I run Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011 and use it to do nightly backups of the family computers. A few months ago I bought a new HP laptop for my use and joined it to WHS for nightly backups. At first they failed until I did some research and found I was running into a known issue resolved in the update below:
Microsoft urges Windows Home Server 2011 users to upgrade to Windows Server Essentials, a prudent move given the current embattled state of cyber-security. Small businesses and households that.
2781272 - A hotfix is available to add backup support for UEFI-based computers to back up to servers that are running Windows Home Server 2011
- Windows Home Server 2011. Windows Home Server 2011 is based on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 and requires x86-64 CPUs (64-bit), while its predecessor worked on the older IA-32 (32-bit) architecture as well. Coupled with fundamental changes in the structure of the client backups and the shared folders.
- Windows Home Server 2011 does not support client backup on Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based computers that contain a GUID partition table (GPT)-formatted disk. A hotfix is available to add backup support for UEFI-based computers to back up to servers that are running Windows Home Server 2011.
After installing this update all was well for a few weeks as far as backing up my new laptop. At some point though they started to fail and I wasn’t sure why. It took a while to figure out why and I thought I’d pass along the story in case anyone else runs into a similar issue since my efforts to fix it were in the truest geek fashion – “fun”. I mean “technically interesting”
A few caveats on what resolved this:
- These steps worked for me and for this specific issue only
- The tools used have the potential to really affect the ability of your computer to work as you want it to (i.e., boot to Windows) so if you’ve never used these tools do your research or ask for help with someone who’s been down this path before
- To be clear; just because I’m blogging this solution doesn’t mean I’m supporting it. Again, these steps worked for me for this issue only. I’m sharing the steps mostly to share the story in case anyone else sees similar behavior with their backup failures since I couldn’t find documentation anywhere else telling me how to fix this
If you’ve used WHS before and are familiar with the Dashboard you’ll know that backup failures are pretty easy to find. Bringing up the properties of the computer and then seeing why the failure happened may or may not provide useful diagnostic information (at least in my experience with this issue). I’d already done some testing with the backups and found that failures for me only occurred if I backed-up the C: Drive; other drives I could back up without issue.
With that information in hand I started digging around some more to see if I could find out what was causing this failure. I logged onto the server itself and in the Event Log found this failure:
Log Name: WSSG
Source: Windows Server
Date: 4/27/2013 5:31:06 PM
Event ID: 269
Task Category: Backup
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: WHS
Description:
The Windows Server Client Computer Backup Service received an abort process message from LAPTOP. Reason: 25.
Source: Windows Server
Date: 4/27/2013 5:31:06 PM
Event ID: 269
Task Category: Backup
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: WHS
Description:
The Windows Server Client Computer Backup Service received an abort process message from LAPTOP. Reason: 25.
Not very specific is it?
If you dig further and look on the affected client’s Windows Server Event Log you’ll get some additional information that again, isn’t very helpful (IMHO):
Log Name: WSSG
Source: Windows Server
Date: 4/27/2013 5:31:10 PM
Event ID: 514
Task Category: Backup
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: laptop
Description:
Backup job XX on WHS did not succeed. Reason: EspCaptureFailed, System.String[]
Source: Windows Server
Date: 4/27/2013 5:31:10 PM
Event ID: 514
Task Category: Backup
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: laptop
Description:
Backup job XX on WHS did not succeed. Reason: EspCaptureFailed, System.String[]
I did some digging on the string “Reason: EspCaptureFailed, System.String[]” and only found this one link. If you look at that link and find anything that means something to you, you’re doing better than me.
At this point I started asking around to see if anyone internally could assist me in figuring out where to go next. It took some time but eventually I learned that the server backup logs are located in this folder: %programdata%microsoftwindows serverlogs. Looking in that folder finds the file called “backup-MMDDYY.log”. Opening up that file and searching on failure brought me to these lines of interest:
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] The Windows Server Client Computer Backup Service received an abort process message from laptop.
