Restore a Hyper-V Server to an Optiplex 960, Take 3

Mark Berry April 6, 2013

This is the third in the series of almost annual articles about my experiences testing a Hyper-V restore. I’ve done this successfully in 2011 and 2012. Why repeat? To make sure disaster recovery is still possible, and to try a new approach.

Adding a Target Volume Using Wbadmin

Mark Berry March 25, 2013

Option 3 of Microsoft KB 2009365 describes how to add a disk to Windows Server backup when other disks are offsite:  you have to use the wbadmin command line tool. But the article does not explain how to add a volume, not a disk, as a target.

Server 2012 Essentials Client Backup Cleanup Not Running

Mark Berry March 25, 2013

Windows Server 2012 Essentials is raising the following warning every 30 minutes:

Warning Alert: CleanupOverdue is raised at SVR2012E. <Title> A scheduled cleanup task for Client Computer Backup did not finish successfully. <Description> A scheduled cleanup task for Client Computer Backup did not succeed on 3/9/2013 11:59:02 PM. The task has not succeeded in 15 days.. <AdditionalInfo> .

Failed to Surface VHD for Windows Server Backup

Mark Berry March 11, 2013

Yes, though “failed to surface” sounds like a problem for a whale or a submarine, it applies to Virtual Hard Disks as well.

I have a Windows Server 2008R2 Hyper-V host running a 2008R2 guest. The guest uses Windows Server Backup, targeting a VHD on the host. Yesterday I swapped the removable physical drive on the host that contains the VHD for the guest. The name of the VHD file was the same, and when I logged on to the guest, I could browse the backup drive and see the WindowsImageBackup folder. But last night’s guest backup failed.

The RPCHD Service

Mark Berry March 5, 2013

I’ve been testing IDrive as an online backup option. Yesterday a chat support rep asked needed to look at my system, and at his request I downloaded and installed “RemoteSupportHost_317082.exe”, apparently provided by remotepc.net. I was not particularly surprised to find that this started a UNC server. I was a little surprised to find that it allowed the rep to control BOTH of my screens, and that I did not have to grant permission for control (as opposed to viewing). But now I see that it installed an “RPCHD service” and did not remove it upon completion.

FilterManager Event ID 3 During Backups

Mark Berry December 13, 2012

I have a 2-week-old installation of Server 2012 Essentials. Windows Server Backup runs twice per day. Every time the backup runs, I get about five of these errors in the System event log:

Log Name:      System
Source:        Microsoft-Windows-FilterManager
Event ID:      3
Level:         Error
User:          SYSTEM
Description: Filter Manager failed to attach to volume ‘\Device\HarddiskVolume27′.  This volume will be unavailable for filtering until a reboot.  The final status was 0xC03A001C.

Delete Old Windows Server Backups

Mark Berry November 16, 2012

A client uses Windows Server Backup to back up a small Hyper-V server running Windows Server 2008 R2. Today free space on the backup drive F: dropped below 100GB of 698GB, triggering a 15% monitoring threshold. Some quick notes on what I did.

Windows Server Backup Version and Space Management

Mark Berry July 31, 2012

Just came across this 2009 article from The Storage Team at Microsoft:

Backup Version and Space Management in Windows Server Backup

There is some good, concise info here including one use of the handy diskshadow.exe utility.