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A Drive Bender Update

By on November 3, 2011 in News, Reviews, Windows Home Server

As part of my review of Drive Bender, I reported that I had lost files.  I will have to say that this statement was somewhat incorrect.  They only appeared to be lost.

I have since dismantled this test server setup, but I do have the hard drives I used to create it.  I took the drive I added after the install drive and stuck it in my desktop machine (the one I am writing this update from).

From the screen shots just below, you can clearly see two folders that I had copied over in my reivew, and their contents, are still there and still intact.  This is similar to drives that have been removed from a WHS v1 machine.  They are still there, just not accessible in the same manner as when they are part of the Drive Bender Pool.

Image1 thumb A Drive Bender Update

Image2 thumb A Drive Bender UpdateImage3 thumb A Drive Bender Update

I hope this clears up any misstatements I may have made regarding lost files in Drive Bender.


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About Jim Clark

Hello. I’m from the heartland of the U.S. Lots of corn and beans, although Iowa is a lot more than just farmland. It also has a few computer enthusiasts (no, not me!). I’ve been around PCs since I got my 1st PC XT aloooong time ago. WGS is one of the first sites I found centered around WHS. And the best. Every once in awhile, I do get away from the KB and enjoy time with and my wife and our 4 kids. And I do have a day job.
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  • FWJJR

    Jim,

    Great follow up… I had also stated Data loss… but also as you stated actual “loss ” is not true.. and that data was just in a different “look”.. I didnt actually loose data as I was using test data and files. It was probably like me, just a little discerning as maybe having to cancel processes or dismantling the hardware after not completeing pool building that you were concerned as to the integrity.

  • Ajg1977

    If you can’t find your data then it is lost. You managed to recover it, but many users would not have the know how to do so.

    Would you consider it not lost If you’d had to run a deleted file recovery program on the disc? Where do you draw the line?

    • FWJJR

      Oh forgot… I also ran into, (Like Jim) volumes that got unmounted in windows..

      when that happens its A very, Very Sinking feeling… Imagine a user with all his/her valuible data on that migrated volume…

      Also I read (on another post by anthony) that division M is NOT touting this as a DE replacement, but simply a Pooling addin.. OK Lets Walk the fine line then shall we…OR should this exact statement be added to their website where it says

      “Early in 2010 we prototyped a Drive Extender style application with the view of releasing a product that would work with all versions of Microsoft Windows. However soon thereafter, Microsoft announced Vail (a new version of Windows Home Server) and a small business server product, codename Aurora, both of which contain their Drive Extender technology. Given this, and the possibility that Drive Extend may well make its way to other Microsoft platforms, we shelved the project.
      However later that same year, Microsoft announced that they would be dropping Drive Extender from all their products (including Windows Home Server 2011), leaving the door open for Division-M to resurrect the Drive Bender project!”

      I bought Drive Bender on this premise that it WOULD replace and give me the same outcome as DE, anyone else thinking this Too?

    • Fantastik11

      “Lost” means nowhere to be found no matter where or how you look and absolutely does not describe the scenario above.  “Missing” would be the word you’re implying.  “Missing” means you can’t find something.

  • Marty

    Boy you lot need to let this go. If you dont like the product, dont use the product. Why sit here and bang on about it? For many it works, look at the growth of their new forum after only a month, like it or not people use and like DB.

    • phaze

      Marty, it’s about constructive criticism and the desire to trust the product.

      I feel that I speak for many when I say we’re talking about a new software product that is designed to solve storage availability problems for a home user, and it’s from a new company with no real track record…. doing something Microsoft gave up on (albeit for their own commercial reasons). Isn’t it normal to be a little weary if the solution is not “neat and clean” from the start?

      The fact is we WANT this to work, and it needs to be trouble-free, clear and intuitive to use. From the start. Expert users with more time and $$ available will probably choose other solutions (Drobo, Raid, etc…), but DE substitutes like Drive Bender aren’t really designed for them, are they?

      As a user I desire a product I can trust in. As a developer, Division-M must earn that trust. It will take some time, trust, AND criticism. That’s all.

  • FWJJR

     

    Marty, Posts
    like yours make me laugh…Its not that I or we as a group want to burn the
    product (DB) or the Company (Divison-M) at the stake. We DO want a good product
    and we want a successful launch…by whom ever it is… However to take your
    position of “don’t like don’t use” is not what this or other forums
    are for. If we all just sat by and didn’t voice issues, there would be no
    reason for Terry Here to spend his money to support this group/forum.

    I Purchase
    and tried DB Cause I WANT a solution. Period..I have long waited, while
    countless postings of beta after beta from DB/DP etc, etc..are sent for
    testing, waiting for either to release. But sadly what was released by DB, even
    after 2 Updates within days of release and yet another release tomorrow (11/3),
    the product is purely NOT READY and should not have been released.

    RE: your
    comment of the DB forum growth only in a month..I trolled over to the forum…
    to find thread, after thread of support issues I also discovered and/or calls
    for help

    Even on DB
    forums, Customers state:

    “I myself
    have received ‘unhandled exceptions” and “Null Reference
    Exceptions” these are real issues that need to be addressed, and are not
    excusable due to possible user error or not reading documentation (BTW the docs
    omit any info about the API incompatibility issue with move/convert).”

    There are comments from DB Forum:

    “These
    bugs were fixed in v1214. If you are still having issues, you should contact
    support.”

    “This
    did not slip through. Fixing this would have meant a new round of beta testing
    because it requires a major driver change. Given that there are workarounds, we
    decided to wait until v1.3″

    HUH!
    Ya if that’s needed then another round of Beta it is.. Never release with bugs
    you know will affect function. DUH!

    .

    Now I admit
    I am not IT personnel, However I am an electrical engineer, I may not have
    degree in Computer Sciences but if that is what this product needs, I don’t
    think there will be much of a following considering its target market.

     

  • W Walker

    One comment. In the original review comments I believe that Terry Walsh said that you had to remove the drive and install in another PC to find your “lost” data. This is not quite correct. You would have been able to find the data just fine from the WHS machine had you not dismantled it prior to the search for the data.