By on January 18th, 2010

Add-In: Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver

The Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver add-in (formally the Windows Home Server Risk Assessment add-in)  helps you recover from file conflict errors which are mostly seen after a hard drive crash. The add-in does this by comparing the WHS tombstones (the 4k files WHS uses) with the actual files and reports them to be either OK, unsafe, missing and/or corrupt.

WHS Risk Assessment Options

The add-in then allows you to recover these files, but do remember this add-in is a beta release. and should be used at your own risk.

WHS Risk Assessment Reading

More details are available from here as well as the video below.

UPDATE: This version 1.0 has the following change log:

  • Support for One, two and multiple disk(s) setup
  • Changed name from Windows Home Server Risk Assessment to Windows Home Server Conflict Resolver
add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on January 15th, 2010

Via M’SERV S2100 Mini Server

VIA M’SERV S2100 Side View

Similar in looks to their Artigo A2000, Via have announced the M’SERV S2100, a mini low power 64-bit server which is an ideal home for Windows Home Server.

Measuring just 13.5cm by 12cm by 26cm (5.3" x 4.7" x 10.2"), the VIA M’SERV S2100 is powered by a 1.3+GHz VIA Nano processor and supports 2 slots of DDR2 memory. Two SATA bays with integrated power ports are mounted within the case, and a type I Compact Flash socket can be used as a bootable SSD for embedded OS for installing a slimmed-down version of WHS.

VIA M’SERV S2100 Front  VIA M’SERV S2100 Back

Connectivity includes dual Gigabit Ethernet ports while two USB 2.0 ports at the back are supplemented by one port at the front allowing for storage expandability.

No software is supplied, this is hardware only, but it would make a good choice for home builders wishing to build a small low power Windows home Server.

The unit is available now for system integrators and OEMs and will be available from some online retailers shortly with a price to be announced.

More details from Via here.

Hardware • News • Windows Home Server
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By on January 15th, 2010

The Home Server Show Podcast Episode 72

home_server_show_small

The latest edition of The Home Server Show podcast was recorded live at CES in Las Vegas, where Dave and the gang talk to fellow Home Server and Media Center MVPs, as well as chatting with Microsoft’s Senior Product Manager Mark Pendergrast about WHS.

Catch episode 72 here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on January 15th, 2010

Is the EX495 Worth It?

Computer Shopper has a turn at reviewing the EX495 MediaSmart, and reviewer Daniel Begun isn’t sure that HPs latest offering is worth it.

We think it is, what do you think?

Read about it here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on January 14th, 2010

Media Center Connector – The Features

Media Center Connector

I’m sure we all know by now that Power Pack 3 introduced the Media Center Connector, but do you know your way through the varies features and menus which are available?

If not (or even if you do) Pete Stagman has detailed the installation process and takes us through the features menu by menu, which you can find here.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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By on January 14th, 2010

Setup a VPN on Home Server

How would you set up your Windows Home Server for a VPN connection. But why would you do this?

This is handy if you are travelling and need to access your network directly rather than via the web server.

All you need to do is setup a VPN network connection on your WHS and another on your travelling laptop and then install the connector software onto the notebook too.

For the step by step details head on over to the Tenniswood Blog.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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By on January 13th, 2010

WHS and Media Center Integrated

WMC and WHS

Imagine a situation where you could install your TV tuner card/s into your Windows Home Server and watch TV in the lounge via one of the small nettops, which is accessing those tuner cards.

Imagine no more my friends as now you can, thanks to company DVBLogic who have just released the network tuner software DVBLink which is compatible with Windows Home Server.

The DVBLink software will work for tuners installed on your Home Server as long as there is driver support for Windows 2003 (most are), as this is the OS WHS is based on.

The DVBLink software comes in 2 parts, the DVBLink TVSource which you install on WHS and the DVBLink Server Network Pack which you install on a PC running Windows Media Center enabling you to watch TV on that computer. During the TV setup, Media Center will see your tuner/s as if you were on that physical machine although in reality they are on Home Server, just like a network tuner.

So, we can now have smaller media center PCs in the TV room, with the 1,2,3, or more TV tuners out of the way in WHS feeding (yummy!) the TV room or any where else that you have Windows Media Center running (bedroom PC, netbook, laptop – You get the picture).

Windows Home Server and Windows Media Center just became MORE integrated, for one, I am extremely happy.

The downloads to get this up and running as well as additional information is available from here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on January 13th, 2010

V3 Reviews the EX490

Another short review of the EX490 MediaSmart from HP, this time from V3.

Getting a respectful 4 out of 5 stars, the reviewer had this to say:

A compact, well-built automatic networked backup and media streaming server that’s well worth investigating for use in a small office or workgroup.

You can read it here.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on January 12th, 2010

Rip Store and Play Blu-Rays

My Movies Monitor

Media Center MVP Pete Stagman details his process of how he rips, stores and plays his Blu-Rays using a handful of software and My Movies for both Windows Home Server and Media Center.

You can read Pete’s guide here.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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By on January 12th, 2010

EX490 EX495 X510 Server Recovery – The Easy Way

If you have one of the new EX490/495 MediaSmart Servers and have tried to do a system restore with it, you would have found out how difficult this can be.

The new MediaSmarts (including the DataVault X510) use a TFTP server to accomplish this task which has made the process more difficult compared to when doing it on the previous generations which used internal flash.

Thankfully diehard has come up with a simple server recovery process which uses an external bootable USB thumb drive. And all you need is an old EX470/475 to use its supplied discs and flash.

You can read the process here.

Tutorial • Windows Home Server
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