Reason: 25.
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] BackupProtocol: Got abort code laptop 1 25
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] DataFile: current file isD:ServerFoldersClient Computer BackupsS-1-5-21-863003910-3293894345-3313517167-1041.Machine.configdat and version:: 10
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] BackupSetOperation: Backup Failed - 25
Reason: 25.
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] BackupProtocol: Got abort code laptop 1 25
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] DataFile: current file isD:ServerFoldersClient Computer BackupsS-1-5-21-863003910-3293894345-3313517167-1041.Machine.configdat and version:: 10
[04/27/2013 17:05:41 15ac] BackupSetOperation: Backup Failed - 25
Reading through these should get you to the conclusion that there is something on the client causing the backup failure and WHS is off the hook as the suspect. On the client computer in the same %ProgramData%MicrosoftWindows ServerLogs path you’ll find the client log (EspCapture.log) with the real issue at hand. Open up that log file and search on “failed”. You’ll find that the backup is a robocopy script that logs the parameters used and results. Scroll down from the timeframe of your failure and you’ll find the real reason on why the backups are failing; here’s a snippet from my log:
Acer Home Server
New Dir 3 Z:EFIHPBIOSNew
New File 4.0 m 01847.bin
2013/04/27 17:30:47 ERROR 1392 (0x00000570) Copying File Z:EFIHPBIOSNew01847.bin
The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.
New File 4.0 m 01847.bin
2013/04/27 17:30:47 ERROR 1392 (0x00000570) Copying File Z:EFIHPBIOSNew01847.bin
The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.
New File 256 01847.s12
0%
100%
New File 256 01847.sig
2013/04/27 17:30:47 ERROR 1392 (0x00000570) Copying File Z:EFIHPBIOSNew01847.sig
The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.
0%
100%
New File 256 01847.sig
2013/04/27 17:30:47 ERROR 1392 (0x00000570) Copying File Z:EFIHPBIOSNew01847.sig
The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.
As you can see there are corrupt files on the drive causing the backup failure. Effectively, WHS can’t backup corrupt files resulting in the failure at hand. So how do I fix it?
The first thing you’re probably thinking is where is the “Z:” drive coming from (well, that’s what I was thinking)? The short answer is the backup process is a robocopy script that requires a drive letter to work. The drive letter is assigned on the fly when the backup process starts. If you look in Windows Explorer or Computer Management you won’t find a “Z:” drive. Another tool called Diskpart though will help us change that so we can fix the corrupted files. For ease of use I ran all of the following commands from an Administrative Command Prompt (commands I typed are in bold).
C:WindowsSystem32>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 6.2.9200
Copyright (C) 1999-2012 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: LAPTOP
On computer: LAPTOP
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 0 B *
-------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 0 B *
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
Notice that there still is no drive Z: to be found? Let’s fix that so we can run another utility to fix the corrupt files:
DISKPART> select volume 4
Windows Home Server 2011 Extended Support
Volume 4 is the selected volume.
DISKPART> assign letter=z
DiskPart successfully assigned the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
* Volume 4 Z FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
* Volume 4 Z FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
Now that we have a drive letter we can use chkdsk to fix errors on the volume. First though we need to exit out of diskpart:
DISKPART> exit
Leaving DiskPart...
C:WindowsSystem32>z:
FULL DISCLOSURE: I forgot to take better notes of the actual error being reported by chkdsk /f on my drive so I’m pasting a screen shot instead that was taken by the person who helped me figure this out:
If you go back up on this write-up you’ll find those same file names are the ones that the backup failed because of. You’ll have to trust me when I say the following step worked for me:
On the Z: drive I ran chkdsk /f which fixed the errors. Be sure to follow the directions on the screen; failure to do so could render the machine unbootable! In my case I’d already ran the HP-provided backup utility to reinstall everything if needed. If you have a similar option I suggest doing that first.
