Update Rollup 2 for WHS 2011 Released

Update Rollup 2 (UR2) for Windows Home Server 2011 has just been released.

This second update for Windows Home Server 2011 users addresses the WHS community top feedback including:

• Multi media issues
• Crashes some users were experiencing
• Provides a better app compatibility experience with the Mac client
• Provides updates to the client connector user interface to incorporate the Windows 8 experience

Most importantly for Mac users the Mac client launch pad had a conflicting name with the launch pad from Apple this has now been changed so that users will no longer be blocked from joining the client. Also Mac Lion has been confirmed in having no compatibility issues with Windows Home Server 2011 after applying UR2.

Here is the list of all 15 issues which have been fixed in UR2:

Issue 1

The network monitor service or the health service crashes occasionally. This issue causes the dashboard to also crash in the configuration router wizard. Additionally, an event that resembles the following is logged in the Application log:

Log Name: Application
Source: .NET Runtime
Date: datetime
Event ID: 1026
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: computer name
Description:
Application: SharedServiceHost.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.InvalidOperationException
Stack:
at System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer.Deserialize(System.Xml.XmlReader, System.String, System.Xml.Serialization.XmlDeserializationEvents)
at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.TaskManagement.Data.EngineStateFile.Load(System.String)
at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.TaskManagement.TaskScheduler.ReadRestartState()
at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.TaskManagement.TaskScheduler.RunTasks(System.String, System.String)
at Microsoft.WindowsServerSolutions.Networking.NetworkingMonitor.RepairRouter()
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.runTryCode(System.Object)
at System.Runtime.CompilerServices.RuntimeHelpers.ExecuteCodeWithGuaranteedCleanup(TryCode, CleanupCode, System.Object)
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(System.Threading.ExecutionContext, System.Threading.ContextCallback, System.Object, Boolean)
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(System.Threading.ExecutionContext, System.Threading.ContextCallback, System.Object)
at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

This issue occurs because the operating system uses the same state file for different task lists that are running in parallel.

Issue 2

Music file tags are overwritten in a default share (\\server\music) that has remote access enabled. Additionally, the album art file is replaced by using a low-resolution hidden system file.

Issue 3

When a web browser control add-in is installed, and you try to close the Dashboard, an empty confirmation dialog box appears. This issue occurs if Internet Explorer 9 is installed.

Issue 4

Remote access permission restrictions do not apply to the Media Library. For example, when you grant a new user account permission to access the Music folder only, the new user can access the Picture and Video folders in Media Library by using a remote desktop session.

Issue 5

The Remote Web Access website (RWA) does not work correctly when you log on from a tablet device. For example, you cannot download files from the RWA website to a Google Android-based device, and you cannot upload files from an Apple IOS-based device to the RWA website.

Issue 6

The software name of the embedded Launchpad is the same for Mac Lion as it is for Windows. Therefore, the operating system assumes that the embedded Launchpad for Mac Lion is already installed. Because of this issue, you cannot install the connector on a Mac Lion-based client computer.

Issue 7

When you install a third-party application that uses the same altitude value as the Backupreader.sys, and then you try to restore the client backup, the restore process fails.

Issue 8

Assume that you try to perform a client backup. In this situation, the backup operation fails. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

Insufficient storage available for backup

This issue occurs because a hidden "Drivers for Full System Restore" folder is created on all the volumes that are included in the backup. If the client computer is running Windows 7, there is a hidden System Reserved partition that is only 100 megabytes (MB). However, the "Drivers for Full System Restore" folder is larger than 100 MB. Therefore, this issue occurs. After you apply this update, the "Drivers for Full System Restore" folder is not created on volumes that are smaller than one gigabyte (GB) or on volumes that do not have a driver letter.

Issue 9

The default input language for the Spanish version of Windows Home Server 2011 is English. After you install this update, an alert is displayed that states that the default input language is changed to either English or Traditional Spanish.

Issue 10

If a certificate that has a blank common name (CN) is created in certain situations, the identity management service cannot be run.

Issue 11

When Update Rollup 1 for Windows Home Server 2011 is installed on the server that is running a localized version of Windows Home Server 2011, two sets of shortcuts for Launchpad and Dashboard are created. In this situation, the names of the shortcuts are displayed in English in one of the sets and in the local language in the other set.

Issue 12

This update fixes and updates links to documents that provide guidance for discovering and deploying add-ins and additional applications.

Issue 13

Sharedservicehost.exe throws exception errors when the health monitoring service and the client backup service are running. This issue occurs when Launchpad or Dashboard is disconnected from the Internet. This behavior causes some services, such as the health monitoring service, the backup service, or the identity management service, to crash.

Issue 14

The UI of the client connector is incompatible with the new version of Windows client.

Issue 15

Client computers disappear from the Dashboard if request IDs for certificates are not returned in a numeric sequence. This issue may also cause the server to disappear from the Dashboard.

Known issues

Issue 1

Assume that you install the Launchpad on a client computer before this update is applied on the server. In this situation, the connector on the client computer updates automatically. This behavior causes the notification tray to crash on some localized versions of Windows Home Server 2011, such as the Italian and Portuguese Brazilian versions. This issue occurs only after this update is applied.

Issue 2

You do not receive an alert that states that automatic software updates for Mac Lion are disabled.

Issue 3

You do not receive an alert that states that software updates for Mac Lion are available.

Issue 4

There are no time-outs when you try to update the health status after the network connection is disconnected in Mac Lion.

Note that after installing UR2 that the Media Streaming Metadata Synchronizer scheduled task is disabled. The Internet does not synchronize the album tags of the media files on the server share automatically. You can enable the scheduled task by using a new UI in Server Settings in the Dashboard.

Update Rollup 2 is available from Windows Update and will be automatically downloaded to WHS 2011, that’s as long as you have automatic updates turned on!

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