What is Windows Home Server?

Backing Up Your Windows Home Server Shared Folders with an External Hard Drive

Andrew Edney

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May 17, 2009

Continuing our series of “How To…” guides, this guide explains how to use an external hard drive to backup your Windows Home Server Shared Folders easily and without much effort.

So your important files are stored on your Windows Home Server. And to make them even safe you have enabled folder duplication just in case one of the disks fails. That is a very good, you never know when that might happen.

So what do you do if something actually happens to the Windows Home Server itself? Let’s say for example it gets damaged or destroyed. What happens then?

Wouldn’t you wish at that point that you had stored those important files someone else, other than on your Windows Home Server?

Well, you are in luck! Windows Home Server allows you to plug in an external hard drive and backup any or all of your shared files to that drive and then unplug it. You can then store that hard drive off-site, maybe in a safety deposit box, maybe at a friends house. The location doesn’t matter as much as storing it somewhere other than where you Windows Home Server is located.

Now if anything happens you can just retrieve the hard drive, plug it into any computer and access the the data as though it was any other drive. You don’t even need Windows Home Server to do it.

The only thing you need is an external hard drive that has enough space to store all the files you want. Obviously you can use more than one drive if you need to – just back up some files to one drive and then replace the drive and repeat.

You could also use an internal hard drive, but depending on your actual Windows Home Server hardware it may be a pain to add and remove the drives as and when you want to back up.

The following are the steps you need to perform in order to back up your files to a drive.

ADDING AN EXTERNAL DRIVE TO USE

Start up the Windows Home Server Console, as you would normally,

If you click on the Server Storage tab you will see all the drives you currently have attached. In the case of the example below, I have four internal hard drives.

Plus in the external hard drive. You will notice it will appear as Not Added in the Non Storage Hard Drives area.

You need to add it in order to use it. So, right click on the drive and then click on Add.

This will launch the Add a New Hard Drive Wizard, so just click Next to continue.

If you have ever added a hard drive to Windows Home Server you are probably already familiar with this wizard, only this time you are going to select the Use the hard drive to back up files that are stored on your home server option. Then click Next to continue.

You then have to decide if you want to format the hard drive or preserve the existing data. Now the choice is yours, providing the drive is large enough you could always keep multiple backups on it, but in the case of this guide I am going to format the drive so that it only contains today’s backup. Click Next to continue after you have chosen.

You are asked to enter a memorable name for the drive. By default ARCHIVE is entered for you. This is as good a name as any, but you could always change it if you wanted. Just click Next to continue after you have decided.

You are then presented with a summary – just click Finish to continue. Just remember though if you chose to format the drive you will lose anything that is currently stored on it.

The drive will then be formatted.

When that is completed you will see the New Hard Drive Successfully Added screen. Just click Done to finish.

As you can now see, the new external hard drive has been added to the Server Backup Hard Drives area.

BACKING UP YOUR FILES TO THE EXTERNAL DRIVE

So now that the drive has been added and is ready to use, you now need to tell Windows Home Server what files you want to back up to it.

Click on the Computers and Backups tab. You will now notice a new computer entry – your Windows Home Server. And in the case of mine, it is showing as Not backed up – which it would do as we haven’t run the back up yet!

Click on your Windows Home Server from the list, and then click Backup Now.

You will be presented with a list of all the shared folders on your Windows Home Server.

Work through the list and select the destination (in this case the drive called ARCHIVE) if you want to back it up. By default none of the folders are selected. If you want to perform the same backup at a later stage, you can select the Remember these settings for future backups option. When you have chosen everything you want to back up click the Backup Now button.

The backup will now commence – the time it takes will depend on the amount of data you want to backup, along with the speed of your external drive. You can watch the progress if you wish.

When the backup is complete, you will receive notification. Just click Close to finish.

As you will see, your Windows Home Server is now showing as Backed Up.

REMOVING THE BACKUP DRIVE

Now that you have backed up all the files you want to keep elsewhere, it is time to remove the backup drive from Windows Home Server. You could just pull the drive out but that is messy, and you really don’t want to do that.

So what you do want to do is click on the Server Storage tab again, click on the external hard drive and this time select Remove.

You will then be given the option of Temporarily removing it or Stop using it. In my case I want to stop using it so that I can just store it offsite for a rainy day.

Make your selection and click OK.

Now all you need to do is remove the drive, package it up to keep it safe and take it wherever it is that you want to take it.

ACCESSING THE BACKUPS

Now let’s say you want to access the backups for whatever reason. It is very simple to do and you don’t need Windows Home Server, so you can access the files from any computer you like.

Plug in the drive to your computer. In my case I am prompted with the AutoPlay dialog box. So I just click Open folder to view files.

You will then be presented with a folder with the date and time of the backup. If you stored more than one backup on the drive then you will see multiple folders here. Just double-click on the folder you want to access.

You will then see a folder called Shares – just double-click it to open it.

In this folder you will see all the folders you backed up previously, all neatly arranged for you. Now you can do whatever it is you wanted to do with the files.

And that is it. As you have seen it is easy to add an external drive, backup your shared files, store the drive someone else and access it again at a later date if you need to.

Offsite backup should be a very important part of your backup regime. Just remember that it is all well and good that your Windows Home Server is backing up your computers for you, but what happens to your stored and shared files that live on your WHS?

For the cost of an external drive, which is very cheap compared the loss of your most precious data, shouldn’t you be doing this now?

Review of WHS Doctor for Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

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May 17, 2009

1

Srictly speaking WHS Doctor is not actually a Windows Home Server Add-In, but a completely stand-alone program that can provide some very useful information about your Windows Home Server.

Now that we have gotten the semantics out of the way, let’s take a look at WHS Doctor.

WHS Doctor is written by Alexander Kent and is designed as an easy to use Windows Home Server diagnostics application.

Features:

System Information
BIOS Information
System Drivers
System Drivers PNP
Windows Services
Network Configuration
Windows Firewall
Windows Hosts File
Startup Programs
USB Controller
WHS Add-ins
WHS Files
WHS Console Log
Grid Junction Diagnostics
Tasks Overview

Unlike Add-ins, there is no installation required, all you have to do is run the application by double-clicking on wherever you saved it after you downloaded it.

To use it, just click the relevant box for the report you want to see and then click Run!

And that is pretty much all there is to this application. It is very quick and can provide some very useful information that saves you having to go to various different places to locate it.

Alexander is also seeking feedback and suggestions to make WHS Doctor better.

To download WHS Doctor, click here.

In-depth Review of the HP MediaSmart Server EX485 and EX487 Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

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May 17, 2009

17

So the HP MediaSmart Server EX485 and EX487 Windows Home Server has been available now since January 2009, and is the “follow up” to the hugely successful EX470 and EX475 models. I have been using the EX487 as my main production WHS for a few months now and figured it was about time to post the review.

For this review I have used the EX487, but the only difference between the EX485 and the EX487 is the amount of storage the server initially comes with.

The specification of the EX48x series is a little different to that of the previous EX47x series.

You will notice that the server is now completely black – it no longer has the silver top. Size wise they are both the same. Below is a picture of the HP MediaSmart Server EX range – from left to right, the EX475 and then the EX487.

