Using Your Own Domain Name with Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney
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5

A few days ago, Richard, one of our readers asked a question about using his own domain name with Windows Home Server instead of either the TZO.com or the Homeserver.com address.

The following day Richard posted a follow up:

If like me you already have your own registered domain name most providers will set up a sub domain and DNS routing against it free of charge. This will not affect any existing services such as web sites on your main domain name.

I managed to get my personal sub domain working with my Home Server by tricking the console into saving the details without buying any addition services as follows:

1. Open the console and select remote access.

2. Select “TZO.COM custom domain name”.

3. Selected “Transfer my custom domain name to TZO.COM” (you will need to add a name and email address) 4. Enter your custom domain name when requested and click transfer.

5. Click Finnish and quit TZO.COM web site when transferred.

The custom domain and IP info is now cashed in your Home Server and no costs incurred.

Remember to configure port forwarding on your router correctly before you start.

Click here for our article on configuring port forwarding on your router.

So thanks for that Richard, I am sure other people will find that useful.

In-depth Review of the HP MediaSmart Server EX495 Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney
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45

HP have released a number of Windows Home Servers over the last 2 years since Windows Home Server was launched. Now comes two new Windows Home Servers – the HP MediaSmart Server EX490 and the EX495. This review concentrates on the EX495 and what it has to offer.

SPECIFICATIONS

The EX495 Specification is as follows:

Processor : Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.5Ghz

Memory : 2GB DDR2

Capacity included : 1.5TB

Open Bays : 3

Ports : 4 USB and 1 eSATA

Dimensions (inches) : 5.5 x 9.8 x 9.2

And those of you out there that want to use the eSATA port as a port multiplier will be happy to hear that HP have re-enabled it after the EX48x series only allowed connection of a single eSATA drive to the port! Good job HP, again, good listening to your customers feedback.

THE OBLIGITORY BOX SHOTS

For those of you out there that love the shots of the box – yes, you know who you are, here they are. As usual they have the black look with the coloured graphics on.

IMG_1764 IMG_1765 IMG_1766 IMG_1767 IMG_1768

WHATS IN THE BOX?

The contents of the box are now very well packaged, and it is no longer the case that you have to grab the plastic and pull, and hope for the best! Now you can simply lift out the EX495 without any fuss. The box itself contains the EX495, an Ethernet cable, a power cable, 3 software DVDs and the usual HP Setup Poster to get you going.

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PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Giveaway – Day 7 – The Final Day

Andrew Edney
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0

The generous folks over at Raxco have give us 7 full licences for PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Family Pack to giveaway to you lucky readers. Yes, its been a little while since we did a giveaway here at Using Windows Home Server, but they are back!

Why 7 copies you may ask? Well, PerfectDisk 10 is the first disk defragmenter certified by Microsoft for Windows 7 – way to go guys!

PD Win 7

The Windows Home Server Family Pack gives you 1 licence for your Windows Home Server and 10 licences for your computers at home – so it is great combination.

We reviewed PerfectDisk 10 back in March, so go remind yourself all about it and why you need it by clicking here.

So you are probably asking yourself how do you win one of these great packs? Well, each day for the next 7 days we will be giving 1 pack.

To win a pack, all you have to do today is to go to our forums and in the giveaways section leave a comment telling us if you are planning to using Windows 7 and if so what version are you going to use – or you are already using. Click here to be taken straight to the forum.

All the winners will be announced on Sunday (that’s tomorrow) – so this is your last chance to win!

P80 2.0.5 Add-In Released for Windows Home Sever

fasthair
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7

After finding a security hole in the original version of P80 and the fact the install was a bit a of work, P80 author Kris Rodenhausen went back to the coding drawing board. Several good things became of this, the least of which is a true Windows Home Server add-in. I think we all know how to do that so there is no need for me to go through how to install an add-in.

I also don’t think I need to rehash all of the same ol’ screen shots and all of the same information of what P80 is and instead just point to the review on the first version for that information. What I want to concentrate on with this review is what is new in version 2.0.5. For starters P80 should install no matter what language and future versions will be attempted to localize other languages.

What you need to get started:

  • P80 Install
  • Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 – Windows Update installs this automatically if you have Auto Update on. Once again, why isn’t your system fully patched anyway?
  • Optional but highly recommended AutoExit by Asoft. To take full advantage of P80 it really is a must.

As mentioned P80 installs through the Console now. Because of this there is now a new tab on the Settings page of the Console for P80. Here are links to the P80 Release Info, the P80 support forum and a email link for support.

