Events

How to fix Windows Home Server when it cannot access the computer’s hard drive

Michael Peele

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Nov 7, 2009

This computer is not online or Windows Home Server cannot access the computer’s hard drive. Please make sure the computer is powered on and connected to your home network.

I just got this error the other day, so I did some research. I may have caused the error, as I was messing with removing a disk, installing a disk, changing the SATA ports, formatting, partitioning, etc… I probably confused WHS.

I worked around the problem and now I can backup again. This deletes all prior backups on the server for this computer – this should not be a problem, unless your computer crashes during this process. I suggest that you have a copy of your important files on the WHS anyway.

Here’s what I did to fix it:

1. Uninstall WHS Connector from the computer with the problem.

2. Remove PC from Computers & Backup (As you can see from this screen, I’ve got XP, Vista Home & Business and Windows 7 happy together.)

3. Cleanup backup database using the “cleanup now” button in Settings, Backup

4. Reinstall Connector on the computer

5. Setup backup in WHS for this computer (optional)

6. Let WHS backup the computer

Activating Windows 7 Internet TV on a Friday night – Captains Supplemental

Timothy Daleo

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Nov 4, 2009

14

I have completed a fresh installation of Windows 7 to try another process of enabling Internet TV. This week I will walk through the process of enabling Internet TV from within Windows Media Center WITHOUT using a TV Tuner.

The original article to enable Internet TV using the TV Tuner is at:

https://moviesgamesandtech.com/2009/10/28/activating-windows-7-internet-tv-and-mapping-movies-to-windows-home-server-on-a-friday-night/

Background

I wrote an article last week about using your TV Tuner to get Internet TV up and running. Right after I posted the article a reader named Eric put up a comment that said:

“Actually, you do not need a tv tuner to enable internet tv. Just go to settings>general>Automatic download options>Download now. This will add the internet tv option to the WMC start menu, then follow the same steps to activate it.”

After reading his comment I reposted the article with a note about the process and grabbed another beer form the hotel mini fridge. What’s a boy to do?

Phoenix and Windows Media Center

At the time of the posting I was in Phoenix for an Earned Value class and on my work laptop so I could not check his process. This process put me in the mood for some WMC action but since my work laptop runs XP Pro I was assed-out. Fortunately my hotel was across the street from the Microsoft Store so I went to check it out and get my fix. I had a coworker, named Jillienne, with me and I told her we could get some dinner and see the store. She is a MS fan and her hubby is into WMC too. They use WMC as their DVR so this field trip seemed like a great idea to both of us.

The whole store looked great. The store is inside the mall and kind of hard to find but we eventually found it. We arrived in Phoenix just a few days after the Windows 7 launch so the store was in excellent form.

All of the prices were list so it is not like I was going to buy anything but touching the hardware was great. They had a few of the Surface machines which were fun to play with. Of course they were not as much fun to play with as these people seem to be having:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/Default.aspx

They had two WHS set up. One was an empty demo and one was actually turned on. The PC next to it did not have the WHS Connector on it so I do not know what they had it hooked up to. I was hoping for a sign or something but NO. Just a lonely HP MSS.

The PC next to the WHS was playing Windows Media Center and had the PBS Channel for Internet TV showing some Cousteau footage. I did not see a TV Tuner on the PC so I figured they did the same Internet TV setup that I am about to write about. I played around with WMC for a few minutes while Jillienne looked over my shoulder and apologized for her stomach growling to the Microsoft employees.

I asked an employee about WMC and the functionality of CABLECARD since I was on topic. I really am obsessed with getting HD cable to my PC so this seemed to be the right time to ask. After being referred to three levels of employees in the store, I finally talked with “Chris” who said that YES, Windows 7 will support CABLECARD. Woo hoo. CannonPC, here I come!

As we left the store, Jillienne and I opted for the food court, over the dinner at the nearby Yard House, and got some cheapie food. Directly above us was a big ass Microsoft banner. I wonder if they would ever consider making a bed spread in that pattern. I would buy it. Would that be cool or what?

Get back to the article topic already…

Ok ok. Since writing the first article some readers have had issues with the enable process in WMC so in the interest of science I thought I would do a fresh reinstall Windows 7 on my Dell Studio and document the second process that Eric brought to our attention.