SPECIFICATION

The actual specification of the EX48x series is as follows:

PROCESSOR
Intel Celeron 2.0 GHZ 64-bit processor

MEMORY
2GB of DDR2 DRAM

NETWORK SUPPORT
Built in 10/100/1000 RJ45 Ethernet

INTERFACES
4 USB 2.0 ports (1 on the front, 3 on the back)
1 eSATA port (on the back)

INTERNAL HARD DRIVES
1 SATA 7200 RPM 750 GB drive (the EX485 model)
2 SATA 7200 RPM 750 GG drives (the EX487 models)

SIZE
14 cm (W) x 25 cm (H) x 23 cm (D)

It is very good to see that HP have used a 64-processor in the EX48x series. Currently Windows Home Server is NOT 64-bit enabled, however way back when Microsoft first announced and then released Windows Home Server they stated that future versions of WHS may only be 64-bit, in which case this hardware would enable you to be able to upgrade to a future 64-bit version.

It is also good to see that HP have opted for 2GB of memory this time around, instead of the small, and frankly under resourced amounts the previous models had. After all, how many EX47x series owners upgraded the memory themselves? I remember when HP wouldn’t support you if you upgraded the memory, thankfully, they do now.

As mentioned earlier, the only difference between the EX485 and EX487 is the initial amount of storage it comes with. The EX485 only comes with a single drive, so those of you reading this who know Windows Home Server will immediately realise that with just a single drive you cannot have Folder Duplication enabled. So, the first thing you will want to do if you buy the EX485 is get yourself another hard drive if you want your shared files protected.

In fact, given that the price difference between the EX485 and EX487 is around $150 (based on the recommended retail price), you would be better off buying the EX485 and putting that $150 towards additional storage, especially given today’s storage prices!

Adding additional storage is a breeze thanks to the way HP have designed the MediaSmart servers. You just open the front door, press the red button the drive tray, slide it out, pop the new drive in, and slide it back. Simple.

As mentioned, the rear of the server contains 3 USB ports and an eSATA port. Unlike the EX47x series, this eSATA port cannot be used with a port multiplier, so you can only use a single drive unfortunately. I’m not sure why HP chose this approach as it limits the expansion possibilities.

UNPACKING AND CONNECTING

The box itself is quite small with everything coming very well packaged inside.

The contents of the box include the EX487 itself, the power cable, an Ethernet cable, some software CDs, a warranty book and the setup poster.

Plugging it in all shouldn’t take more than a few moments, now it’s time to switch it on and get it working.

INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING

There is not manual as such with the EX48x series, but when you run the installation CD you are given some online instructions, and you also have the now familiar HP MediaSmart Server Setup Poster to help guide you through what needs to be done.

The first thing that needs to be done after you have connected up the EX487 to both the power and your home network, and switched it on, is to install the Client software on one of your computers. This performs two functions, the first of which is install the Windows Home Server Connector software on your computer but also to enable you to configure your new Windows Home Server, with details such as the server name and admin password (but more on that in a moment).

After you pop the Software Installation CD in the drive, you then follow the usual steps to install the Windows Home Server Connector software. I won’t walk through all those steps again in this article, but I have included the screenshots for those of you who might be interested. Note the EX48x image on the installer.

So once you have go to this stage, then its time to configure the Windows Home Server itself. You have to do it via this method because there is no facilities available on the EX48x series for you to plug in a mouse, monitor and keyboard.

Again, I won’t bother with going through each and every step, although again I have included the screenshots for those of you who might be interested 🙂

Once you have completed these steps then you can log in to the Windows Home Server Console as normal.

Before you can access the Console though, you are prompted to perform a check to see if there are any HP MediaSmart software updates available.

At the time of writing, the version of the software that comes preinstalled requires updating to the 2.5 Update for the EX485 and EX487 in order to get some new features. I won’t bother to go into those new features in this article as the are covered in depth in the linked article above.

USING THE EX487 (or EX485 for that matter)

Having a look around the EX48x series version of the Windows Home Server Console, you will see the MediaSmart Server tab, with specific additions provided by HP, including an update Welcome screen.

By clicking on the Server Summary button you can see at a glance the status of your server.

Those of you familiar with the HP MediaSmart Servers will know that they come with additional software, and the EX48x series is no exception.

HP Photo Publisher which enables you to publish your photos to various online photo sharing sites.

HP Media Collector which automatically copies and organises media files from any of your computers.

Features for Mac, which basically includes support to use Apple’s Time Machine to backup files on your Apple Mac to your Windows Home Server and also to access shared folders from your Windows Home Server on your Mac. For more information on backing up your Apple Mac with your EX485 or EX487, click here.

Server for iTunes which enables you to store and publish your iTunes library and playlists on your network.

HP MediaSmart Server Online Backup which enables you to use an Amazon S3 account to backup your data outside of your home or office. But for this you do need an Amazon S3 account, so it is not free.

TwonkyMedia is used to stream your digital media on your home network to devices such as an Xbox 360 and also to provide remote streaming.

All of these additional features can be enabled or disabled depending on your own needs.

Having a look at the Shared Folders tab and the Server Storage tab shows you how much storage you have. Remember, if you have the EX485 then you only have one hard drive out of the box, which means no Folder Duplication, so maybe now is a good time to plug in that extra drive you have available? You will also notice a folder called Mac – that is for your Apple Mac Time Machine backups.

There are also the usual settings tabs for various HP specific options. I have included some screenshots here for people to have a look at.

The EX487 also comes preinstalled with two add-ins – the TwonkyMedia add-in as mentioned earlier, and also the HP MediaSmart Online Backup add-in, again, as mentioned earlier.

There is also an add-in available to install that is not installed by default – the McAfee Total Protection Service. So if you want to be protected by Antivirus you can easily install this add-in or use one of your own choosing.

As the EX487 comes preinstalled with Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, you will need to update to Power Pack 2 before doing much else.

Just go to the Settings tab, and click on Update Now to retrieve that, and any other updates that are available.

Depending on how many updates might be needed, this could take a little while.

CONCLUSION

It is probably fair to say that the original HP MediaSmart Servers were some of the best selling Windows Home Server’s on the market. They were well made, looked great, and had a host of additional software with them. The same can now be said of the new EX48x series, and when you take into account the higher specification in both the memory and the processor, that the processor is 64-bit and that there is even more additional software in the form of the 2.5 update, then it has to be said that this is a fantastic piece of kit.

As I mentioned at the start of the article, I have been using the EX487 for a few months now and in fact it is now my production Windows Home Server.

If you are looking to buy your first Windows Home Server, or want to upgrade from something else, then you can’t go wrong with the EX48x series. Although, to get the best value for money you should consider buying the EX485 and then some additional storage, especially that given the $150 saving you can easily buy a 1.5TB drive and still have change left over.
The HP MediaSmart Server EX48x series Windows Home Servers are available now in the US for $599 (for the EX485) and $749 (for the EX487). A lot of places are doing some very good discounts on them.

HP have now announced that the EX48x series will finally be coming to Europe later this year.

Adding mControl to Windows Home Server on a Friday night

Timothy Daleo

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May 16, 2009

19

WHS currently controls all of my files, photos and videos. In addition, WHS also controls my other computers, backs itself up, monitors it own power source, could shut itself down if needed and even send text messages to me when it needs attention. What else could it possibly do? Well I have decided that I am going to take the next step with Windows Home Server and give it control over my home.

mControl uses WHS as a platform to connect with modules that you attach to existing equipment in your house. For example, I currently have a timer attached to a light in the spare bedroom. This timer turns off and on based on where I put little plastic pins. Once mControl is added to WHS I can replace that timer with a Module that will allow WHS to control the light. How cool is that?