Settings 1

The next big change is how a you log in to the P80 website. No more fiddling with settings and other software. Just one click to log into your personal WHS website and the P80 link is right there, no more double log in. This eliminated the security hole that was in the last version since the website is on the private site of your web page. Now WHS handles all of the security. I will say that anyone you give access rights to will be able to view the P80 website. I’m sure we all trust anyone we give access rights to but I did want to bring this up. So remember whatever you can do with P80 they can do also.

Home 1

Speaking of trust it seems Microsoft and WHS don’t trust each other. Having read many posts about certificate errors from WHS users this can pop up. I get to my WHS website via https://xxx.homeserver.com when either on my LAN or remote places. Some people can’t get to the WHS website from inside their LAN without using http://ip or http://WHSname. When I go to my WHS website using either of those two methods I get the certificate errors. Clicking “Continue to this website (not recommended)” lets me log into the website but the red address bar is shown. With any luck Microsoft will get this fixed for all WHS users.

There is also the addition of a shared folder, //shares/P80ServiceImages, that contains icons that you can use for the monitored Services on the Summary page. You can use the default images files or make and use your own files as long as they are .JPEG or .PNG files with a pixel setting of 48×48. Once you have these files picked out just browse to them and click on them. P80 will import the files into the image folder.

Other updates include the addition of percentage readings of the hard drives in you WHS. Now shown on the Summary and Drives pages are total used, shared and remaining percentages in the storage pool and on each individual hard drive.

Summary

Saving what I think is the best new additions for last. Everyone is always wanting “the killer feature.” Kris has added the ability to shutdown or reboot your WHS. Like before using Nick Asseloos’s excellent add-in, AutoExit, you can control the PCs on the LAN to either hibernate, shut down, reboot and so on. Nick upped his game with the latest release and now you can use Wake On Lan to wake up your PCs with Auto Exit, as long as your hardware supports it. Kris has brought that into P80 too . You add the fact you can view and do all of this from any web enabled PC or phone and I think you have “the killer” feature and just an all around nice app.

fasthair

PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Giveaway – Day 6

Andrew Edney
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0

The generous folks over at Raxco have give us 7 full licences for PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Family Pack to giveaway to you lucky readers. Yes, its been a little while since we did a giveaway here at Using Windows Home Server, but they are back!

Why 7 copies you may ask? Well, PerfectDisk 10 is the first disk defragmenter certified by Microsoft for Windows 7 – way to go guys!

PD Win 7

The Windows Home Server Family Pack gives you 1 licence for your Windows Home Server and 10 licences for your computers at home – so it is great combination.

We reviewed PerfectDisk 10 back in March, so go remind yourself all about it and why you need it by clicking here.

So you are probably asking yourself how do you win one of these great packs? Well, each day for the next 7 days we will be giving 1 pack.

To win a pack, all you have to do today is to go to our forums and in the giveaways section leave a comment telling us about a feature that you would love to see in Windows Home Server that isn’t there today and we will select a lucky winner at random (yes, its the same question as yesterday but its a really interesting topic and you try thinking of 7 interesting questions!). Click here to be taken straight to the forum.

All the winners will be announced next Sunday – and stay tuned for tomorrow’s giveaway.

Home Server Show Podcast 60 Now Out

Andrew Edney
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1

Dave over at the Home Server Show Podcast has just released episode 60 – my home time flies!

home_server_show_small

Dave says:

In show 60 I am joined by Jim, John, and AJ.  There is no shortage of news and discussion points for this episode so hang on because we might run long!  I’ll also go over some twitter posts and my weekend adventures with TivoCenter and my EX495.

Add-In: AutoExit2009

Add-In: AssetUPNP

3.0 Patch 1 for HP MSS EX490/495

HP announces upcoming release of 3.0 software for EX47x and EX48x owners.

AirVideo, video streamer for the iPhone, and iPod Touch

Jim’s Oracle conference, OpenWorld

A little off topic but fun nonetheless.

History Channel is showing WWII in HD

Dish Network HD Receivers

Add-In of the Week – AutoExit2009

Click here to choose your listening options for the podcast.

HP MediaSmart EX495 Windows Home Server Unboxing

Andrew Edney
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0

Following on from our unboxing of the HP X510 Data Vault yesterday, today we are doing the unboxing of the new HP MediaSmart EX495 Windows Home Server. You will notice the difference in outer packaging of the two home servers.

The EX495 is the latest release from HP in the MediaSmart server range that runs Windows Home Server.

Expect the review shortly 🙂

And yes, once again I dedicate this unboxing to Dave at the Home Server Show Podcast.

