Upgrading An Old HP MediaSmart to the 3.0 Software

If you would like a helping hand in upgrading your EX47x or EX48x to the latest 3.0 software (which you can have delivered on CD/DVD), then website “Using Windows Home Server” has video tutorials for you.

HP 3.0 Software Upgrade Media

As an example the 3 part video takes you through upgrading the EX485 on a Friday night to the 3.0 software, which is available to view here.

WHS Firewall Settings and Ports

I’m sure you may be aware of the 3 ports which Windows Home Server uses and which you need to forward for Remote Access to function. But are you also aware of the ports needed for RDP and FireFly/FirePlay to work correctly?

Windows_Firewall 

Don’t worry if not, as MediaSmartServer.net has a list of all the firewall settings needed for WHS to function correctly, which you can find here.

TwonkyMedia Fixes for HP software 3.0 Patch 2

Timothy Daleo has a great 15 minute video (chopped into 3 parts) with the guys from MediaSmartServer.net and The Home Server Show explaining how to resolve 2 issues affecting TwonkyMedia in the HP software 3.0 Patch 2.

TwonkyMedia Fixes 

All the details and the vids can be found here.

Removing the HP Software from a MediaSmart

If for some reason you wish to uninstall the HP software from your MediaSmart Server, then you guessed it, there’s a guide for that.

The headcrash industries blog takes you through uninstalling the HP MediaSmart/Data Vault software, the updates and the TwonkyMedia server, as well as fixing the Windows Home Server start page and the WHS remote page.

You can read it here.

EX48x Processor Upgrade

If you have a previous model MediaSmart from HP, you may have thought about upgrading the CPU from a single core Intel Celeron 440 to a more powerful dual core processor. If so Dan “Nomad” Muzenjak has a great guide on popping an Intel E5200 CPU into the EX48x and how to flash the bios for it to be properly recognized.

You can read it here.

Install and Configure the WHS Toolkit

WHS enthusiast Thomas Schaefer has a post on how to install and configure the Windows Home Server Toolkit and how to use it to troubleshoot connection issues with your Home Server setup.

WHS Toolkit Setup

You can find the details here.

The Add-Ins One User Uses

Its great to read what other people use as their add-ins and "The OS Quest" have a list of what the writer Ray uses.

His six add-ins listed also have information of how they are implemented in his setup, which you can read about here.

And as Ray says: What add-ins do you use or recommend?

TiVo Add-In – Setup and Configure

Australian tech news blog "techAU" has a great review of the recently launched MediaSmart Extender for TiVo add-in.

techAU TiVo on the TV

The 7 step tutorial explains how to get the add-in setup and configured for WHS and your TV.

You can read it here.

Cloud Backup – KeepVault or humyo

Windows Home server enthusiast David Gardiner needed an off-site backup, and looked at the cloud for options.

Dave looked at both KeepVault and humyo and compares the pricing for them both with a nice  graph thrown in for good measure.

You can read Dave’s post here.

A Down Under Build list

Another Windows Home server build list, and this one’s from apcmag staff writer Mick Brown.

With a core system cost of AUD $960.95, you can view Mick’s list here.