In addition to the WHS interface, mControl has multiple user interfaces such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media Center and Media Center Extenders, touch screens and Windows Mobile Clients.

mControl supports Vista, works with Insteon and Z-Wave devices and can also interface with your security system, cameras, thermostats and can even be programmed for voice controls.

They offer a free trial for mControl so there is no cost to check it out.

More information about mControl can be found at:

http://www.embeddedautomation.com/

Honestly, this is a semi-complex job and I would not suggest trying this if you are not comfortable making changes to your WHS via Remote Desktop or prone to getting pissed off easily.

In theory this is how it works:

Add mControl to your WHS
Connect your WHS to the electrical wiring in your home (with a PowerLinc USB modem)
Create a zone for the room in mControl
Tell mControl the address of the Module (each Module has a mini-MAC address like 0A.B6.13)
Unplug a light, put the Module into the wall where the light was plugged in, and then connect the light to the Module
Set up a schedule (macro) to turn the light on and off

Sounds easy enough. Lets set this pig on fire!

Equipment Needed:

mControl for Windows Home Server (download trial version)

Insteon PowerLinc Modem #2412U, USB ($80)

Insteon Plug-In Dimmer Module #2856D3B ($27 for bedroom light)

Insteon Appliance Module #2856S3B ($27 for living room light)

3 Beers (optional as always)

iTunes playing your favorite radio station

Notes:

I bought my equipment from http://www.smarthome.com . They have a whole crap-load of different equipment so I would suggest getting an idea of what you want to control in your home first before making the purchase. Start easy with a few lights and then work your way up to HVAC controls, intercoms, etc. There is a link on the side that says Beginner (Installs 10 minutes) that can give you some products that connect easily to your mControl system. The PowerLinc modem connects your WHS via USB to your house electrical system. You must have one (or similar) of these but you usually only need one. Each regular Module controls one outlet so you would need one for each light. Start small. I am starting with just two lights for this article. I also bought a light switch to control the office light and a sprinkler controller that I will add later.

Add-In Installation

Installing mControl as an Add-In is relatively straight forward. Open beer number one.

Download the file from http://www.embeddedautomation.com/EAHAmControlDownload.htm

Unzip the file, open the folder and find the Windows Home Server folder that contains the mControlWHS_Setup msi file.

Copy the msi file to the WHS Add-Ins folder on your server and open then WHS Console.

Click on Install and let the magic happen.

Your magic lasted on a few seconds? Mine too. If only everything had a “Time remaining” counter.

Ok, the Add-In is installed. So now what?

mControl Customization

Ok, there are FOUR CHANGES we need to do to mControl and WHS before we can start adding turning on and off the lights. In fact, I bet if you already have mControl working on your WHS you probably had to find out on your own how to make at least some of these changes.

DISCLAIMER: In no way am I telling you to not read the manual and follow their instructions, however, following the manual along with these steps may keep you from throwing a Module through a window!

The four changes are:

Change IIS access to WHS (optional but recommended)
Add mControl to the Firewall
Install USB link and modem drivers to WHS
Change the COM port in mControl to match WHS

Let us walk through each one…

CHANGE ONE (Optional but recommended)

By default, mControl is available to ALL external users. The interface to the mControl is on the main WHS page in your browser. If you want to restrict access to mControl then you must follow the directions below. If you are ok with everyone having access to mControl then you can skip this step. I allow a friend to access some folders on my WHS so I need to restrict access. If I did not, when he logs on to the server via the web, he could access mControl and start turning the lights on and off in my house from the other side of the world!

Remote Desktop to your WHS or use the Advanced Admin Console and go to “Administrative Tools” and access “Internet Information Services” (IIS)

Using the navigation tree locate mControl under “Default Web Site”. Right-click and select “Properties”

Select the “Directory Security” tab and click the “Edit…” button in the “Authentication and access control” section

Uncheck “Enable anonymous access” and select a “Authenticated access” method that works for you. For my situation I enabled “Integrated Windows authentication” so it recognizes me but blocks others from access.

When finished click on “OK” and OK/Apply out of the IIS windows making sure to save your changes.

Now we can test the access via the browser connection so open WHS via the web and you will see mControl on the right.

If you are “inside” your network you may get an authentication box immediately. Just enter your log in information again.

If you are outside your network the authentication should already be in place. Click on “mControl for WHS”

You should now see the mControl web interface but do not get too excited.

We still have more work to do so just close the browser window before you start messing with it.

CHANGE TWO

We now need to tell WHS that mControl needs to have access through the Windows Firewall.

Remote Desktop to your WHS or use the Advanced Admin Console, open your Firewall and select the “Exceptions” tab.

Click on the “Add Program…” button and browse to mServer.exe. On your WHS mServer.exe is located in the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mControl\server directory.

Click on “OK” and OK yourself out of the Windows Firewall.

Additional information about adding firewall exceptions to other client machines can be found at:

http://www.embeddedautomation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1393

CHANGE THREE

So now I have to download the drivers for the module that connects the WHS to the PowerLinc modem. I ordered the 2412U from SmartHome so the driver support is at:

http://www.smarthome.com/files/2412udrivers.zip

There is a whole list of stuff to do so be patient. This is from their Quick-Start Guide at:

http://www.smarthome.com/manuals/2412uqs.pdf

Be sure your PowerLinc Modem is not connected to your PC
Open a web browser, type in http://www.smarthome.com/files/2412udrivers.zip and hit enter – File Download dialog box will appear
Click “Save” and select a convenient location (like your desktop) and click “Save”
Locate the 2412udrivers.zip file on your PC, right click on it, and then click “Extract All…” (Note: Unzip process may vary, depending on your default unzip utility) – Extraction Wizard dialog box will appear
Click, “Next,” “Next,” and then “Finish.” – A folder containing “USB Drivers” will open
Double click on the folder “USB Drivers” and note the path of your drivers. It will be needed for steps 10 and 13
Plug PowerLinc Modem into an AC outlet, plug square end of included USB cable into PowerLinc Modem’s USB jack and rectangular end of USB cable into an available port on your PC. – Found New Hardware Wizard will appear
Select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click “Next”
Select “Search for the best driver in these locations” be sure the box “Include this location in the search:” is checked and then click “Browse”
Locate the folder “USB Drivers” from step 6, select it in the dialog box and then click “Ok” – Windows will search for the proper driver, then wizard will display Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard
Click “Finish” – Another Found New Hardware Wizard will appear
Select “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click “Next”
Select “Search for the best driver in these locations” be sure the box “Include this location in the search:” is checked and then click “Browse”
Locate the folder “USB Drivers” from step 6, select it in the dialog box and then click “Ok” – Windows will search for the proper driver, then wizard will display Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard
Click “Finish”
Congratulations! Your INSTEON PowerLinc Modem is ready to be used with your home automation software.

What about MY reality. Let us see how this goes.

I download the drivers and placed them in a folder on the server.

I then use the Advanced Admin Console to copy the drivers to the C: drive. Remember this location. You will need to find the folder in a few minutes.