Here’s what my drive looks like running this command today:
Z:>chkdsk /f
The type of the file system is FAT32.
Cannot lock current drive.
The type of the file system is FAT32.
Cannot lock current drive.
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first.
ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID.
Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N) y
Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume Serial Number is 90A0-0AD4
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.
process. Chkdsk may run if this volume is dismounted first.
ALL OPENED HANDLES TO THIS VOLUME WOULD THEN BE INVALID.
Would you like to force a dismount on this volume? (Y/N) y
Volume dismounted. All opened handles to this volume are now invalid.
Volume Serial Number is 90A0-0AD4
Windows is verifying files and folders...
File and folder verification is complete.
Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems.
No further action is required.
No further action is required.
268,435,456 bytes total disk space.
110,592 bytes in 5 hidden files.
630,784 bytes in 154 folders.
101,720,064 bytes in 413 files.
165,969,920 bytes available on disk.
110,592 bytes in 5 hidden files.
630,784 bytes in 154 folders.
101,720,064 bytes in 413 files.
165,969,920 bytes available on disk.
4,096 bytes in each allocation unit.
65,536 total allocation units on disk.
40,520 allocation units available on disk.
65,536 total allocation units on disk.
40,520 allocation units available on disk.
You’ll want to dismount the Z: drive so below are the steps to do that. We had to leave diskpart to run the chkdsk /f so going back into diskpart is the first step:
Z:>c:
C:WindowsSystem32>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 6.2.9200
Copyright (C) 1999-2012 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: LAPTOP
On computer: LAPTOP
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
-------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 0 B *
-------- ------------- ------- ------- --- ---
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 0 B *
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 Z FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 4 Z FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
DISKPART> select volume 4
Volume 4 is the selected volume.
DISKPART> remove letter=z
DiskPart successfully removed the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART> list volume
Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
* Volume 4 FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- --------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 440 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 2 D RECOVERY NTFS Partition 24 GB Healthy
Volume 3 WINRE NTFS Partition 400 MB Healthy Hidden
* Volume 4 FAT32 Partition 260 MB Healthy System
DISKPART> quit
To be completely honest I was in mostly uncharted waters running these tools to fix my drive issues (Diskpart was entirely new to me). They simply weren’t tools that I’d had reason to use in my experience to date. However, as you can see they did fix the file corruption issues that were the source of my failed backups. I’ve already provided feedback to the WHS group on possibly providing better error messages so users can resolve this issue if they run into it. However, to be fair to the WHS team, I suspect this issue is a fairly rare issue in that you can tell from the corrupted file names that they were part of a BIOS update which gets stored in a hidden OEM partition on the drive. My computer still works so the obviously the BIOS update works successfully. Since I bought the computer with Windows preinstalled use of the OEM partition for the most part is negligible in that the partition exists only for restoring the computer. Since I’d done that once already in trying to fix this I know that works. After going through these steps I’m also now backing up my laptop to WHS, too.
Here are few other references on chdkdsk and diskpart you may be interested in:
I hope this was helpful to at least someone.
Thanks.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 is a Windows Server Solutions add-in for use with Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 makes it possible for administrators to deliver remote applications (referred to as “RemoteApp programs” or simply “RemoteApps“) to their Windows Home Server (WHS) users. Specifically, WHS RemoteApp 2011 enables a straightforward publishing process that allows applications installed directly on a WHS server to be provided to its users, allows RemoteApp programs to run side-by-side with local programs, and offers integration with a custom “launcher” application to make it simple for users to find and launch RemoteApp programs.
RemoteApp programs are programs that are accessed remotely through a special type of Remote Desktop Connection, and appear as if they are running on the end user’s local computer. Instead of being presented to the user in the desktop of the server, as with a traditional Remote Desktop Connection, the RemoteApp programs are integrated with the client computer’s desktop, running in their own resizable window, with their own entry in the taskbar. If the programs use notification area icons, the icons appear in the client computer’s notification area. Any popup windows are redirected to the local desktop, and local drives and printers can be redirected to appear within the RemoteApp programs. Many users might not be aware that a RemoteApp program is any different than a local program.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 provides administrators the ability to group and personalize RemoteApp programs and make them available to individual end users via the WHS RemoteApp Launcher application. WHS RemoteApp 2011 improves the user’s experience, opens new avenues for program deployment, and reduces the amount of administrative effort required to support these programs.
