For those of you not using the English language version of Windows Home Server, Microsoft have now released a German, French and Spanish version of Power Pack 1. These will all be included in the automatic Windows Updates from 12th August but if you really want it now you can use the following links to download:
If you are anxious to have Power Pack 1 on your home servers, then you can use the following links to find the German, French, and Spanish Power Pack 1 update packages:
Just a quick one to say that the September 2008 issue of Windows Vista The Official Magazine has an article on home storage and mentions WHS, along with a blurb written by me on WHS, with the one of the worst pictures of me ever! Enjoy 🙂
This week saw the release of the long awaited Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, which includes not only support for 64 bit Vista, but also the fix for the data corruption bug. You can download this Power Pack now, or wait a few weeks for it to appear via Windows Update.
Here is what Microsoft had to say:
The team is pleased to announce that Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and is now available on the Microsoft Download Center!
The English version is available now and German, Spanish and French versions will be available on the Download Center soon. Windows Home Server customers who don’t download it on their own will receive Power Pack 1 via Windows Update in August, and the new Chinese and Japanese versions will RTM in August, too.
As many know, Power Pack 1 provides a range of new enhancements, including support for home computers running Windows Vista x64 editions, backup of home server Shared Folders, improvements to remote access, more efficient power consumption and improved performance. And, of course, it delivers a fix for the data corruption bug. Documentation for Power Pack 1 (Build #1800, to those who have been part of the beta testing) is available here.
Our OEM partners will be updating their systems with Power Pack 1 and HP will release a software update for the HP MediaSmart Server, delivering enhanced media streaming capabilities from PacketVideo, server-side anti-virus from McAfee and compatibility with 64-bit home PCs.
Windows Home Server can now be purchased in 50 countries worldwide. And a growing ecosystem of third-party software developers have released or announced approximately 60 Add-in programs extending Windows Home Server’s capabilities. The Windows Home Server SDK has been updated for Power Pack 1, too, including new support for the client PC side, i.e. notifications to/from home computers.
We continue to hear fantastic feedback from our customers about how Home Server is helping them protect their digital media, share it with friends and family, and access it from outside of the home. Thank you to our beta testers and partners for helping us ship Power Pack 1, and to the Home Server community as a whole for its ongoing support and enthusiasm.
The Windows Home Server Team”
Find out how Windows Home Server is the perfect companion for digital photography!
Join HP and Microsoft for another set of FREE live webcasts, this time focusing on how to leverage the HP MediaSmart Server for digital photography. Learn from guest experts on recommended workflow, photo-focused features of the product, and maybe a few photography ‘tips and tricks’. The first in this series is on July 17.
To register for both events please visit our webcast page: http://www.windows.com/hpmediasmartwebinar
Make sure you hurry to register – the last webinar was “sold out”.
The public beta of Power Pack 1 is now available to download:
The Windows Home Server team is proud to announce the availability of a Power Pack 1 Release Candidate for public beta testing. The update package can now be downloaded from https://connect.mircosoft.com/windowshomeserver in the downloads section. Please be sure to review the release documentation contained within the download package for Power Pack 1.
Please also be sure to check out the Windows Home Server forums for important support information, an up to date list of known issues and some great test ideas. They can be found at the link below.
http://forums.microsoft.com/windowshomeserver.
Below is a set of instructions to prepare a home server for testing the beta of Power Pack 1:
· To turn on automatic updates:
· Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
· Click On (recommended) in the Windows Update section.
· Click Update Now to get the latest updates immediately
Please turn on the Customer Experience Improvement for your home server. The information provided to the team through this program is invaluable in helping us understand how we are doing against our testing goals.
· To turn on Customer Experience Improvement:
· Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
· If you agree to opt-in to this program, ensure the Help make Windows Home Server better in the Customer Experience Improvement section is enabled.
Please ensure that you have a backup of all of your files and data. If your data set is large (the larger the better for testing purposes) this will take a while, so you might want to get started now!
The Windows Home Server team
E-mail: whsbeta@microsoft.com
Got this from the guys over at F-Secure today:
Dear customer,
This message is sent to everyone participating to the F-Secure Home Server Security beta program.
We just released a Release Candidate version of the product. It is available for you to download through this link:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/fshssbeta.msi
Note: Before you install F-Secure Home Server Security 2009 RC, uninstall any previous version of this software and any other potentially conflicting products, such as other antivirus or server security software.
Release Notes:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/fshssbeta.rtf
Quick Installation Guide:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/whs_qig.pdf
All the feedback such as bug reports should be sent to us by e-mail at address av4whs-beta@f-secure.com.