Now, this is where I got screwed at first. I was in the Console and plugged the PowerLinc into the WHS. I should have been connected via the Remote Desktop Connection. Just like Dorothy, I missed the Wizard.

Disconnect from the Console and Remote Desktop to your WHS. Once you are on the WHS Desktop you are ready to go!

Plug the PowerLinc Modem into an AC outlet, plug the square end of the USB cable into PowerLinc Modem USB jack and the USB cable into your WHS.

From the SmartHome instructions:

The USB cable cannot be any longer than 10’ (6’ or less is recommended)
Do not plug PowerLinc Modem into a power strip or AC line filter

I plugged the PowerLinc Modem into the wall on the other side of my UPS.

Once you are in Remote Desktop and you connect the USB Modem the Add Hardware Wizard should come up. Click on the balloon, if necessary.

The firsts time I did this I was in the Console and did not see the New Hardware process. You can see below that I, again just like Dorothy, had to go back to the Wizard.

Choose to install from a specific location and click “Next”.

Find the location of the driver folder and let the Wizard complete the process.

Once the Wizard is completed you should get a screen that says “Click Finish to close the wizard”.

You should see a USB Serial Converter icon. Click “Finish”

You are not really finished though…

CHANGE FOUR

Now that you have connected your WHS directly to your house we need to verify the COM port and make sure that mControl has the same COM port information.

For those of you that are playing at home, the mControl manual says on Page 17 that “for the Power Line Modem 2412U (USB), you will need to load the associated driver, as provided by SmartHome. After loading the driver, the Power Line Modem 2412U will be available as a COM port.” You just did that but we need to verify the COM port number and make sure the WHS and mControl are synchronized to each other.

Remote Desktop to your WHS or use the Advanced Admin Console, open Administrative Tools and click on Device Manager.

On the right hand side in Device Manager find the “Ports (COM and LPT)” icon and expand it by clicking on the plus sign. Once it has expanded you should see the USB Serial Port (COM XX) where XX is the COM port you need to sync with the mControl in WHS. As you can see below my COM port is 3. Write this number down or carve it into your desk.

Close the Computer Management window.

Now you can finally click on the mControl Manager icon you have been seeing in your WHS Console. See it? Find the name of the Modem you are using (for me it is the INSTEON PowerLinc Controller) and double click on it. Once the “Edit Adapter Parameters” box opens you need to make sure that it says “SERIAL” in the “Connect Using” box and change the COM Port number to match the one from the Device Manager. This is the number on your desk or paper in front of you.

Once you have changed (or verified) the COM port settings Restart the mControl Manager by clicking on the light blue “Restart” just above the App Settings tab in the Console.

Once you have Restarted mControl is should show “mControl Service Running” in the lower left corner as shown in the picture above.

Further instructions on this process can be found at:

http://www.embeddedautomation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1358

We are almost done. The last step is to Restart your WHS for good measure. Open beer number two.

Creating Zones

Before you start plugging things in a driving your wife, husband or pets crazy with mControl we need to create zones.

From the Settings Menu you choose “Manage Zones”

You can add Zones at any time as you need them but I would suggest adding every room of your house first. I am adding the Living Room below. You can change the Zone Image to one of many preset pictures.

I am going to add most of the rooms now.

Creating Devices

Once you have created a Zone you add a device to that Zone. Each device is controlled by a Module. Each Module communicates through your home electrical wiring with your WHS.

Find the room you want to add a Module to and click on “Add Device”.

I am adding a simple On/Off Switch Module. Follow the manual that came with your Module plug in the Module and Light/Appliance/Etc.

Mental note: Make sure you get the address from the back of the device before you plug it in!

You enter the following data:

Name
Adapter Type
Module Type
Image
INSTEON Address (like a mini-MAC address)

When you have finished adding a device to a zone click on “Save”.

When you navigate back to Zone View you should now see your Module with your device on the right as shown below.

Now that you have connected a Module you should now be able to control the device. I have my wife stand in the Living Room looking at the light while I mouse click on and off. It turns on and off with each click.

“It works” I scream. She thinks I am nuts. She is probably right. I wonder if this is how Tesla felt.

Open beer number three and click on the light control a few more times just to make sure it is working properly!

Next weekend I will be back and walk you through adding another Module and adding macros to control multiple Modules.

See you next Friday night!

Timothy Daleo

Adding your DVD Library to a Windows Media Center PC with Windows Home Server on a Friday night

Timothy Daleo

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May 11, 2009

14

Background

Over the last few months I have been using a HP MediaSmart Connect x280n on our plasma in the living room with limited success. The extender works as designed but there are a few limits to it that are just driving me nuts. The first limit is the lack of a keyboard and mouse. Now I know that the remote does a good job of manoeuvring around, but when certain programs like MCE and Radio 365 kick you over to a web browser I get stuck and start yelling at the plasma. Why do we always yell at the monitor? It is the actual unit we should be yelling at. The second limit is not being about to run movies from my dvd library. The extender, by design, does not run VOB files and, although there is a published hack to get them to play, it requires too much work for my system and library size.

Since I want to play DVDs, and now Blu-ray, I figured that I could spend about the same for a PC instead of piecing together separate parts. I am moving the x280 to another room and just got a refurbished Dell Hybrid with Blu-ray for $449 to hook up to the plasma. Some of the great features of the Hybrid are the HDMI out, optical audio, Vista Ultimate, Blu-ray/DVD and a sleek look.

HP MediaSmart Connect x280n was $170, Sony Blu-ray from Best Buy would be $299, for a total $469 so it would be about the same price.

So, if you want an extender then go get one but I would argue that a PC running Windows Media Center (WMC) would do better overall. If a new PC is not an option you might look for a Blu-ray drive upgrade on one of your existing PCs.

Equipment Needed

Windows Home Server with Power Pack Two with Windows Media Center support

PC with Windows Media Center

1 Beer (optional)

Windows Media Center

I am not going to go into detail about WMC in this article but if you have not used WMC you are missing out. It took me a while to “like” it but now that I have figured it out I really enjoy it. If you only have one PC then the advantages are few but if you have a multi-PC network with WHS and some flat screens then this is the product for you!

You can find additional information on WMC at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/media-center.aspx

or see blog articles at:

https://moviesgamesandtech.com/category/windows-media-center/

For those of you that have not added your DVDs to your WHS you can see how to add them at:

http://homeservershow.com/luxs-media-management-part-1-dvd-library.html

Mental Note: Find out how to change the background in WMC. The MS website has a cool underwater background on their WMC!

Installation

My PC is new to my network so this is the first time I am running WMC. I have already installed the WHS connector and connected to my WHS.

When I first open the WMC it asks to update the Windows Home Server connector with the new WMC software.

Follow the prompts as shown below:

Enter your WHS password.

Let the process complete and it will then ask to restart.

If you want to see how Power Pack Two controls access to your WMC open up the WHS Console, click on Settings and click on Windows Media Center.

Once the computer has restarted you are ready to access WMC. By default you will notice that your DVD Library is not listed.

Mental Note: When WMC is in full screen the screen shots are black! Crap. See how I had to use an actual camera to show you the screen above? Well I discovered that if you take WMC out of full screen that the screen shots work! Just make sure you use ALT-Print Screen to just get the window you are actively using.

