I still have several Microsoft Windows Home Servers (WHS) running in some customer offices. Had an issue where the backup database got corrupted, not allowing me to retrieve any backups. I tried many solutions, but none fixed the problem.
So, how do you wipe out the WHS backup database to essentially start clean?
What you will have found out is that there’s not an option for doing this from the WHS console. Yes, you “clean” the database, but that only removes backups older than your declared backup settings. And a “repair” does not do the trick.
So, I dusted off an old post (kudos to Jim Clarke) that will do exactly what we need – reset the current WHS backup database, and free up all the disk space previously used.
- Use mstsc to login to the WHS Server
- Open a command prompt (Start –> Run –> cmd)
Type: net stop PDL
Type: net stop whsbackup - Leave the command window open, as we will need it in a minute
- Meanwhile, open up Windows Explorer and locate:
D:\folders\{00008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}
- Delete the contents of that folder – but DO NOT delete the folder itself!
- Now go back to the command prompt window
Type: net start whsbackup
Type net start PDL - Jim notes that after doing this you will need to go to each workstation and either reinstall the WHS Connector software or run the Discover.exe program.
And, in case you are wondering, PDL is Microsoft’s Persistent Drive Letter service!
