Greg at Raxco added a comment to my PerfectDisk vs. Diskeeper Head to Head article recently. In his comment, he indicates that the PerfectDisk installer has been updated to allow installation of this program using more traditional WHS installer methods.
Based on customer feedback, starting with PerfectDisk 10 Build 110, Raxco has changed the installation method for PerfectDisk for Windows Home Server to make it easier to install and match how other Windows Home Server Console applications install.
Updated installation instructions can be found at http://www.perfectdisk.com/support/kb/804. Please note that the new installation method is only for PerfectDisk 10 Build 110 or newer.
You can follow the instructions in the PerfectDisk kb article, and/or follow my illustrated instructions below.
In order to install PerfectDisk using the normal WHS Console –> Settings –> Add-ins method, you will need to copy over a particular .msi installer to your WHS add-in folder. If you have PerfectDisk on a CD, proceed down to Installing PerfectDisk on Your WHS.
Obtaining the .msi Installer (Download Version)
For those who have a downloaded version, please follow the instructions below. I will assume you have not installed PerfectDisk on any machine at this point. If you have already done so using the Build 110 version, simply proceed down to Installing PerfectDisk on Your WHS.
Locate your PD10_WHS.exe file.
Execute it. Important! Install (Execute) this on your client computer, NOT on your WHS. I tried installing this directly on my WHS. Several emails later, Greg and I finally figured out the error of my ways!
Simply follow the instructions to extract the files to your client computer.
If so desired, install PerfectDisk on your client machine. At that point, exit the installer program.
Installing PerfectDisk on Your WHS.
Now, you will need to locate the PerfectDisk_x86.msi installer file. The file size is 26,777 KB.
If you are installing from a downloaded package, the PerfectDisk_x86.msi file should have been extracted to: C:\Program Files\Raxco\PerfectDisk10Install\PerfectDisk10_Home_Server\PerfectDisk_x86.msi. Remember, this file needs to be obtained from your client computer.
If you are installing from a CD, the PerfectDisk_x86.msi file is on the CD in the PerfectDisk10_Home_Server folder.
Copy this file over to your D:\shares\Software\Add-Ins folder on your WHS.
Open up the Console, click on the Settings item, locate the Add-ins tab, click on the Available tab and there you are: PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server.
Simply install PerfectDisk like any other WHS add-in and
reopen the Console.
If you need to uninstall PerfectDisk at this point, use the Console to uninstall, not the Add/Remove Programs option in the Control Panel.
Microsoft expects WHS add-ins to be installed in a particular way. PerfectDisk, as far as Microsoft/WHS is concerned, is just another add-in. I applaud Raxco for updating their installer to make it more WHS compatible.
12. June 2009 at 11:21 pm
Always good to see companies listen to consumer feedback.
Question: Is there any benefit to running this on a WHS where all of storage pool drives are formatted with 64k clusters?
15. June 2009 at 2:40 pm
This and Diskeeper to my knowledge are the only defragmenters you should run on a WHS; specifically because of the 64k clusters. Most de-fragmentation software is designed for the home operating systems, which I think use 512k minimum clusters.
This is a great product IMHO offers slightly better value than diskeeper. Thanks Jim and Greg, ill update my client soon.