Configuration and Setup

You can walk through the process with me or view the directions at Microsoft. The directions (and an auto fix) to add the DVD Library view are listed here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930526

Microsoft says

“On a computer that is running Windows Vista, Windows Media Center displays DVD content that is stored on your computer in the DVD Library. However, the DVD Library is not automatically enabled. If it is not enabled, you cannot see your DVD content. This article helps you enable or disable the DVD Library feature in Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer.”

If Windows Media Center is running, close it.

Click Start

In the Start Search box type regedit.

In the Programs list, click regedit.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\DvdSettings

In the details pane, right-click ShowGallery, and then click Modify.

Delete the contents that appear in the Value data box.

In the Value data box, type “Gallery”, and then click OK.

Close Registry Editor (leave it expanded for now) and restart your computer.

Once you have restarted your PC open up WMC. If Media Center now displays “DVD Library” instead of “Play DVD” you are finished! If it does not you may have changed the wrong registry setting. Go back and check what you changed or use the auto fix from Microsoft.

Click on dvd library. You will probably notice a couple of sample movie clips already in the WMC. You can ignore them or delete them.

We need to add the WHS location and tell WMC where to go.

You have to right-click Add folders to see content.

Click on Add folder to watch and then Next

Click on Add shared folders from another computer and then Next

You should now see your server folders as choices. Check the folder(s) where you store your videos. I keep all of mine only in the Videos folder.

Click Next.

WMC will now add the folder. Click on Finish.

Once you have finished this process your DVDs will now be available in WMC. You might need to give it a minute depending on the speed of your connection and the amount of movies you have on your WHS. WMC will give you a count on the lower right corner. As you can see I have added about 25 of my 150 plus DVDs. Each DVD takes about 20 minutes to add so I add three or four each weekend. My Blu-ray titles are too large to upload so I play those directly from the Dell Hybrid.

Conclusion

The Windows Media Center is a great application for viewing DVDs, pictures and playing music. It takes a while to get used to the interface but once you do you will see the advantages.

I hope you found this article interesting and useful. If anyone has questions I will respond to the posts.

See you next Friday night.

Timothy Daleo

HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Windows Home Server Now Available to buy

Andrew Edney

-

May 10, 2009

2

HP announced the launch of their new MediaSmart Server LX195 Windows Home Server a couple of weeks ago, and it is now available to buy in the US.

You can order from a number of sources, including Amazon.

So what are you waiting for?

HP to release MediaSmart Server 2.5 Update for EX470 and EX475 Owners and the EX485, EX487 and LX195 in Europe

Andrew Edney

-

May 5, 2009

12

Terry over at We Got Served has published a press release from HP announcing that HP have now changed their minds and will release the MediaSmart Server 2.5 Update for all those owners of the EX470 and EX475 despite saying they wouldn’t. This is great news. It won’t be available as a download, you will need to order the DVDs through HP Support later this year. I assume that is to stop people who DONT want it from accidently getting it.

Also HP have announced that the EX485, EX487 and the newly launched LX195 will be launched in Europe, also later this year. Again, great news for all of us who live outside of the US – thanks HP 🙂

More specific dates will be published when we know them.

The complete press release is below:

HP Announces Software Upgrades and European Availability for MediaSmart Servers

We have two updates to share with our MediaSmart Server communities.

We have listened to the customer feedback on wegotserved.co.uk, mediasmartserver.net, mediasmarthome.com and other popular Windows Home Server blogs related to our recent software update availability. Based on this feedback, we are working to provide a supported path to allow customers to update all generations of their EX Series and LX Series MediaSmart Server products to the current software version.

Due to the generational differences of our platform architectures, we will not be providing the updated software as traditional downloads. Instead, we will provide complete server image DVD’s through HP support in the same manner as replacement DVD’s are provided today. We expect that there will be certain hardware limitations and/or trade-offs for the various platforms that will be detailed once the new server DVD’s are available.

Timing is tentatively scheduled in Fall 2009. We understand customers would like these updates sooner, but this timing is necessary to adequately develop and test these new software images. As we get further along in our development, we will provide an updated timetable.

We have also read the inquiries regarding European availability of the MediaSmart Server products. We are pleased to announce that our European customers can expect to see our LX and EX series products for sale in Europe. Targeted availability is Fall 2009.

We thank everyone for their continued support of the MediaSmart Server products and appreciate the continued feedback.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Now Available to Download

Microsoft

Andrew Edney

-

May 5, 2009

2

Microsoft announced recently that on the 5th May 2009 they would make the Windows 7 Release Candidate available to the public for download. Well, today is the 5th and it is out there and ready for download. Those of you who have MSDN and TechNet have had a few extra days as it was made available last week.

Microsoft have made available both the 32bit and 64bit editions of Windows 7 Ultimate for you to play with, but if you were looking for a different version you won’t be able to get it.

I love Windows 7, it is so much better than previous versions of Windows 🙂

Anyway, if you want to download Windows 7 and try it for yourself, click here.

How to Install or Remove the Windows Home Server Connector Software

Andrew Edney

-

May 4, 2009

23

The Windows Home Server Connector software must be installed on any computer that you want to use to connect to Windows Home Server either to manage your WHS or to have WHS backup that computer.

The Windows Home Server Connector performs the following functions:

• Connects your computer to your Windows Home Server
• Automatically backs up your home computer on a daily basis
• Monitors the health of your home computer
• Enables you to manage your Windows Home Server from your computer

You can install the Windows Home Server Connector on any of the following Windows operating
systems and their variants:

Windows Vista Operating System (minimum requirements)
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Enterprise
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Windows XP Operating System (minimum requirements)
• Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Windows XP Professional with SP2
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP2 and Rollup 2
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with SP2
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 with SP2
• Windows XP Tablet Edition with SP2

The Windows Home Server Connector will also work on the beta of Windows 7.

Also, if you are running Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 or higher then you can also install the Windows Home Server Connector software on a 64bit version of either Windows Vista or Windows 7, but not Windows XP.

Installing the Windows Home Server Connector

This section shows you how to install the Windows Home Server Connector on each computer.

If you have the Windows Home Server Connector CD available, start
at Step 1 and then skip to Step 9. If you don’t have the Windows Home Server Connector CD
available, you can connect to the Software share on your Windows Home Server, because a
copy of the Windows Home Server Connector software is placed there automatically during
the installation of Windows Home Server. Start at Step 2 to connect to the Software share on
your Windows Home Server and run the Setup program.

It is important to note that there may be a later version of the Windows Home Server Connector software residing on your Windows Home Server, so whenever possible use this rather than any CD you might have.

For this walk-through I am using the Windows Home Server Connector software that was updated as part of the HP MediaSmart Server 2.5 Update, but the steps are the same, or very similar for any version. When installing the Connector software from HP, the MediaSmart Console is also installed.

1. Insert the Windows Home Server Connector CD into the drive. In the AutoPlay dialog
box, shown in Figure 4-1, click the Run setup.exe option. (If you do not see this dialog
box, then locate the CD drive folder manually and double-click Setup.exe.) You may
then also be asked to confirm your permission to run the program, in which case click
Continue. Next, skip to Step 9.

2. Click the Start button and then click Network to view all of the available computers
and devices on your home network, as shown below.

