By on October 15th, 2009

Add-In AutoExit 2009 RC

ASoft have updated their popular AutoExit 2009 add-in to Release Candidate status.

AutoExit 2009 RC

AutoExit 2009 allows you to shut down and reboot your machines over the Windows Home Server network from within the console, as well as booting up your machines remotely you can also put the machine into hibernation, sleep, log off the user or lock the machine too.

Changes in AutoExit 2009:

  • Multilingual UI (supports German, French, Japanese).
  • Setup has been made smaller and packaged as a zip file instead of 1 installer.
  • Wake On Lan all clients.
  • Send a message to all connected clients.
  • Warn users when the server is going down.
  • Support for Windows 7.
  • Possibility to the Wake On Lan port to send to.
  • Possibility to enable easy logging on the client side.
  • Mac-address of the server is retrieved when opening the diagnostic dialog and the Mac field being empty.
  • When downloading an update, it is automatically saved to the ‘Server\Software’ or ‘Server\Logiciel’ folder, if none of these exist the browse directory dialog is shown.
  • Fix: On some machines the actions did not work and an error 998 was displayed, this has been fixed.
  • Fix: Fixed issue that settings in Vista/Windows 7 weren’t read correctly and made the AutoWOL Server function not work.
  • Fix: Now when a client comes out of sleep, a WOL packet is sent to the server if enabled.
  • Fix: Small improvement to the update dialog to show the product name.
  • Fix: When using hibernate/sleep, the machine sometimes couldn’t be enabled again.
  • Fix: Detects if Remote Desktop is enabled on a Home Edition.
  • And some other minor adjustments.

More details are available from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on October 14th, 2009

Aspire easyStore H340 Goes to Russia

Russia is about to sell the Acer Aspire easyStore H340.

russia-flag  acer_easystore_ah340-ua230n_Front

The first batches to be delivered to Russia will be sold exclusively in the computer center "KEJ" for 19 990 rubles approx $679. A lot of money but at least Windows Home Server is going world wide.

Thanks to Minyx for the details.

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By on October 14th, 2009

EX490, EX495 and X510 Data Vault Patch Available

If you are an owner of the EX490, EX495 or the X510 Data Vault then there is an update waiting for you.

HP Software Updat 3.0 Patch1

The update addresses critical defects in the Home Server Console, the HP Media Collector as well as other critical defects. The patch includes updates for the Server as well as the Client computers, both PC and Mac.

The 150mb update is available via the Software Update feature in your Server Console for the EX490, EX495 and the X510 Data Vault running the 3.0 software.

Alex Kuretz from MediaSmartServer.net had this to say:

The Server Update is easily installed via the HP Software Update feature, and the installer will guide you through the process. At the end, the Server Console will be restarted and you should see the new version in the Status tab. You’ll also notice a Health Notification alerting you that your Clients need to be updated in order to gain the benefit of the new Media Collector fixes.

More details are available from here.

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By on October 13th, 2009

HP EX490 Available in the UK – But NO EX495

Today sees the launch of the HP EX490 MediaSmart Server in the UK.

UK Flag

At a price of £429 the EX490 has hit the UK shores, but no EX495. HP has decided that the EX495 will not be available in Europe (EMEA) at the present time. But if you do require the EX495 and you live in the UK you can always purchase the HP StorageWorks X510 which is really a rebranded EX495 for the small business market.

More information available from here.

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By on October 13th, 2009

Running WHS on Server 2008 Hyper-V Part 1

Ok I have been running my WHS on Server 2008 Hyper-V for around 12 months now and before that I ran it in Virtual Server 2007. First let me tell you a bit about the hardware I am running it on, I use a HP Proliant ML110 with a Xeon 3065 2.33Ghz, 8Gb RAM, 1 x 250Gb HDD, 2 x 500Gb HDD and 1 x 1TB HDD, I have 2 network cards both are Gigabit and 1 of them I have dedicated solely for the use of the host server i.e. the physical hardware, this stops any hardware bottle necks and allows me to be more flexible.

The reason I use hyper-v is simple I use lot of operating systems both remotely and at home, I need and use XP Pro, XP Home, Vista Home Premium, Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Home and Windows 7 Ultimate I also use most variants of server OS i.e. server 2008, server 2003 and sometimes server 2000, ok so I use a lot of OS but this is only for work reason but I would still run WHS on hyper-v even if this wasn’t the case and the reason is simple flexibility, ease of use, energy savings, I am sure you will see for yourself as we go through this guide.