IMG_1764 IMG_1765 IMG_1766 IMG_1767 IMG_1768 IMG_1769 IMG_1770 IMG_1771 IMG_1772 IMG_1773 IMG_1774 IMG_1776 IMG_1777 IMG_1778

PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Giveaway – Day 5

Andrew Edney
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0

The generous folks over at Raxco have give us 7 full licences for PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server Family Pack to giveaway to you lucky readers. Yes, its been a little while since we did a giveaway here at Using Windows Home Server, but they are back!

Why 7 copies you may ask? Well, PerfectDisk 10 is the first disk defragmenter certified by Microsoft for Windows 7 – way to go guys!

PD Win 7

The Windows Home Server Family Pack gives you 1 licence for your Windows Home Server and 10 licences for your computers at home – so it is great combination.

We reviewed PerfectDisk 10 back in March, so go remind yourself all about it and why you need it by clicking here.

So you are probably asking yourself how do you win one of these great packs? Well, each day for the next 7 days we will be giving 1 pack.

To win a pack, all you have to do today is to go to our forums and in the giveaways section leave a comment telling us about a feature that you would love to see in Windows Home Server that isn’t there today and we will select a lucky winner at random. Click here to be taken straight to the forum.

All the winners will be announced next Sunday – and stay tuned for tomorrow’s giveaway.

Unboxing the HP X510 Data Vault Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney
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1

A few weeks ago we reported that HP had released a new Windows Home Server aimed at the SOHO market – the X510 also known as the Data Vault.

Here are a some quick pictures of the unit unboxed (these are especially for Dave from the Home Server Show Podcast as I know he just loves the unboxing shots). 🙂

The two points to note are that the packaging is very plain, unlike the MediaSmarts and that the X510 looks exactly the same as a MediaSmart.

The packaging is more what a business would be used to seeing as apposed to all the pictures and graphics on the side of the MediaSmarts, and I have to say it is very well packaged inside the box as well.

001 002 003 004 005 006 007

I will be doing the review shortly, so keep your eyes open for it.

HP Launch the HP MediaSmart EX490 Windows Home Server in the UK

Andrew Edney
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0

Terry over at We Got Served has published the press release from HP announcing the launch of the EX490 in the UK – although there is no sign of the EX495 yet.

If you want to order yours now from Amazon, click here.

Here is the press release:

HP Launches New Home Server with Enhanced Features for PCs and Macs

LONDON, UK, 13 October, 2009 – HP today launched the HP MediaSmart Server EX490, a new home server model offering increased capacity, high-performance processors, more control, new user interface and additional Mac support.

Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the updated HP MediaSmart Server has a new, refined user interface and a web-based home page that makes accessing and using the server easier than ever. Additionally, the new model offers a new video converter with custom settings and profiles that will automatically convert video libraries, including unprotected DVDs.(1)

“The explosion of digital content is attracting a new kind of buyer to the home server space,” said Shaun Hobbs, HP Accessories and Services Category Manager, UK. “This buyer not only wants power and capacity but also ease of use. The new HP MediaSmart Server EX490 delivers on all fronts.”

The HP MediaSmart Server EX490 features a new media collector, which allows users to collect media by computer, media type or file location. The server automatically collects and organises media files across Macs and PCs and streams it across a home network and the Internet.(2)

The HP MediaSmart Server EX490 offers additional features for Mac users, including administration, media collection and a new disc recovery utility providing bare metal recovery on a Mac using Time Machine.(3)

“The new release of HP MediaSmart Server software and hardware continues HP’s leadership in building compelling functionality on top of the Microsoft Windows Home Server platform,” said Russ Madlener, director, Solutions Marketing, Microsoft. “HP is delivering a true cross-platform product by adding the ability to administer the server from a Mac using Microsoft’s new Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac 2.”

The new video converter automatically converts videos (including unprotected DVDs) into a format that can be played at the home or remotely. Users are able to control how their videos are converted by selecting the device the video will be played on or choose specific video settings using the advanced controls features.

In addition, owners of an iPod touch and iPhone can download a free HP MediaSmart Server iStream application from Apple’s App Store, enabling them to stay connected to their digital media stored on the server. Users can easily access their pictures, listen to their music collection and watch their favourite videos – all streamed directly to their mobile device from their HP MediaSmart Server.

HP MediaSmart Server EX490 features include:

· New HP Media Collector

· New HP Video Converter

· Improved user interface with new web- based home page

· Mac administration, media collections and a new Mac disc recovery feature

· HP Media Streamer

· Server for iTunes

· PC Hard Drive Backup

· Server Backup

· Smart Power Management

· Intel Celeron®. Two gigabytes (GB) of DRAM

· Expandability: additional drives can be added for up to 7 terabytes (TB) internal storage and 17 TB of storage using internal and external drives. (6)

Pricing and availability

Available from 15th October, the HP MediaSmart Server EX490 with 1TB of hard disk storage is £429

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