Users can run published RemoteApp programs in a variety of different ways:
• Locally from the server’s Launchpad application that is installed on their computer.
• Remotely from almost anywhere using the server’s built-in Remote Web Access website.
• Remotely from Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows PC/Mobile computers and devices.
Screenshots
Installation Notes
Before installing the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in, you should install the applications you wish to publish directly on your server (additional applications may be installed on the server any time after the add-in has been installed). Any desktop application that is Remote Desktop compatible (i.e. that runs as designed from a Remote Desktop Connection) can be published as a RemoteApp program (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, QuickBooks, Quicken, etc.). Both 32-bit and 64-bit applications are fully supported. For examples of how to install applications directly on your server see: Install Office/Outlook On Your Server and Install QuickBooks/Quicken On Your Server
Once you have the applications you need installed on your server, you can then go ahead and install the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in by downloading and running its .EXE setup file from any of your connected client PCs (which, in turn, runs its .WSSX server add-in package file after verifying your installation environment). Or, you can download and run it directly from the server itself.
NOTE: WHS RemoteApp 2011 requires that the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or higher be installed on your server. If necessary, you can download the .NET Framework 4.5 or higher installer package from here: Installing the .NET Framework
After the WHS RemoteApp 2011 add-in has been successfully installed, open the server Dashboard application, click on the new “WHS RemoteApp” icon in the navigation pane, choose which users you want to allow access to WHS RemoteApp 2011 on the “Users” tab, and use the Publish RemoteApp Programs wizard located on the “RemoteApp Programs” tab to publish your applications.
WHS RemoteApp 2011 can be used completely free of charge for up to 21 days (some features are not available during the evaluation period). To continue using WHS RemoteApp 2011 after that, you will need to purchase a license and register the add-in. Click the shopping cart link, located in the sidebar of this page, to purchase a license for WHS RemoteApp 2011. Upon receipt of payment, you will be sent personalized registration information along with detailed instructions on how to register the add-in.
For complete information on installing and using WHS RemoteApp 2011, please see the ReadMe.txt file included with the download.
Additional Information (advanced)
WHS RemoteApp 2011 works with your server just as it comes straight out-of-the-box. It does not install any of the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) server roles on your server (e.g. Remote Desktop Session Host, etc.). Rather, it utilizes the underlying “Windows Server Solutions” (WSS) functionality of your server in order to work its magic. Your server remains in its default “Remote Administration” mode (as opposed to it being placed in “Application Server” mode as it would be when using RDS), and multiple concurrent remote connections to the server can be enabled using the add-in’s “multiple simultaneous connections” feature.
See Also
Products – WSE RemoteApp 2016
WHS RemoteApp 2011
Platform: Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials
Version: 1.255.1746.0
Released: October 3, 2019
Download Size: 4.84 MB
Released: October 3, 2019
Download Size: 4.84 MB
IMPORTANT NOTE:Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, which are based upon Windows Server 2008 R2, will reach end of support on January 14, 2020. As a result, WHS RemoteApp 2011 will reach end of life on that date, and will no longer be updated nor supported. If you are still using one of those operating systems, then you should upgrade to Windows Server 2016 Essentials, Windows Server 2016 Standard/Datacenter with the WSEE role added, or Windows Server 2019 Standard/Datacenter with WSEE installed, and use WSE RemoteApp 2016 instead.
Requires.NET Framework 4.5 or higher (installed on the server).
Existing license holders must have a valid “Updates and Support” option on their license in order to install updates and/or receive technical support for this product.