When certain programs are used to edit or transfer files that are stored on a Windows Home Server-based system that has more than one hard drive, the files may become corrupted

This issue affects the initial release of Windows Home Server.

When certain programs are used to edit or transfer files that are stored on a Windows Home Server-based system that has more than one hard drive, the files may become corrupted. Microsoft is aware of only a very small percentage of users who have confirmed instances of this issue and believes that most users are unlikely to be affected. Microsoft has established that this issue may occur when one of the following programs is used to edit, transfer, and save files to the home server:

• Windows Vista Photo Gallery
• Windows Live Photo Gallery
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
• Microsoft Office Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Money 2007
• SyncToy 2.0 Beta
• Intuit QuickBooks
• uTorrent

Note Windows Home Server-based systems that have a single hard drive are not affected by this issue, nor are Windows Home Server Computer Backup and Restore capabilities, Health Monitoring, and Remote Access functionality. This issue is specific to Windows Home Server and does not affect other Windows Server-based products.

A bug has been discovered in the way that the initial release of Windows Home Server manages file transfer and balancing across multiple hard drives. In certain cases, depending on application use patterns, timing, and the workload that is placed on the Windows Home Server-based computer, certain files could become corrupted. For additional technical details about the cause of this issue see the “CAUSE – TECHNICAL DETAILS” section later in this article.

To resolve this problem, install the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 update.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
You can also download this update and manually apply the update.
The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 package now.
For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
For more information about how to make sure that an application works with Windows Home Server over a home network, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
If you have questions about whether a specific application can work with files that are stored on a Windows Home Server-based system, contact your application vendor before you load the files on your home server and use the application on a home computer to access these files.

CAUSE – TECHNICAL DETAILS

Windows Home Server uses a file system mini-filter driver in addition to the NTFS file system to implement Shared Folders storage technology. File system mini-filter drivers are an extensibility mechanism that is provided by Windows to enable storage scenarios. For distributing data across the different hard drives that are managed by Windows Home Server, the Windows Home Server mini-filter driver redirects I/O between files that are stored on the main hard drive and files that are stored on other hard drives. This redirection mechanism is enabled only when Windows Home Server is managing the Shared Folder storage of multiple physical hard drives. A bug has been discovered in the redirection mechanism which, in certain cases, depending on application use patterns, timing, and workload, may cause interactions between NTFS, the Memory Manager, and the Cache Manager to get out of sync. This causes corrupted data to be written to files. More information about the storage technology can be found in the following technical brief:

OTHER PROGRAMS

Users have reported potential corruption issues when they use other programs to edit or transfer files that are stored on Windows Home Server-based system that has more than one hard drive. For more information, see the following list. Microsoft is in the process of trying to reproduce the issues and directly assess the causes. The nature of the issues precludes Microsoft from providing a definitive list of affected applications. If users believe they have evidence that they are experiencing the issue, please send a detailed e-mail of their circumstances to whsforum@microsoft.com so that Microsoft can try to validate the cause and provide specific guidance.

• Photoshop Elements
• Zune Software
• Apple iTunes
• TagScanner
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Adobe Lightroom
• Intuit Quicken
• MS Digital Image Library
• MP3BookHelper
• ACDSee
• WinAmp
• Windows Media Player 11
• Microsoft Office Excel
• Visual DataFlex

The following table lists significant technical revisions to this article.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.