By Philip Churchill on May 21st, 2008
Public Beta PP1 – Microsoft Needs You!
The public beta for Power Pack 1 (PP1) will be released to Microsoft’s Connect site for beta testing within the next weeks with the primary focus on getting the Server Storage component tested. The public beta which will include the data corruption fix will be there for your testing pleasure, but only if you sign up for the public beta on Connect now. Doing so will mean that you will be notified once it becomes available.
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So has the data corruption design defect passed Microsoft’s internal quality bar test, since Microsoft will be releasing to it’s Microsoft’s Connect site for beta testing?
Hopefully, this second time will be the charm, right?
Why isn’t there any news or reports on what is being done here indicating the progress being made with the proven data corruption design defect regarding KB 946676?
Meaning, the only thing Microsoft can offer is just another BETA product for us to test for them again?
Let’s see some reports on what is being done here!!!!
Truth is Microsoft NEEDS customers, but why do customers need Microsoft?
As a good example of how Microsoft operates, any only need to look at what Microsoft is doing, such as of August 31 of this year, Microsoft’s “Plays for Sure” technology — once codenamed Janus — will no longer play for sure — unless, that is, users play back the tunes on the same computers and OS forever.
And why should customers want to experience this type of service?
It’s a pity that Microsoft still doesn’t get it.
The question is, and maybe I’m missing this, will WHS be upgradable from the beta PP1 to the release PP1? I won’t bother trying the beta, if I won’t be able to easily upgrade it.
Beta Service Packs in previous versions of windows do not always easily upgrade to their release counterparts.
@Mike D
I share the same concern, so I think I’ll wait a bit.
WHS doesn’t appear to be the actually needed resolution everyone was hoping it to be. That’s because WHS still is demonstrating the need for displaying “backup warnings and errors” in it’s patch for WHS!
See for yourself here:
http://www.m2cross.com/50226711/e_windows_home_server_power_pack_1_134209.php
Andrew Edney stated, “Power Pack 1 has been in a private beta testing phase now for over 5 months” on 13 May 2008, 2:19 PM UTC on the Microsoft Forums.
More Proof Here:
http://www.forums.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3331666&SiteID=50
WHS Public Beta PP1 removed the backup database feature, but has instead offered a method of correcting the database consistency errors and mistakes, well maybe some of the time.
In addition, it also appears Microsoft isn’t going to release WHS PP1 as RTM in June either!
Todd Headrick, marketing director for Windows Home Server already stated the ability to back up the backup database has been dropped from Power Pack 1.
And for this MSWHS has deletes my comment!?
If posting a factual statement made by Microsoft’s own employees on a public Microsoft forum gets your comment deleted, just image how everyone else have their comments deleted here!
Why is it ok for Microsoft and the MVPs to talk about Power Pack 1 and it’s features since January, but it’s not ok to mention the fact that ‘Oh yeah, by the way, one piece of the community’s most-wanted (not to mention previously-announced) features got scrapped some time ago due to low quality issues’?
Be sure WHS users read that part that PP1 states, “I understand that I might permanently lose some backups while attempting to repair the backup database”.
Which is even more ironic when them database backup files are not allowed in PP1 to be backed up on an external source!
WHS Public Beta Screen Shots
http://www.m2cross.com/50226711/e_windows_home_server_power_pack_1_134209.php
And YES, WHS Public Beta PP1 has been released on Pirate Bay!
I believe that I’ve had this same bug happen on my Home server three times. For a while I was using live photo gallery to edit pictures, and I kept getting warnings from the console after that. I would log into the console click the repair button and it would go away. Since they released the bug information I have stopped using live photo gallery, and I haven’t had the data corruption since. The interesting thing is that my Home Server has just one drive in it.
I can confirm (again) the data corruption for Excel files. In fact I had to take back a two disk WHS machine from a client because of it.
Even if you have folder duplication switched off on a multi-drive system, you are still at risk.
This is very disheartening. I have had to stop recommending the product as this bug completely invalidates using the server as a file share.
The time take to solve the problem suggests to me that its a bigger issue (data corruption) than Microsoft are letting on.
Leave it to Microsoft to screw up other potentially good idea (PP1). It is expensive, works when it wants to, and corrupts your data. Sounds like Microsoft to me.
So, to put this in perspective, the list of potential applications affected is growing. That is very worrying, particularly given the prevalence of some of the applications – iTunes, Excel, WMP11 etc..
Why RISK all your data and files using WHS? There’s another choice and it’s FREE without data corruption design flaws here…
Free open source code solutions!
That’s why open source (GPLv3) is better for society, as everyone can benefit and contribute to the overall success.
Frankly I think its appalling, as I have a product that I purchased to make my files more easily accessible and secure, and in fact I have the reverse.
However its not just the bug thats the problem, other core functionality, like being able to back up to an external device which will be added in Powerpack 1 that is also a concern was removed from PP1.
Maybe we should launch a sort of petition or a blog to centralize our complaints. With a lot of referencing and search engines crawlers pinging. Maybe this way, we’d hope some action (i mean a real commercial gesture) from Microsoft. Because, correct if i’m wrong but, except in enthusiasts’ wesites like this one, nobody seems to be concerned or shocked by a “supposed-stable-server-os” release with a HUGE bug in the very central functionality it was sold for.
I fail to understand why they didn’t just automate the built-in Windows Server LDM and Dynamic disks. BAM–problem solved. Instead they write some file system filter driver and treat the drives as individual disks? Why?
Why don’t they just scrap v1 and give everyone a free upgrade to WHS v2008 ?
Where is the WHS database backup feature in PP1?
Did I miss out on something here?
I’ve been wanting to backup my WHS since last year and there’s NO database backup feature in WHS Public Beta PP1!
Do you know if WHS Public Beta PP1 deals with all the issues identified in the latest KB 946676:
• Photoshop Elements
• Zune Software
• Apple iTunes
• TagScanner
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Adobe Lightroom
• Intuit Quicken
• MS Digital Image Library
• MP3BookHelper
• ACDSee
• WinAmp
• Windows Media Player 11
• Microsoft Office Excel
• Visual DataFlex
… or will we still wind up with caveat????