I sometimes use me hyper-v server as main machine when I don’t need to do anything intensive I don’t mean use the Server 2008 OS, I mean just open up hyper-v manager right click my windows 7 machine and away I go, sometimes I even think I wouldn’t need to use my desktop if I didn’t have to do intensive tasks.

There are 4 different types of hyper-v but the 2 that are mainly going to concern those wanting to run WHS on, is Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Core now this is the one most of you are going to want to run because plain and simply, this version is free. The second version is Microsoft Server 2008 R2 Standard and hyper-v comes with this version and this version allows for much more things like Active Directory and Exchange Server (this does not come with Microsoft Server 2008 R2 Standard but is usable on this version) this is the version I run but only because I get it very cheap due to my MAPS subscription.

Hyper-v options

Setting up is very simple and easy the core system you can’t go wrong with it is a case of clicking next, next and next again, a few more question with server 2008 standard but nothing more than when installing WHS.

Once you installed the core version you will find you have no user interface the reason for this is because it is the most basic version of hyper-v the only way to use this version of hyper-v is to install the hyper-v management console on your Vista or Windows 7 machine only (be aware you can’t install this on Windows XP) you can download the app from here once you are connected you need to connect to your remote hyper-v install and create a virtual machine which I will go through in the next part of this post.

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By on October 13th, 2009

PerfectDisk 10 WHS Winners Announced

Sorry for the delay – Last week Monday through to Sunday we were giving away 1 copy a day of PerfectDisk 10 Windows Home Server Family Pack, that’s 7 copies in total thanks to the guys and girls at Raxco Software.

You left over 200 comments, so without further waiting here are the winners for the 7 copies of PerfectDisk 10 WHS.

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By on October 12th, 2009

Add-In: Remote Alert 1.3.5 Beta

The add-in Remote Alert has been updated to version 1.3.5.

Remote Alert 1.3.5

The add-in that provides remote access notification, additional security layers and remote access activity logging includes the following changes/fixes:

  • Network Activity Monitor now works if multiple NIC cards are installed.
  • DNS, WHOIS look-up extended to IP connections page.
  • Network chart performance improvements.
  • Geo-location look-up performance and accuracy improvement.
  • Remote Alert GUI fixes, revisions and improvements.
  • IIS Log parser sidebar toggle added.

More details are available from here.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on October 12th, 2009

Must Have Add-Ins

The Windows Home Server Team are recommending some more add-ins to install on your Windows Home Server machine.

The featured add-ins are featured on the WHS page on Microsoft.com, and include:

  • Grid Junction
  • My Movies for Windows Home Server
  • Remote Alert
  • avast! Antivirus
  • Diskeeper
  • F-Secure Home Server Security 2009
  • KeepVault
  • mControl
  • PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server
  • Recorded TV Manager Add-in for Windows Home Sever
  • WebGuide for Windows Home Server
  • LightsOut
  • WHS Customizer
  • uTorrent
  • Duplication Info for Windows Home Server
  • AutoExit for Windows Home Server
  • Whiist
  • Advanced Admin Console
  • Windows Home Server Disk Management

More details on these add-ins is available from here.

A great list of 19 must have add-ins which should be on your Home Server – What’s yours?

add-ins • News • Windows Home Server
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By on October 12th, 2009

Add-In: Asset UPnP Release 2

The add-in Asset UPnP has been updated to release 2 and is now available in 2 versions.

Asset UPnP WHS Settings

Asset is a DLNA compatible UPnP audio server for use on Windows Home Server. Similar in use to Twonky Media, Asset UPnP is available in 2 versions. A free version which just includes the UPnP server and a premium version which as well as the server allows for Internet radio, dynamic playlists, jukebox random selection and a browse by folder & folder feature.

Asset UPnP Advanced

A full list of changes is available from here.
More information on Asset UPnP is available from here.

Thanks to Dave Marchant for the update.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on October 11th, 2009

Day 7 – Win PerfectDisk 10 WHS Family Pack

Today’s the last today to win yourself a copy of PerfectDisk 10 Windows Home Server Family Pack from Raxco Software.

To win yourself the final copy of the defragmenter for WHS we want to know when you plan to upgrade to windows 7 and any new ways which you plan to use it.

As usual leave your answer below and good luck.

FACT: PerfectDisk 10 for Windows Home Server’s new StealthPatrol feature lets you set up a defrag schedule that works with your busy life. Schedule defragmentation of your Windows Home Server to run seamlessly in the background only during system idle times.

More info on PerfectDisk 10 Windows Home Server can be found here.

UPDATE: Day 7 of the competition is now closed and so are the comments.

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