3. Double-click the computer that represents your Windows Home Server (ATLANTIS in
the example shown above).

4. Enter the username and password to access your Windows Home Server (if you have already set up a user account and password that matches the one you are using on the current machine you won’t be asked for this), and then click OK to continue.

Don’t forget that the username is “administrator” and the password is the one you created during
the Windows Home Server post-configuration steps.

5. You are presented with all the shared folders that are available on your Windows Home
Server, including Music, Photos, and Videos. Double-click the Software shared folder to continue.

6. You are presented with the contents of the Software shared folder. Double-click the Home Server Connector Software folder to continue.

7. You are presented with the contents of the Home Server Connector Software folder. Double-click the Setup icon to start the installation process.

8. You may be presented with an Open File – Security Warning dialog box. This dialog box advises you that a file is attempting to run and asks you to confirm that you want to run it. Click the Run button to continue.

9. When you see the Welcome to the Windows Home Server Connector screen click Next to continue.

10. Read the End-User License Agreement and click the I Accept the Terms of the License Agreement radio button and then click Next to continue. Of course, if you don’t accept the terms, you can’t continue the installation, so what choice do you really have?

11. The installation commences and you can monitor the progress.

This completes this part of the installation phase of the Windows Home Server Connector. You next
need to configure it, as described in the following section.

Configuring the Windows Home Server Connector

After the Windows Home Server Connector installation has completed, you will see the Welcome Screen. Click Next to continue.

The wizard automatically tries to locate your Windows Home Server. This process can be
quick or it can take a few minutes—it all depends on your home network.

If for some reason the wizard cannot find your Windows Home Server, you will be given the option of searching again or finding your home server manually.

It is always a good option to try and search again, if it still cannot find it, check that you have all the network cables correctly plugged in and your Windows Home Server is switched on. If you want to try searching manually you can just type in the name of your Windows Home Server.

If you still cannot find it, then consult the troubleshooting documentation or go to the Windows Home Server Forum’s on TechNet for more help.

Assuming the wizard locates your Windows Home Server, you will be asked to enter the password for the administrator account and then click Next. If you have forgotten the password, and you entered a useful hint during installation and configuration of your Windows Home Server, you can click the Password Hint button for a gentle reminder.

You will then be asked if you want to automatically wake up the computer to back it up if it is in either sleep mode or hibernation mode, or only back it up when it is switched on. Make your choice and click Next to continue.

The wizard will then join your computer to the Windows Home Server, which means that it is added to the list of computers being monitored and automatically configure a backup for you, which you can of course change later on. Just click Next to continue when this has completed.

And that is it – the connector configuration is now complete. Just click Finish and you are done.

You can now launch the Windows Home Server Console and do whatever you need to do.

Removing the Windows Home Server Connector

You may decide that you no longer want to use the Windows Home Server Connector software
on a particular computer.

Removing the Windows Home Server Connector software from your computer doesn’t remove that computer from the list of computers shown in the Console, but you wont be able to backup that computer again, or at least until you reinstall the Windows Home Server Connector again.

You can easily remove the Windows Home Server Connector from a computer by following these simple steps:
1. On the computer you want to remove the Windows Home Server Connector from, click
the Start button and open the Control Panel.

2. Select Uninstall a Program from the Programs group.

3. Highlight the Windows Home Server Connector in the list of programs and click Uninstall.

4. When prompted, just click Yes to start the uninstall process. You may be asked to confirm your choice again. Just say yes.

And that is it, the Windows Home Server Connector software is now removed from your computer.

This Week in the World of Windows Home Server

Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

-

May 3, 2009

0

So this is a new “feature” – rather than post each and every time something happens that isn’t necessarily big news, or someone posts an interesting article on another site, I thought I would just do a weekly round up post, that way if it’s interesting you can go off and read it, and if you are not interested, it’s easy to skip. Anything really big or interesting will continue to get posted straight away.

Obviously the biggest WHS news this week is the announcement that HP are releasing a new HP MediaSmart Server next week called the LX195. The LX195 is a single drive model that comes with an Intel Atom processor and retails in the US for $399. To read the review and in-depth walkthrough we wrote, click here.

Do you have an Apple Mac? Would you like to run the Windows Home Server Console on it? Well the Windows Home Server Team Blog has posted an article on how you can do it. To read the article click here.

Donavon over at HomeServerHacks posted one of his usual excellent articles on how to upgrade your MediaSmart Server – this time how to upgrade the memory on the new HP MediaSmart LX195. Whilst it really is not that difficult, and is nowhere near as fiddly as the previous versions, it nice to have a simple walkthrough with lots of pretty pictures to guide you if you are not sure. To read the article and look at the pictures, click here.

My good friend David over at the HomeServerShow posted an interesting article on how to use Google Analytics with your Windows Home Server so that you can tell who is viewing your WHS Front End. To read the article click here. And whilst you are there, drop David a congratulations email on the arrival of his new son 🙂

And finally, if you are upset that HP haven’t released the HP MediaSmart Server 2.5 Update for the EX470 or EX475 then you can go read how to hack the update and your MSS on MediaSmartServer.net and get it running. To read the article click here. A big word of caution here though folks – this is completely unsupported, may in fact break your MSS, and could also mean that any legitimate updates, such as the forthcoming update to deliver Apple Time Machine and also Amazon S3 support to the EX470 and EX475, may not work. You have been warned! Just ask yourself the simple question – do I really need those add-ins, and if I do, can I get something similar without risking my box?

Adding a new drive to Windows Home Server with the Disk Management Add-In on a Friday night

Windows Home Server

Timothy Daleo

-

May 3, 2009

2

Background

I do not have a lot of time to write tonight so I am going to talk briefly about something cool that Disk Management Add-In can do. I want to show you how you can add a WHS disk and make the Wireframe modification through the Disk Management Add-In. Usually with Windows Home Server you must use the Server Storage tab to add new drives. Read on to find out how you can use the Disk Management Add-In as an alternative to the Server Storage tab.

Adding new drives never gets old to me. I love to back up my Windows Home Server. Seriously.

Equipment Needed

External Hard Drive

One Beer (optional)

One episode of IT Crowd v3

Add-In Description

Windows Home Server Disk Management Add-In was created by Sam Wood at Tentacle software. The Tentacle website is at:

http://www.tentaclesoftware.com/

According to the website it features:

Detailed information for each disk in your Windows Home Server
Real-time temperature and activity monitoring
Capacity indicators for individual disks
Customizable disk names
Customizable 3D wireframe representation of your server

Download and Installation

You probably already have the Add-In but a full description of the download, installation and my first Disk Management article can be found at:

https://moviesgamesandtech.com/2009/04/19/installing-the-disk-management-add-in-on-windows-home-server-on-a-friday-night/

Configuration and Setup

I have an external drive from a previous life that I want to attach to my WHS. I have drives from every stage of my life actually. One of my favorites is a Caviar 1365 from WD that I have from 1995. 365.3 MB in a 3.5” form factor. The cheap video card I just bought has more memory. Boy how things have changed. Anyway I have this drive, a WD 320GB USB drive, and I want to use it for off-site backups. I mention backing up every few articles because I feel it is so important. With WHS backup and the BDBB you can store your WHS backup AND all of your PC images on an external drive and then take that drive away from your network. I rotate two drive to my parents house. Every time I go and see them I take my latest drive and change it with what ever drive I had last left with them. Seriously, for like $120 for both drives I am totally covered with backups.

