Hiya,

My USB hard disk currently has all my data on it. If I plug it into my WHS box will it automatically format it and add it to the storage pool? If so, what is the best way to get my data from this drive to the internal drives of WHS.

Also, is it possible to configure a USB hard disk as a backup drive, so that data on the shared folders is copied to it.

Thanks

No, WHS will not format your external drive unless you choose to add it to the storage pool.
You should just be able to plug it in and copy the data over to your storage pool.

I think it's possible to use a USB drive to backup the system drive, not sure about the shared folders and also not sure why you would want to? If you've enabled drive duplication for your shared folders then the data will be spread out over the available drives in the storage pool so that if one fails you won't lose your data (which of course only works if you have multiple drives in the first place...)

Bagal:

and also not sure why you would want to?

Because if I deleted something accidently from a shared folder, I assume it would also delete the duplication.

With daily backups, this overcomes this problem.

And I have experienced complete data loss first hand (from a failed NAS drive, which is why I will never again use them due to their proprietary software). Only due to my persistence (about 8 months worth) of trying numerous restore tools was I able to get it all back, and it's not something I want to experience again..

Bagal:

not sure why you would want to?

So that you can take the external disk off site, and you still have a backup should the worst happen to your server/home!