Reset the Windows Home Server (WHS) backup database

I was in the final stages of migrating to a newer, quieter server and was finally ready to move my drives to the new machine.  However, I could not seem to get the old server to remove the old backups.  After trying to get the console to do it for me I still was staring out 30% usage towards backups that should not exist anymore.

This meant I couldn’t pull my two 1.5 gig drives that were slated for expansion in the new rig.

So I figured it was time to purge them manually.  Here is how you do it:

1. Run mstsc.exe to start a Remote Desktop Connection session to your home server.  Or if you are on a Mac (as I am) use the Remote Desktop Connection client for Mac.

2. Open a Command Prompt, Click StartRun and type CMD

3. Type net stop PDL.

4. Type net stop WHSBackup to stop the Windows Home Server Backup service.

5. Delete the contents of D:\folders\{00008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}.  Do not delete the folder.

6. Type net start WHSBackup to restart the Windows Home Server Backup service.

7. Type net start PDL.

After deleting the backup database, you need to reinstall the Windows Home Server Connector software or run the Discovery.Exe program on each of your home computers to re-establish a relationship between your home computers and your home server so new backups will occur.

Thanks to James Clarke for the instructions.

1 comment

  1. I dragged my WHS server out of the attic to set it up for friends who are running a business with NO BACKUP. Deleting my old computers did nothing significant to the size of the backup database and your procedure did the trick. I thought removing disks to force data migrations would help trigger a cleanup. Nope. Then I tried the backup cleanup with no detectible effect. Thank you.

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