I digress. Back to adding the drive…

I Made a Boo Boo

Once I attached the drive it showed up immediately with “Attention Required” in the Disk Management Add-In. WTF? I select the drive anyway and click on the “Add” button near the top left.

You get the choice to add it to the pool or keep it as a backup disk. I choose backup. Come on baby…

I click on Next but I get an error message. The error says that the selected disk is not mounted or has no valid partition. Crap. I forgot to initialize the drive and format it before I connected it to the WHS.

When I store a drive from a “previous life” I always write ones and zeros to the drive to prevent data from ever being recovered. The drawback to this process is that it requires initialization prior to being used again. My bad. Sorry WHS and Disk Management.

I have two choices at this point for initialization and formatting. I can use the Advanced Admin Console or I can just disconnect the drive and do a quick format on my desktop PC. I will choose the desktop option and be right back.

Ok, I am back. Drive quick formatted. It was actually faster to use my PC then to use the WHS.

I now see the drive under “Unmanaged Disks”. Very cool. You can see red in the picture below since I disconnected the other drive. I select the new drive and click on “Add”. Let the games begin.

I have a choice of adding the drive to the pool or as a backup again. I choose backup.

I will have WHS format the drive. Why could it have not done it for me?

I get to choose a name now. I like names with the drive location, manufacturer and drive size but feel free to name your drive something easy to remember like “ShietBox500”, “SlowAss”, “HotMamaPics” or even “MyLilGBMoFo”.

Confirm that only you are responsible for what is about to happen.

You drive is now ready after seeing a quick progress bar. Speaking of a bar it is time for another beer. My beer to screen shot ratio is improving. Is that something to be proud of?

Now that your drive is added to WHS it is time to update your Wireframe. Once you click on the icon in the upper right that says “Open Settings dialog” the Wireframe Diagram box opens. This is basically the same as clicking on Settings and scrolling down, by the way. If you have a current Wireframe then click on “Edit Current Wireframe”. If you do not have a current Wireframe, then, well, I guess you are done.

You should see your current Wireframe. Click on “Add a new drive bay” then check the Advanced Mode check box and click on the little arrow to the right.

Mental note: Did you click on the OK button and have to start over? It is “OK” cause I do it all the time!

The next step is to choose the drive bay type, then click on “External drive bay” and finally click on the arrow again. I hope in future versions of this Add-In that they would change the arrows to “Next” or “Back”.

The next step is to choose the drive closest to where you want the new drive. Choose the “Drive bay position” and then use the Movement arrows to move your drive to the right orientation. Speaking of Orientation, did you all see Lost on Wednesday? Is Faraday really dead? If so, will he talk to Miles to save the Losties?

Now here is the cool part of the Wireframe. When you click on the drive path you should see the actual path to your drive with the name. I love this part. I am easily impressed. Seriously.

Click the right arrow. Stop trying to click “OK” already.

We are almost done. Do not quit on me now. Only four more screen shots.

You should now see a new green drive and need to name it again. Not sure why you need to use the “Name/text” but if a field is blank I always try and fill it in. I am programmed and have issues I guess. Need a few more beers before I bring those issues up. Click on the right arrow. Stop trying to click “OK” already. Seriously.

You should now see your new drive in the Wireframe diagram. Congratulations you are the proud owner of a brand new baby Wireframe.

Now you can finally click “OK” to complete the process. I can see the new drive right where I wanted it.

I will now click on the Server Storage tab to verify everything is correct. Of course it will be correct but I am programmed to check everything.

Looks marvellous Lucy.

Conclusion

I like using the Disk Management Add-In to add drives because it helps me remember to update my Wireframe while I am actually in the Add-In. I have had wonderful time using it and it requires very little resources. This is a great Add-In and I hope if you do not have it already that you go and get it. Go get it now. Seriously.

See you next Friday night.

Timothy Daleo

Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer Edition Giveaway Results

Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

-

May 2, 2009

0

Last week, I reviewed Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer Edition for Windows Home Server. At the end of the review I said I would giveaway 5 full licences of Diskeeper 2009 HomeServer Edition to our readers, and all you had to do was send me an email with a suggestion.

As usual with our giveaways, we had lots of responses, so thank you 🙂

This time, the lucky winners are:

Robert Hegglov from Sweden

Joseph Nell

Kelly Atkinson from New Zealand

Steve Buffone from OH, USA

G. Bujold from Canada

Congratulations! Your licences will be winging their way to you over the next few days, so check your inboxes.

For those who didn’t win this time, don’t worry, I have plenty of things to giveaway over the coming weeks, so stay tuned to UsingWindowsHomeServer.com for your chance to win!

Critical Update turns out to be Internet Explorer 8 for Windows Home Server

Phil Bevan

-

May 1, 2009

5

Introduction

Tonight I was greeted by my Home Server announcing that it had a critical update that just *had* to be installed. I wasn’t happy with clicking the Install Updates button in the Home Network Health dialog so I logged into my Home Server via Remote Desktop and had a look for the Windows Update icon to see what it so urgently needed to install.

Turns out it was Internet Explorer 8, not exactly a critical update in my opinion after all I don’t use the internet from my Home Server. Still I can understand why they’d want to force the update onto users, that way installations of IE6 and IE7 would be lowered and critical updates that people haven’t installed would most likely get installed as part of IE8.

Still I’m not exactly happy to install an internet browser on a server appliance, it’s just not something you do from servers. Here’s hoping that the next version of Windows Home Server is like the Core Version of Windows 2008 Server….

Installation

Installation was painless with just a couple of questions (no I don’t want to participate in the gathering of installation ‘metrics’ and yes you SHOULD install updates) and about three minutes later installation is complete and I find that a reboot is required. And I mean required, Windows will prompt you to reboot after the update installs and will continue to do so until you do.

Reboot and then all is well, Network Health upgraded from the Red Critical that not having installed the update gives and all is well once more. I can safety NOT browse the internet from my Home Server, safe in the knowledge that Internet Explorer 8 is installed and protecting me from all the things on the internet that my Home Server NEVER sees…. sarcasm in that last line, NEVER!

Conclusion

I can understand the forcing of the installation but it still doesn’t mean I like being forced to upgrade a component on a server that I believe shouldn’t exist in the first place. But enough of my bitching, then again I’m not the only one. Check out the following links for more information on this update, should you so wish, but remember to install it there *ARE* security updates to core components of your Home Server that will, hopefully, prevent you being exploited and ‘zombified’ in the future:

Microsoft to require opt-in for installing IE8		http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10218185-56.html
Is IE8 worth installing	Yes	http://www.pcworld.com/article/163902/ie_8_its_security_is_worth_the_download.html
	No	http://blogs.computerworld.com/why_you_should_not_install_internet_explorer_8
How to keep IE8 off of your computer		http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/01/06/ie8-blocker-toolkit-available-today.aspx

Update:

As reported by several people as well as the authors own investigation it is correct that this “Critical Update” indeed does break the Advanced Admin Console add-in. Until this issue is resolved it is recommended that you either remove the Advanced Admin Console add-in or do not install the update until this issue is resolved.

If you do choose not to install the update Using Windows Home Server cannot be held responsible for any issues arising from not having the update installed.

