Search in Windows 7 introduces Federated Search where you can search for items in remote locations right from within Windows Explorer.

For example you can search a web site (like mswhs.com) directly from the Windows 7 search box, and to make that possible we have made a search connector for MSWHS.com which also adds MSWHS to your favorite locations in Win7.

Just download and double click on the .osdx file to enable searching of MSWHS.com directly within Windows 7 Windows Explorer.

Download from here.

Ok we have been here for over 2 years now and we thought it was about time that we updated our theme (or the layout of the site), so we have chosen 3 of the best available and since this is your website we would like you to vote for the 1 theme which you like the best from the following three.

All you need to do is click on the small images below to open a site with a demo version of the theme for you to try/look at. Once you have decided the best one which you like, please let us know by voting in the poll below.

Theme 1

 Theme 2

 Theme 3

P.S. Don’t worry to much about the colors on the themes as these can be changed, its more about the layout and style – Thanks.

You may have noticed that for the last 14 hours or so MSWHS.com hasn’t been here and instead surfers had the following notice displayed:

“This blog has been archived or suspended for violation of our Terms of Service.”

As you can tell we are back and Mark from WordPress.com (our host) has apologised for the trouble caused and assure us that it wont be happening again.

It reminds me that I wish we had a add-in for Home Server so WordPress users could backup up their blogs.

P.S. Thanks to all the fellow MVPs for your help over the last few hours including Andrew Edney for his great work in getting  an RSS backup of our site to me and for spreading the news on his site http://usingwindowshomeserver.com on what was happening. Thanks again guys (and ladies).

As you may have seen on our site we have a link to “Write with Us” and we had a blog post not too long ago asking for writers to share there experiences with Windows Home Server with our readers. We had many replies (over 50) and I would like to say a big welcome to our 12 new guys (and girls) who will be joining us.

First up I would like to introduce the first 4 to you.

Gary Quigley and Steve Crick both from the UK. Gary has been in IT since the 80’s and loves his Home Server. Steve is hot on security and loves his gadgets (believe me he has many!) and both will be heading up the hardware reviews here at mswhs.com

John Wall (known as Bucket23) is from Australia who is a communications engineer during the day and will very shortly be taking us through his home network amongst many other things.

Matthew Glover an IT tech from Derby in the UK will be writing software and add-in reviews for our Home Servers and telling us what’s hot and what’s not.

Keep watch for more information about all of our contributors and their reviews and articles soon.

After 5 months in progress web service FeedZa launched today.

FeedZa is a public RSS feed reader where the community can vote on the blog posts they find most interesting. And of course being one of the best blogs on Windows Home Server, our content is available on the service for you to view.

Check it out here.

MSWHS.com was formed back in June when we started this site with our first post entitled Good Evening, Afternoon or Morning – Wherever you are. It’s been a great year and after numerous beta builds Windows Home Server was finally released to an eagerly waiting public in the later part of 2007.

So what does 2008 hold in store for us? Update Release 1 of WHS is due any month now with numerous updates to the original code and this your site also has some great things coming up. Bigger and better articles, more tutorials, WHS related book information, Add-In lists and a better, bigger forum too amongst other things.

So in the meantime until next year (tomorrow) thank you for making this site one of the most popular stops for Windows Home Server information – Happy New Year!

Welcome back and I hope that all have all had a wonderful Christmas. Hopefully if you have been good girls and boys then Santa would have bought you a HP or Tranqual Home Server or some other wonderful gadget. If not don’t worry sit back, relax and enjoy some of the great stuff we have coming up here at mswhs.com!

We announced yesterday that Diskeeper 2008 HomeServer Edition had been released, and courtesy of Diskeeper we have a copy to give away to 5 lucky winners. The defrag tool, especially for Windows Home Server integrates into the console and defragments your computer in real-time with no drain on system resources, making your system run faster. Available for only $69.95, more information on the technology behind Diskeeper 2008 HomeServer Edition is available from their site.

So if you fancy winning 1 of the 5 copy’s that are up for grabs, all you need to do is tell us the answer to the following:

What is the maximum supported volume size supported in Diskeeper2008 HomeServer Edition. Is it:

A) 768GB
B) Unlimited
C) 2TB

He help you with the answer may we suggest you check the Diskeeper 2008 HomeServer Edition page and sub-pages from here for the answer. Email your answer A, B or C with the following completed in 15 words or less. I Love this MS Windows Home Server Website because….. to competition at mswhs dot com before 11.59PM GMT, 14th November 2007 and good luck!

Five correct answers with the best phrase will be selected on 15th November 2007 to receive a copy of Diskeeper 2008 HomeServer Edition as an electronic download. By entering you grant permission for us to publish your full name and city of residence for promotion purposes.

With the latest information about ATT, Comcast and Time Warner using or about to use data filtering, we thought it would be a good idea to collect some data from you. In our forums we have opened a thread regarding which ISP’s have Restrictions on using a Server at Home and/or are blocking ports. The information we need from you is:

1. The name of your provider?
2. Type of service it is? Either Satellite, Cable, Broadband, Dial-up etc.
3. The name of your providers package?
4. What country you live in?
5. What ports are blocked if any?
6. Any other relevant info?

Please post each entry under a new topic here.

By collecting this information, we can hopefully guide others into choosing the best ISP’s that do not block ports or have restrictions in regards to Windows Home Server.

If you are a geek and obsessed with Home Server then we would like you to join our blogging team. We are looking for motivated people to join mswhs.com, writing skills are not essential BUT enthusiasm is.

You would be writing reviews, how-to’s or just about anything, as long as the focus is on Windows Home Server. If this is something you would be interested in please email your contact information and 2 samples, and be sure to show us your personality and creativity.

Send your application to PhilipChurchill at mswhs dot com.

Well it’s taken a while but our MS Windows Home Server Forums are now open for business. Feel free to browse and have a look, but to post you will have to go through a quick registration process.

For future reference the forums can be reached by clicking “Forum” at the top right of any page here on the blog.

I have updated our WHS Jargon Explained page. There are now 35 Home Server related words and their definitions, so if you get stuck on any abbreviations or not sure what a certain word means then check it out. Oh and by the way, if you can think of any others that may be missing then please let us know?

We now have a page dedicated to the Knowledge Base articles from Microsoft relating to Windows Home Server. The latest update to be added is “How to manually select an Input Method Editor for a specific keyboard language in Windows Home Server Console on a Windows Home Server-based computer” (940885). This now brings the count up to eleven. So if you get stuck on your travels with WHS, make sure you check our Knowledge Base out.

Just to let you know that I am back from a few days away (Sunshine at last here in the UK!) and have lots of new postings for you which I shall post from tomorrow.

For now

Just to let you know that over the next few days I shall be re-designing this site. By using a new layout it will be easier on the eye with a more pleasant colour scheme and with better fonts it should also be easier to read. No down time will occur and content will be posted as usual.

Well this is your site and I would like your feedback. What would you like this website/blog called. At the moment its “MS Windows Home Server”. Would you like it left like this or would you like another name?

A few examples to get you going:

• MSWHS – The Server for the People
• MSWHS – The Server 4 the People
• MS Windows Home Server
• Windows Home Server Blog

Or whatever else you can think of… and thank you in advance.

Hi,

Welcome to a new site dedicated to Windows Home Server. The home server for dummies (like me). Finally we have  a server product for Mr or Mrs’s average.

Over the coming days, weeks, months, years (OK We get the picture!!!) this site will fill with detailed information, articles, tutorials and relevant news about WHS.

In the meantime have a read “About” me.

Enjoy, learn and have fun – A Server for the People !!!