PoolFS README

PoolFS combines 1–16 member image files into one Windows drive. This guide covers the Windows x64 download, the desktop manager, and the included command-line tools.

Download and prepare

1. Download the PoolFS Windows ZIP.
2. Install the WinFsp runtime on Windows.
3. Extract the whole ZIP to a folder. Keep its executables, DLL, and support files together, then open poolfs-manager.exe.

Create and mount a pool

1. On Storage, tick Use for one or more formatted Host volumes, then select Add selected volumes to pool. PoolFS queues a new member image on each selected volume; it leaves the volumes' existing files outside the pooled drive.
2. On Pool, enter a pool name and choose an unused drive letter. Set each member image's size with the slider or an exact MiB value. Each image must be at least 384 MiB, and a pool can have 1–16 members of different sizes.
3. New pools start unencrypted. Select Create pool, or tick Encrypt new pool and select Create encrypted pool if the member images need password protection. Review the paths before creating the images; existing image files are never overwritten.
4. Save the suggested JSON config when prompted, then select Mount. An encrypted pool asks for its password when mounted.

Open, check, and grow a pool

Use Open config on Pool to load a saved pool, then select Mount. Every member image listed in the config must be present. Select Unmount before disconnecting a host volume or checking the images. Verify data checks an unmounted pool without changing its files; it cannot repair damage.

To expand a pool, open its config, unmount it, and choose Grow images…. Enter larger sizes for the members you want to grow. PoolFS makes and verifies new copies of every member and saves a new config. The original images and config remain intact. Host volumes need room for the new copies; shrinking and changing the member count are not supported.

Keep the config with the member images when moving a pool to another Windows machine. The config contains the pool name, drive letter, and complete member list; edit paths with Save config… if their host drive letters change. See the manager guide and portable pool guide.

Command-line option

From PowerShell in the extracted ZIP folder, create two new 384 MiB images, mount them at an unused drive letter, then unmount before an offline check:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path .\members -Force | Out-Null
.\poolfs-format.exe 384 .\members\member-a.img .\members\member-b.img
.\poolfsctl.exe mount R: .\members\member-a.img
.\poolfsctl.exe unmount R:
.\poolfs-scrub.exe .\members\member-a.img .\members\member-b.img

For different sizes, use poolfs-format.exe --sized with a size in MiB before each new image path. For a password-protected pool, choose encryption in the manager or use poolfs-format.exe --encrypted when creating new images. The CLI prompts for the password locally. You can also edit the mount-config.example.json included in the ZIP and mount its complete member list with .\poolfsctl.exe mount-config .\mount-config.example.json. See pool management, mount configs, and encryption for details.

Keep your data backed up

PoolFS has no redundancy: every member is required, and losing one can make the pool unavailable. Keep an independent backup of files you care about. Encrypted pools have no recovery key or password reset, so keep the password. Physical power-loss behavior and full Windows compatibility remain unverified. The integrity and recovery guide covers the current limits and offline tools.