Equipment Needed

Windows 7 PC with Windows Media Center
Internet Connection
2 Beers (Optional as always)

For those of you playing the home game Windows 7 is fresh and ready to go so lets set this pig on fire!

Internet TV Enable Process – No Tuner Option

Open WMC.

WMC is easy to navigate and set up so far.

I never choose Express but for this article lets choose it and move on.

I do not know if the Set Up was directed to the WHS Connector or the WHS Connector took over but I will click on Ok and continue.

Love the WHS screens. Seriously. Click on Next through this process.

Click on next. Going to get a beer.

I would have a few more shots of the Connector but the system rebooted. I walked away for the second beer and the system rebooted on me! I guess I have never left the final connector screen unchecked long enough. Whatever.

Ok, rebooted and back on track. WMC opens as normal and now I will use the “Eric process” to enable Internet TV. The Internet TV option is NOT enabled at this point. Remember that I did a clean install and do not have my TV Tuner connected.

I click on Tasks and then Settings.

Choose General.

Under General choose Automatic Download Options.

Click on Download Now.

No Internet Connection? Really? You know I have one. Are you going to make me set this up? I agree, install, whatever…lets go!

Mental note: I wonder if the enabling of the program guide during TV Tuner setup forces the download option behind the scenes.

Click on Next. I agree, install, whatever…lets go!

Trust me, I am Always On. I agree, install, whatever…lets go!

Test this!

Connection working. Uh, yeah. Thanks for the update there sporto…I agree, install, whatever…lets go!

Was this set up really necessary? Could this have been done automatically? Click on Finish.

Ok, so I am seeing some download action going on.

While I am waiting for the download notification I will move the Recorded TV videos from the Windows.old folder to the new Public folder on my PC. Yes, Windows 7 moved all of the documents and folders to another folder during the clean installation so all of that file and video backup I did ahead of time was not really necessary. Windows 7 did not delete it. Better safe than sorry I guess. My previously recorded TV shows up like it was always there. No file transfer from WHS. Sweet.

Download complete and the Internet TV option is WORKING as planned.

Download away. I agree, install, whatever…lets go!

All of the channels are there. This process worked well and Internet TV is good to go!

Conclusion

A big thanks to Eric for showing us the process. Also, as some of the postings have shown, Internet TV only seems to be for US based connections. I do not have a way for checking internationally so I am hoping that Andrew can kick down with some additional data if needed.

I found the Cousteau program that I saw in the Microsoft Store. Sweet.

See you next Friday night,

Tim

Tech Tip on a Tuesday Morning – Belarc Advisor

Timothy Daleo

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Nov 3, 2009

7

I am starting a new series of short articles today. I often come across great little tips that do not warrant a full-blown article so I have decided to post a quick one each Tuesday morning.

Tech Tip

You can use the Belarc Advisor to get a detailed list of installed software, licenses and drivers on your PC prior to a clean installation. Belarc Advisor creates a web page that lists ALL of your PC data. This program is great! Seriously.

Use

Windows 7 will require you to do a clean install if you are upgrading from XP or Vista Ultimate. Some of us will do a fresh install anyway. Most of us need some way of making sure we get all the programs and applications installed correctly after the upgrade. I know I forget how many programs I have installed over the years and am not sure about which drivers are for which piece of hardware. Run this small app and let it analyze your system. You will be surprised at how much information it puts on the web page!

Link

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Results

With the release of Windows 7 we are all weary of the clean installs and the hassle of dealing with the existing programs on our PCs. I was able to print out the profile and manually “check off” the programs that I wanted to reinstall on my PC. I also saw a lot of old crap that I had forgot was on the system. During the two hour Windows 7 automated install I used the Belarc printout and another PC to download new applications, find installation CDs etc. so I was ready to go once Windows 7 completed the installation process. I am confident that I did not miss any programs and actually got rid of old outdated programs. Did I really need to keep applications like Dell Video Chat and Mionet? Hell no.

