Remove NT fault-tolerant disk sets before upgrading to Win2003 Server

To remove the FTdisk set, you must back up and delete the FTdisk set, do the upgrade, then convert the disks to dynamic disks and configure the volume, then recover your data from tape.

If you use FTdisk sets to mirror the operating system drive on a classic Windows NT machine, you must break the mirror, do the upgrade, then make the disks into dynamic disks and recreate the mirror.

If you attempt to upgrade a system with FTdisk sets, you will get an error message right at the start of Setup. This error is a little misleading, because it refers to NT4 basic disks when it should say NT4 fault-tolerant disks. If the operating sy

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Windows Storage Management File classification the automated way with Windows Server 2008 R2 Using DFS to create file system virtualization in Windows Server 2008 File server migration tips for Windows Server 2008 Planning a file server migration to Windows 2008 Self-healing NTFS keeps admins one step ahead of data corruption The efficacy of backup-as-a-service solutions Server Message Block 2.0: A new protocol for the millennium Using WBAdmin to create backups in Windows Server 2008 Breaking down the Windows Server Backup tool for Windows 2008 Keeping an eye on network disk space with Windows Server 2008

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

stem is mirrored, the error is critical and you cannot upgrade. If data disks are mirrored, striped, or have volume spans, the error is simply a warning. But if you go ahead and upgrade, you'll notice that the FTtdisk drive set appears in the Disk Management console with a drive letter, but it is inaccessible.

Fortunately, if you neglected to back up the data in the FTdisk set prior to upgrading, there is a workaround. The Support Tools on the Windows Server 2003 CD contains a utility called FTONLINE that you can use to mount the FTdisk set in read-only mode so you can recover the data.

About the author: Rahul Shah currently works at a software firm in India, where he is a systems administrator maintaining Windows servers. He has also worked for various software firms in testing and analytics, and also has experiences deploying client/server applications in different Windows configurations.

More information on this topic:

Rate this Tip To rate tips, you must be a member of SearchWindowsServer.com. Register now to start rating these tips. Log in if you are already a member. Submit a Tip DISCLAIMER: Our Tips Exchange is a forum for you to share technical advice and expertise with your peers and to learn from other enterprise IT professionals. TechTarget provides the infrastructure to facilitate this sharing of information. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or validity of the material submitted. You agree that your use of the Ask The Expert services and your reliance on any questions, answers, information or other materials received through this Web site is at your own risk.