In-depth review of the HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

-

Apr 30, 2009

29

There have been rumours floating around for the last few weeks about a new HP MediaSmart Server, known as the LX195. Well, these rumours are true. HP today announced the impending release of their next HP MediaSmart Server, and yes, it’s called the LX195, which is a departure from the EX series that are currently available.

The specification of the LX195 is a little different to that of any of the EX series. For a start, you will notice that it is visibly smaller. This is partly because it only contains a single hard drive, and doesn’t have the capability to add additional internal hard drives, but also because there is an external power supply, compared to the built-in power supply on the EX series.

Also, you will notice that is doesn’t have the sleek shiny black surface that the EX series had, but instead it has a series of ridges which help with the cooling, and the box itself is a dark gray. Below is a picture of the 3 different HP MediaSmart Servers – from left to right, the EX475, the EX487 and now the LX195.

SPECIFICATION

The actual specification of the LX195 is as follows:

PROCESSOR	Intel Atom 1.6 GHz Processor 230
MEMORY	1GB of DDR2 DRAM
NETWORK SUPPORT	Built in 10/100/1000 RJ45 Ethernet
INTERFACES	4 USB 2.0 ports (on the back)
INTERNAL HARD DRIVES	1 SATA 7200 RPM 640 GB drive

So HP have decided for this smaller variant to go with the Intel Atom processor. And yes, there is only room for a single built-in hard drive in the chassis, which is a definite departure from the EX series. However there are 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back of the LX195 which you can use to connect external hard drives to (make sure that the minimum size drive you connect is 100 GB though as anything less is not supported).

Those of you reading this who know Windows Home Server will immediately realise that with just a single drive you cannot have Folder Duplication enabled. So, the first thing you will want to do is get yourself a decent external hard drive if you want your shared files protected.

UNPACKING AND CONNECTING

The box itself is quite small with everything coming very well packaged inside.

The contents of the box include the LX195 itself, the power cable and power supply (a change to the previous models), an Ethernet cable, some software CDs, a warranty book and the setup poster.

Plugging it in all shouldn’t take more than a few moments, now it’s time to switch it on and get it working.

INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING

There is not manual as such with the LX195, but when you run the installation CD you are given some online instructions, and you also have the now familiar HP MediaSmart Server Setup Poster to help guide you through what needs to be done.

The first thing that needs to be done after you have connected up the LX195 to both the power and your home network, and switched it on, is to install the Client software on one of your computers. This performs two functions, the first of which is install the Windows Home Server Connector software on your computer but also to enable you to configure your new Windows Home Server, with details such as the server name and admin password (but more on that in a moment).

After you pop the Software Installation CD in the drive, you then follow the usual steps to install the Windows Home Server Connector software. I won’t walk through all those steps again in this article, but I have included the screenshots for those of you who might be interested. Note the LX195 image on the installer.

So once you have go to this stage, then its time to configure the Windows Home Server itself. You have to do it via this method because there is no facilities available on the LX195 for you to plug in a mouse, monitor and keyboard.

Again, I won’t bother with going through each and every step, although again I have included the screenshots, but the one interesting thing to point out though which is a change from HP’s other models is that the server name is already entered as HPSERVERLX instead of the usual HPSERVER. You can of course change this if you so wish.

Once you have completed these steps then you can log in to the Windows Home Server Console as normal.

Before you can access the Console though, you are prompted to perform a check to see if there are any HP MediaSmart software updates available.

At the time of writing, the version of the software that comes preinstalled, 2.1.1.25860 is the latest version to work on the LX195, so before anyone asks, the 2.5 Update for the EX485 and EX487 is not found and installed for you.

USING THE LX195

One thing you will notice, or rather you won’t notice is the noise. The LX195 is extremely quiet, in fact it is so quiet you will barely hear it, which cannot really be said about the EX series, although to be fair, the EX series had more hard drives and different power requirements. And the EX series wasn’t really that loud either!

Having a look around the LX195 version of the Windows Home Server Console, you will see the MediaSmart Server tab, with specific additions provided by HP, including an update Welcome screen.

By clicking on the Server Summary button you can see at a glance the status of your server.

Those of you familiar with the HP MediaSmart Servers will know that they come with additional software, and the LX195 is no exception.

You basically get the same software you did with the pre 2.5 Updated EX485 and EX487 series, so that is:

HP Photo Publisher which enables you to publish your photos to various online photo sharing sites.

HP Media Collector which automatically copies and organises media files from any of your computers.

Features for Mac, which basically includes support to use Apple’s Time Machine to backup files on your Apple Mac to your Windows Home Server and also to access shared folders from your Windows Home Server on your Mac.

Server for iTunes which enables you to store and publish your iTunes library and playlists on your network.

HP MediaSmart Server Online Backup which enables you to use an Amazon S3 account to backup your data outside of your home or office. But for this you do need an Amazon S3 account, so it is not free.

TwonkyMedia is used to stream your digital media on your home network to devices such as an Xbox 360 and also to provide remote streaming.

All of these additional features can be enabled or disabled depending on your own needs.

Having a look at the Shared Folders tab and the Server Storage tab reminds you that you only have one hard drive out of the box, which means no Folder Duplication, so maybe now is a good time to plug in that external drive you have available?

There are also the usual settings tabs for various HP specific options.

The LX195 also comes preinstalled with two add-ins – the TwonkyMedia add-in as mentioned earlier, and also the HP MediaSmart Online Backup add-in, again, as mentioned earlier.

There is also an add-in available to install that is not installed by default – the McAfee Total Protection Service. So if you want to be protected by Antivirus you can easily install this add-in or use one of your own choosing.

As the LX195 comes preinstalled with Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, you will need to update to Power Pack 2 before doing much else.

Just go to the Settings tab, and click on Update Now to retrieve that, and any other updates that are available.

CONCLUSION

It is very interesting to see a single drive Windows Home Server, mainly because you don’t have the ability to enable Folder Duplication out of the box. However it is very easy to add a USB drive to enable this. I think that more and more people want a cheap, simple solution just to back up their computers and may not want to share their content, in which case a single drive Windows Home Server is just fine.

The price point for the LX195 is $399 which is very good, and obviously is the cheapest of the HP MediaSmart Server series. The next current model up, the EX485 retails at $599 before rebates and other discounts, although you can get it at least $50 less at the time of writing from the HP Store, and possibly cheaper if you search around online. So the question is really is it worth paying that little bit more to get a more internally expandable server, and also one with the new 2.5 Update software for video conversion and support for iPhones? Well that is a question that only you can answer. Do you need those additions, or do you want a cheap and cheerful Windows Home Server?

I have to say I really like the LX195, it’s small, quiet and cheap. It does everything I need to do within the confines of it’s hardware. If I want to do more, then I have the option of buying a bigger Windows Home Server. The only thing I would add though is that I think HP should have shipped it with 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB, but that is easily resolved!

The other point to note is that Acer are currently launching their Acer Aspire easyStore Windows Home Server, that will also retail for $399, but includes double the amount of storage, with the ability to add more internal storage as well. So which will do better? Frankly I think it is a great thing that the price of Windows Home Server’s are coming down and that the choice of hardware is increasing, well done!

The HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Windows Home Server will be released next week (1st week of May) in the US for $399. Once again, no word on a European release so watch this space.