See you next Tuesday,

Tim

Restoring A Different Image from Windows Home Server

fasthair

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Nov 2, 2009

3

A friend of mine bought a new laptop that had Vista installed on it. Being the adventures type I installed it on my WHS and backed up the fresh load of Vista and promptly formatted the hard drive and installed Windows 7 RC on it.

While that isn’t all that exciting and nothing new for users of Windows Home Server. And since my friend digs Windows 7 and has no desire to load Vista back on his new laptop I now have a image of a Vista sitting on my WHS doing nothing. I’ll save it just because it is my friends bought and paid for OS but what am I going to do with this pretty much worthless image?

Then I got the wild idea to see if I could restore that image on a spare hard drive I had laying around and see if I could get it to boot on my hardware. I’ve read of people using a different machine to restore a image on a spare drive and then taking that drive and installing it in the machine the image was made for. But I never read of anyone trying to boot that image to a different system. So what the hell, I’ve got nothing better to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon. After all riding in the rain isn’t my idea of a fun thing to do just for kicks.

So I whip out my Restore USB thumb drive and boot my PC on it. By the way putting the Restore CD on a bootable USB thumb drive is the way to go. Not only is does it work much faster but you can include all of the extra drivers you might need for your NIC card and or hard driver controller like I need to do when I do a restore.

So how did it go? Well the image restored to the spare drive just fine. I boot that drive and I see “Starting Windows” and I get excited. Then boom BSOD. Disappointing to say the least. During the time the BSOD was displayed I notice it saying something about maybe hard drive drivers or something. Knowing how I have my hardware setup I go into the BIOS and change the SATA controller to IDE mode and try again. Tada it booted but as you can imagine my hardware is vastly different then the hardware of my friends laptop. I run Windows Update and before you know it all of my hardware drivers are loaded. Reboot, change the BIOS back and try again. Sure enough it boots this time and does some more updates. Before long this install of Vista is running like a charm. A quick WHS backup of this setup and now I have an image of my hardware saved. Now I can reload this image either on my hardware or my buddies laptop and both will boot perfect. Is WHS kick ass or what?

I did this for nothing else then to see if I could do it and make it work. I have no plans to ever use this install of Vista for a couple of reasons. First it is my friends OS he paid for so I have no rights to use it. Second Windows 7 just rocks! So really what purpose does this serve. Just think what would happen if your PC died or worse was stolen or you just want a new one. You build or buy a new one, restore your last backup and you are back in business in no time. Will this work every time? I have no idea but I bet it will more times then it won’t. I helped my friend update his laptop to the retail version of Windows 7 this past week. The last thing I did before we nuked his hard drive and installed 7 was run one last backup to my WHS. Can you see what I’m going to be doing next? Yup, I’m going to see if I can restore that backup and get it to boot too. Anyone want to take bets on if it will work or not? Got a spare hard drive laying around and nothing to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Why not give this a shot and see if will work for you too.

fasthair

Windows 7 Upgrade and WHS

fasthair

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Nov 2, 2009

13

Over the past few days I’ve updated three PCs to Windows 7 Pro 64bit. Windows 7 rocks so say goodbye XP and Vista. But what does this have to do with Windows Home Server? Everything.

Everyone knows what a pain and time consuming deal it is to install a new operating system. Windows 7 has changed a lot of that pain. Since I always nuke and pave my hard drives when I install a new OS it takes a great bit of time to get everything setup the way I had it.

This is where WHS comes in to save the day. The first thing you do before you load Windows 7 is run a program on the 7 install DVD called Easy Transfer. This works slick. It takes all of your personal setting and files and puts then in a Easy Transfer file that you then move to your personal folder on your WHS. Since I keep all of my music, photos and other personal files on my WHS already I didn’t have to worry about loosing any files during a OS install. So now you have run the Easy Transfer setup and moved the file to your WHS, now what? Do one last backup of your system before you nuke the disk to install the new OS.

Once your new Windows 7 is up and running you run the Easy Transfer wizard again and restore all of your personal files and setting and in no time you have your PC setup just like you like it. The wizard even tells you what programs you need to reinstall. What about that last backup you did? If you are like me you forgot one critical file and it was not in the Easy Transfer file either. I forgot my company file for Quick Books. No problem. Open up the backup file on my WHS and drag it back to my new setup. Does WHS kick ass or what?!

