By on September 12th, 2011

Add-In: StableBit Scanner 2.0.0.939 for WHS 2011

StableBit Scanner Icon
StableBit Scanner 2.0 is now available for WHS 2011 users.

This latest release of the advanced hard disk surface scanner and monitor add-in supports:

  • Windows Home Server 2011
  • Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials
  • Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

First release version (2.0.0.939), change log:

  • Automatic updating uses the built-in WSS add-in update mechanism.
  • Supports all the features from 1.0, except file recovery (coming soon).
  • The WSS Dashboard interface was written from scratch using WPF.
  • The entire back-end was ported from 1.0 to work on Windows Server 2008 R2.
  • First public BETA.

You can grab a copy for free from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on September 11th, 2011

Add-In: StableBit DrivePool Build 3808

Stablebit_drivepool_logo

StableBit DrivePool has just been updated to version 3808, which includes the following changes:

  • DrivePool doesn’t manage WHS backup service on startup anymore, Widows will do that.
  • Added backup service dependency on DrivePool. Removed on uninstall.
  • Fixed errors when Guest permissions are not set correctly on the root directories of drives in the pool.
  • Wrapped the BETA M2 migration code with error reporting actions.

More details on StableBit DrivePool can be found here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on September 11th, 2011

Add-In: Drive Bender 1.1.8.2

Drive Bender Logo

Drive Bender has been updated to version 1.1.8.2:

“Two days ago we released v1.1.8.1 which fixed a log running folder locking issues, in addition to a number of other bugs (see change log for details). However with this release, we then had a number of WHS users report the WHS backup service was crashing. So hot on the heals of v1.1.8.1, comes v1.1.8.2 which we hope puts this issue to bed.

The folder locking issue has meant that we missed our RC1 release date, and unfortunately we need to be sure the v1.1.8.1 issue is resolved before we can move towards RC1.”

Release v1.1.8.2 – beta (2011-09-11) change log:

  • Bug fix: An issue with the “SetEndOfFile” API handling was causing the WHS backup service to crash.
  • Bug fix: During file balancing, setting the files time stamp was throwing an error (cannot find the file specified). The resulted in the files time stamp to out by a number of milliseconds.

You can download Drive Bender v1.1.8.2 from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on September 11th, 2011

BYOB Podcast Episode 58

BYOB Logo

The closet build, tuning adapters, Touchpad, D-Link Cam View software, and a RAID card upgrade are all in this weeks edition of the BYOB podcast.

You can find episode 58 here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on September 09th, 2011

PerfectDisk 12 SP3 Build 290

The defragmentation tool PerfectDisk 12 has been updated to build 290.

PerdectDisk 12 Home Server Defragmentation Tab

This latest build includes various bug fixes:

  • Thin provision drives were not being detected properly in vCenter (Virtual guest versions of PerfectDisk). This has been fixed.
  • The method used to detect solid state drives (SSD) has been changed to more accurately determine if a drive is and SSD or not.
  • Group Policy scheduling was broken. This has been fixed.
  • The command line flags for prep for Shrink and SSD optimize were coded backwards. This has been fixed.
  • Changes were made to the way WPI was querying was accomplished for improved performance.
  • When S.M.A.R.T. checks were disabled, some of the checks were still performed even though not needed. This has been corrected.

You can “Check For Updates” in the product or wait for the Autoupdate.

More information on PerfectDisk 12 for Home Server can be found here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on September 09th, 2011

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 151

home_server_show_small

Episode 151 of The Home Server Show podcast is up with the weeks Home Server news plus debate from Dave and the guys.

You can listen to show 151 here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on September 08th, 2011

Paul Thurrott’s Take on SBS 2011 Essentials

Paul Thurrott takes a look at SBS 2011 Essentials.

sbse_dashboard

Paul takes us through the features of Small Business Server 2011 Essentials in his article, including:

  • Automatic, centralized PC backup
  • Automatic server backup
  • Network health monitoring
  • Content storage and sharing
  • Remote access
  • Full Active Directory functionality
  • Extensibility through add-ins
  • Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on
  • Availability

“Basically, SBSE is a stripped down version of Windows Server, or a small business version of Windows Home Server 2011. And at a high level…”

You can read Paul’s article here.

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By on September 08th, 2011

The Tranquil Leo HS4 Reviewed by PC Pro

PC Pro have a review of the Tranquil Leo HS4 Home Server.

Tranquil Leo HS4 Home Server Review by PC Pro

Looking identical to Tranquil’s old SQA-5H models, the i3 powered Leo HS4 home server is given the once over:

In all it’s a capable home server OS, running on versatile hardware. The catch is the price: the basic 2TB Leo HS4 model comes in at £756 inc VAT…But if you’re looking for the real thing – a true server-class appliance that’s quiet, power-efficient and expandable – the Leo HS4 ticks every box.

You can find PC Pro’s review here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on September 08th, 2011

The Best Apps for Windows Home Server

The How-To Geek has a roundup of the best Windows Home server apps.

active-directory

For streaming: AirVideo, VLC Shares, Plex Media Server and Subsonic are all taken a look at. For remote access DynDNS.com, DD-WRT and the Tomato firmware. All this plus Perl with IIS, PHP with IIS, WordPress and MediaWiki. These are all great apps for Windows home Server users.

You can read it here.

Other Software • Windows Home Server
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By on September 07th, 2011

SBS 2011 Essentials Webinar

Recorded on August the 24th was the webinar "Windows Small Business Server Essentials has arrived!"

SBS 2011 Microsoft Canada Webinar

Presented by Michael Tyan and Carlos Ruiz from Microsoft Canada this 59 minute presentation looks at the following:

  • What is Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and how is it different from the more traditional Small Business Server 2011 Standard?
  • Demo: Managing Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.
  • Demo: Understanding extensibility: “add in’s”, “add on’s”, and the cloud.
  • Hardware Requirements.

And since Windows SBS 2011 Essentials is very similar to WHS 2011 it is well worth a watch on demand.

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