Yours,
F-Secure beta piloting team
The public beta of WHS Power Pack 1 is almost here – this was recently sent out by Microsoft:
The Windows Home Server team is pleased to announce details of the public beta of Windows Home Server Power Pack 1. This public beta will include the fix for the data corruption bug described in Knowledge Base article #946676 as well as a host of other bug fixes and new capabilities. The Power Pack 1 download is planned to be available in early June and Beta participants are encouraged to sign up and begin preparing now.
Due to the nature of the shared folder data corruption bug (KB #946676) a broad beta test program with sufficient time for feedback is required. The timeline for a final release will depend on this feedback and testing, in order to deliver a fix of the highest quality. To meet our goals for the beta test we need the number of beta testers who are actively using and testing the Power Pack 1 beta to ramp up very quickly. Therefore we are asking beta testers to begin preparing in advance.
Below is a set of instructions to prepare a home server for testing the beta of Power Pack 1:
o To turn on automatic updates:
§ Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
§ Click On (recommended) in the Windows Update section.
§ Click Update Now to get the latest updates immediately
o To turn on Customer Experience Improvement:
§ Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
§ If you agree to opt-in to this program, ensure the Help make Windows Home Server better in the Customer Experience Improvement section is enabled.
Thank you very much for getting ready to beta test Power Pack 1. More details and installation instructions will be sent within the next 1-2 weeks.
Best wishes,
The Windows Home Server team
Got this yesterday from the F-Secure guys:
This message is sent to everyone participating to the F-Secure Home Server Security beta program.
We just released a new beta 2 version of the product. It is available for you to download through this link:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/fshssbeta.msi
The installation of this version works in the same fashion as with the previous beta. You can download the latest release notes and the quick installation guide through these links:
Release Notes:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/fshssbeta.rtf
Quick Installation Guide:
http://support.f-secure.com/beta/downloads/whs_qig.pdf
All the feedback such as bug reports should be sent to us by e-mail at address av4whs-beta@f-secure.com.
Yours,
F-Secure beta piloting team
So, go download the update now 🙂
One of the things I, and my fellow MVPs have known about for a while now is that the server backup feature that was described for inclusion in Power Pack 1 has been removed. Obviously because we were, and still are, under NDA, we couldn’t say anthing. However, yesterday this was posted by Todd on the forums:
“The feature had to be cut tue to the interplay with the connector install and the fact that consumers may hork their backup database by doing an incomplete backup or interrupting the restore processs. The team will look to add this functionality in a future release after Power Pack 1.”
This appeared last night on the WHS Blog:
The Windows Home Server team has solved a software bug that may affect files that are compressed using Advanced Attributes (NTFS compression). NTFS compression can be enabled on an individual file, folder or at the hard drive level and is sometimes enabled by users to save disk space on a home computer. More information on the bug and a link to download the fix at KB950190.
Just thought I would post a quick update on this. Installation was a breeze, only took a few minutes and its really nice to see a WHS application that actually installs via the WHS Console.
I decided to run a full scan once it had installed and it actually picked up a piece of spyware, so I was impressed, especially considering the only data on my home server is copied there from my client pcs, all of which are running full AV and antispyware software!
More soon……
Sami at F-Secure has been in touch to say that there is a beta available for F-Secure for Windows Home Server. Its free and is public so anyone can go and download the software and try it.
F-Secure® Home Server Security protects Windows Home Server against malicious content, such as viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and riskware. With F-Secure Home Server Security, you can guard your digital pictures, archives and other valuable data stored on the central server against content threats. When F-Secure Home Server Security is installed to your Windows Home Server, you do not have to worry about distributing hostile content to other computers in your home network or the Internet.
You can register for the beta here : http://support.f-secure.com/beta/fshssb/fshssb.shtml
I’ve just registered and will be installing and testing this later so will post more soon.
Sorry there have not been any updates for a while – I have been very busy over on the WHS forums and writing articles for WGS!
Microsoft have updated the KB article all about the data corruption bug : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946676
Its worth reading and it is important that you follow the advice in the article.
Well, I’ve just got back from Las Vegas where I spent the week at CES with the guys from the WHS team at Microsoft, along with Terry Walsh from the We Got Served blog. I had a great time, so thanks to everyone 🙂
Obviously the big news last week was the announcement about Power Pack 1 for WHS – Im not going to repeat everything that has been posted already – take a look at Terry’s blog – http://www.wegotserved.co.uk