As I said I’ve done three Windows 7 installs the past few days. The first system worked flawless using the Easy Transfer method and seeing how it worked so well I thought I would use it to do the other installs. Guess what? Life isn’t always that simple or easy. On the second install Easy Transfer couldn’t open or load the file. I tried everything I could to get it to run but it just wasn’t going to happen. Since I had done a last backup before nuking the hard drive all I had to do was open that last backup and grab all of my personal files. Yup WHS saved the day again! Does WHS kick ass or what?!

So gone are the days of hating installing a new OS. Windows 7 and WHS make it a pain free snap to do.

fasthair

My Windows 7 Book Giveaway Results

Andrew Edney

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Nov 1, 2009

3

Last week I announced that my Windows 7 book had been released and to celebrate (!) I was going to give away 3 copies to you lucky (or should that be unlucky) readers 🙂

Well, the 3 winners are as follows:

Rhymemaker

Tegguy

Served

Congratulations guys, I will be in touch to get your shipping details and they will be in the post in the next few days (depending on anymore postal strikes)!

For those of you who didn’t win, you can order my Windows 7 book – Windows 7 Tweaks, Tips and Tricks from Amazon and buy it in all good bookshops.

Stay tuned for more great giveaways here at Using Windows Home Server.

The Home Server Show 62 Out Now

Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

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Oct 31, 2009

0

Dave over at the Home Server Show Podcast has just released episode 62.

Dave says:

I’m back this week for a fun topic. This week we talk about how to make a Home Server out of an old PC. I also have a listener roundtable that I recorded at my Windows 7 Launch Party.

If you are a blogger and you would like some more exposure to your articles visit GeekGazette.net.

MyMovies 3

MissingRemote.com review of MyMovies

The Before you Build Checklist – This is also available on the main page under popular posts.

Podcast List has been cleaned up. – This is also available on the main page under popular posts.

Thank you goes out to connecteddigitalworld.com and Perfect Disk. I am a winner!

We have been using twitter a lot lately. @schooltechtv had a hard drive issue and looks like it is solved!

Click here to choose your listening options for the podcast.

And congratulations to you Dave on winning one of our giveaways – and very glad to hear that you received it from us 🙂

Windows Home Server Article on Lifehacker

Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

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Oct 29, 2009

1

There is a new article just been posted on the Lifehacker website on Windows Home Server. The article is called Set Up Windows Home Server to Automate Your Backups and Corral Your Media.

For those of you who don’t know what the Lifehacker website is, it is a collection of really useful articles, tips and more on a whole host of different topics designed to make your life easier!

To read the article, click here.

Thanks to Duane for the heads up on the article and thanks to Lifehacker for mentioning Using Windows Home Server 🙂

The Media Center Show Podcast with Me

Andrew Edney

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Oct 29, 2009

0

My friend and fellow MVP Ian Dixon has released this weeks Media Center Show podcast.

This is what Ian says about this weeks show:

This week Window author and Windows Home Server MVP Andrew Edney joins me to give us an update on the Windows Home Server world including the latest hardware from HP and Lenovo and an update on Power Pack 3. Plus Andrew talks about Windows 7 and his new Windows 7 book!

Yep, I am on it again, and in fact Ian has named the show after me this week – thanks mate 🙂

Click here to listen to it.

Hello Kitty and Her Connected Home

Andrew Edney

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Oct 28, 2009

0

Fellow MVP Yoshihiro Okabe has posted some pictures on his blog that he took at the ITPro Expo 2009 in Japan.

Yoshi was kind enough to give me a Windows Home Server Hello Kitty back in March at the MVP Summit in Seattle.

The pictures show Hello Kitty’s connected home – with her Acer Aspire H340 Windows Home Server, her Windows 7 computer, her Xbox 360, her laptop and her cool flat screen tv. Basically everything a Hello Kitty needs to be connected in the 21st Century.

The Dolls House she has is very cool, I would love one of those, purely for IT reasons, although I am certain my friend Abi would want it more. Well, she is 6!

Thanks to Yoshi for the pictures on his blog.