage pool <480GB partition begins to fill it will bring my WHS to a crawl until it rebalances, and it screws up my downloads at times during this process.

I realize 500GB is excessive for a WHS system partition, but that's what I have and like I said I want the system partition on its own unique drive.
 
This isn't how WHS works...

Don't make your own partitions...

Install WHS on any drive then add the rest later. You don't need to worry about anything else.
 
I didn't create any partitions myself. I installed WHS w/ only the primary 500GB hooked up, and added the others to the storage pool later. I've ran it like this for a while but the 20GB sys drive is insufficient and I'd like my storage pool on other drives.

Is there a way to do this?
 
I have not tried it but I am theorizing that you might be able to remove that drive from the pool? In the unlikely event that it will allow this now that drive is free for modification, delete the storage partition and extend the OS partition.

I can't see any reason why WHS might have a problem with that, if it allows it. You are in effect just removing a drive from the storage pool.


On a completely different tac why don't you do your large file downloads etc straight to the drive pool???
 
Low Roller said:
When that 1st storage pool <480GB partition begins to fill it will bring my WHS to a crawl until it rebalances, and it screws up my downloads at times during this process.
Click to expand...

I thought I read, the Data Storage forum, that WHS copies files to the drive with the most free space and uses your system disk last... I think that was in an update... is your install fully up to date?

* key words = I thought *
 
MaxBurn said:
I have not tried it but I am theorizing that you might be able to remove that drive from the pool? In the unlikely event that it will allow this now that drive is free for modification, delete the storage partition and extend the OS partition.

I can't see any reason why WHS might have a problem with that, if it allows it. You are in effect just removing a drive from the storage pool.


On a completely different tac why don't you do your large file downloads etc straight to the drive pool???
Click to expand...
That's how I have it set up now, downloading into the 'Public' shared directory. This causes less issues for me than placing my dl's in their own folder in the pool. Never even bothered downloading to the sys partition cause some of the files I d/l are bigger than 20GB. :)

I might give that extend drive partition a whirl, but from everything I've seen a full reinstall will be nessesary. We Got Served has some info on how to create a larger sys partition, but I haven't fond anything describing how install the sysem partition on its own unique physical drive, which is what I'd really like to do.

I will try to remove that drive from the pool fist, but I don't think that will work out well, knowing how WHS is funny about handling its business.
 
Last edited:
Never mind, I just looked at mine and the option to remove the OS drive is disabled.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Yeah... removing the OS drive from the drive pool isn't an option.

As far as using the space... after PP2 (I think) they changed the way the landing zone works and it no longer writes files to extra space on the OS drive. As mentioned earlier, WHS now writes the data directly to disk, using the drive with the most free space first and the "leftover" space on the OS disk last.

As for needing more space on the C: drive... that I can understand. Personally I would have preferred they set the minimum default to 30-40 GB just to be on the safe side... but hey, hindsight is 20/20 :)
 
I do have the PowerPacks installed so 'landing' issue shouldn't be a problem.

I could run Win Server 2008 on that box and install WHS as a VM, but that's a whole other can of worms, and I'm pretty sure I would need to updrade my 5050e Brisbane to a Phenom II or Athon II x4 to handle the load.

Hopefully the next version of WHS will remove this silly limitation.:mad:
 
Biggest files I have moved were only around 30-45bg size and when I first made the server I moved about 500GB of them at once with no problem. My OS drive is 750GB. I had no issue, even moved another 500GB the next hour. Before I moved anything though I did every update I could find.
 
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