Guide: Shutting Off Demigrator.exe In Windows Home Server
2010
As many people who stream their media from servers can attest to, there is nothing more frustrating then when you unexpectedly start experiencing stuttering while playing back media. Although setting up a network is not relatively difficult, troubleshooting issues can be, especially since there are many variables involved. Problems could stem anywhere from bad cable lines, faulty switches, and failing hard drives to name a few.
in Windows Home Server called Demigrator.exe, which is responsible for moving data around the pooled drives when duplication is enabled. This process runs hourly and simply doing a web search for “Demigrator” will pull up quite a few posts from WHS users who have noted that streaming HD content while demigrator is running causes playback issues such as stuttering. It is hard to pin down exactly the cause though as not every WHS user experiences this, and there doesn’t seem to be any consistent factor. Since my stuttering symptoms seem to be consistent with what other users reported with demigrator, I decided to take a shot at disabling demigrator.This guide is nothing new as the ability to disable demigrator has been documented for a while, but I thought it might be work documenting my experience.
PLEASE NOTE – disabling any service in Windows Home Server may cause instabilities or undesirable side effects.
1. Remote into Windows Home Server:
2. Create Demigrator Bat Files and Schedule:
Using a text editor, create the following two bat files (I just saved to the desktop):
DemigratorOff.bat
@echo off
sc stop "DriveExtenderMigrator"
sc config "DriveExtenderMigrator" start= disabled
exit
DemigratorOn.bat
@echo off
sc config "DriveExtenderMigrator" start= demand
sc start "DriveExtenderMigrator"
exit
As an alternative you could set start to auto for DemigratorOn.
You can simply double click either of the bat files to manually turn on or off demigrator. However, I would prefer for this to be done automatically, so to do so let’s set up a scheduled task. I decided that I want demigrator shut off from 12PM – 12AM, and then turned back on from 12AM – 12PM. In Windows Home Server go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Schedule Tasks. Double click on “Add Scheduled Task”
You will be asked to choose a program to run. Click on “Browse” and navigate to one of the created bat files.
Choose when you want the bat file to run. I chose to run the DemigratorOff.bat file daily.
Set what time you want the task to run.
Now enter in your user name (should already be populated) and password
Once done you should now see the scheduled task that has been created. Do this process for each bat file created.
That is all that is needed to be done, Windows Home Server will take care of the rest. If you have successfully shut off demigrator you will be greeted by a nice message in the Windows Home Server console.
Final Thoughts:
I want to reiterate that any time you shut off a Windows Home Service process there is a chance for unwanted side effects. Also, if you need to remove a drive from your Windows Home Server you must turn demigrator back on (I made this mistake initially). There may be other factors at play affecting your network not related to demigrator as well, so keep that in mind.