By on November 03rd, 2007

Add-In: Duplication Info – See How Drive Extender Works

Yotsuba has developed a great add-in for Windows Home Server entitled Duplication Info, which enables you be see what hard drives your duplicated files reside on, enabling you to see how drive extender works.

Duplication Info  

Since the add-in does not have an installer, it is a bit harder to install, but we will show you how:

  1. Remote desktop into your Server machine.
  2. Launch the Windows Home Server Console on the server machine.
  3. Now close this open console
  4. Copy HomeServerConsoleTab.DuplicationInfo.dll to C:\Program Files\Windows Home Server on the server machine.

This has now added a Duplication Info tab along the header in the console. You can now log off of the server machine and use the add-in from any client machine with the connector software installed.

More info, the download and uninstall details are available.

UPDATE: The add-in has now been updated with an easier installation routine. See post above for details.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on November 03rd, 2007

Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server Review

We were sent a private beta of Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server, an online, off site backup solution for Home Server.

Once the add-In was installed we were able to use the new Online Backup tab under the settings dialog to configure Jungle Disk. From here we clicked the link to take us to the Amazon S3 signup page. But if you have an account already you just need to insert your two security keys as supplied.

Jungle Disk Settings

Within this tab, you also have the option of selecting which shared folders you want to backup and the time frame in which you would like this to happen. By default it uses the time that you have set in the Backup tab. In my example 12 midnight till 8 am. Your files will now be backed up during this period each day.

After the initial backup, only new or changed files will be uploaded and If the time period you have set is not long enough for your initial backup to complete, it will continue on the next day as needed.

You also have the option of limiting the bandwidth used by the backup, in case you use upstream bandwidth intensive applications like VOIP etc, and you can also specify after how many days that you would like to remove deleted files from your online backups.

The main screen allows you to pause your next scheduled task and start a backup immediately if required. The screen is mostly taken up by a log, that shows if there are any backup warnings or errors. A shortcut is also provided to take you back into the online backup settings tab as and if needed.

Jungle Disk Main  

The Restore Files button opens another screen that enables you to select which SERVER to restore from (in case you have more than one). From here you also have the option of displaying files that are no longer present on your server, in case of situations like accidental deletion etc. This makes it easy to restore those files that are missing, quickly and easily.

Restore Files

As we stated earlier, at the moment Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server is only currently available as an internal preview build but will be available shortly as a public beta. Several features which are planned for the final release version are:

  • Multi-version backup / restore
  • File / folder / file-type filtering
  • Byte-level incremental backups for changes to large files
  • More complex scheduling options
  • Additional restore options
  • Custom encryption settings (similar to the desktop version of Jungle Disk)
  • Backup history display
  • Integration with the WHS Health / Error reporting system

We look forward to the public beta release, as I am sure many of you are too.

add-ins • Backup • Remotely • Windows Home Server
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By on November 03rd, 2007

HP MediaSmart Server Interface Pics

On Monday (05 November 2007) we will have more information from HP on the availability and pricing of the EX470 and EX475. The two models that make up the HP MediaSmart Server series. In the meantime, for your weekend enjoyment, we would like to grace you with these screen shots from the new HP interface.

Server Installation Dialog

The HP MediaSmart Server Installation dialog.

The Setup Assistant

The Setup Assistant guides you through setting up your server.

Adding Photos

Adding photos to a Webshare photo album.

Setting up iTunes

Setting up iTunes for the PC.

Web Control Center

The HP MediaSmart Server Web Control Center.

Hardware • Windows Home Server
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By on November 03rd, 2007

Add-In: WHS Event Monitor Updated

Developer Dave Mercer has just released a new version of the add-in WHS Event Monitor which monitors the event logs on the Home Server and emails the results to you. The new 1.0.2.0 version has the following bug fixes and enhancements:

  • Added Homepage link and RSS links
  • Fixed bug in SMTP NoAuth UX where a UName and Password had to be added anyway
  • Re-homed test mail progress bar to its own form

System Event Monitor

Please note that the download link on Dave’s site is for the older version. The latest 1.0.2.0 can be downloaded from here and as usual Dave would appreciate your feedback.

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on November 03rd, 2007

Do you have a Seagate Hard Drive – Then they Probably Owe you Money

seagate-hard-drive If you have a Seagate hard drive in your Home Server or in one of your client machines then Seagate Technology LLC have agreed to settle a lawsuit, if it gets approved on February 7, 2008 by offering customers who purchased a hard drive from the company during the last six years a cash refund or free backup and recovery software.

It’s all because Seagate’s use of the decimal definition of the storage capacity term “gigabyte” (GB), whereby 1GB equals 1 billion bytes, this is misleading to consumers because computer operating systems instead report hard drive capacity using a binary definition of GB, whereby 1GB equals 1, 073, 741, 824 bytes – a difference of approximately 7% from Seagate’s figures.

So, if you have bought a Seagate brand hard disk drive between March 22, 2001 and December 31, 2005 then you have the right to submit an online claim form and if it ends up getting approved you’ll receive 5% cash back on the purchase price of the drive or free backup and recovery software as long as you claim by March 10, 2008. The disk drive maker sold approximately 6.2 million retail hard drives in the U.S during this period, so they could be paying out a lot of money.

To qualify for the cash payment, the hard drives must have been bought before January 1, 2006 and will require the serial number for each drive or proper documentation. If your drive was purchased between January 1, 2006 and September 26, 2007 then you are only eligible to submit an online claim for free backup and recovery software. A separate claim must be made for each individual hard drive purchased and will require a documentary proof of purchase, the specified hard drive name and model number, the amount paid, the date of purchase and the name of the merchant. The drives must have been purchased in the U.S. from an authorized Seagate retailer or distributor, separately as a Seagate product that was not preinstalled onto and bundled with a PC or any other type of electronic device.

Source: Computer World

Hardware • News • Windows Home Server
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By on November 03rd, 2007

Windows Home Server Wholesale $161 and in Stock

techdata

American OEM distributor TechData has now fulfilled its backorders and have 283 copy’s of Windows Home Server remaining in stock. They are charging $161 which is the wholesale price for 1 copy of Windows Home Server. They are also offering a 5% discount on a purchase of 5 or more copies.

News • Windows Home Server
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By on November 02nd, 2007

HP MediaSmart Server EX470 and EX475 Guide

HP-Reviewers-Guide

Thanks to the lovely PR people at HP in the US, we have a copy of the HP MediaSmart Server Reviewer’s Guide. It details how to setup and configure the EX470 and EX475 models and goes on to discuss the MediaSmart Server Control Center, where you can access the Photo WebShare, iTunes music sharing, remote system access, automatic backups and the file sharing features. The 12 page PDF document is an excellent overview of the features that are to be unique to the HP MediaSmart Server’s.

Download

Hardware • News • Windows Home Server
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By on November 02nd, 2007

Installing the Connector Software on Vista x64

Microsoft are currently internally testing an x64 Connector for Windows Vista Machines, which should be available between December 07 – March 08. Unfortunately a Connector for XP x64 will not be available, but what can you do in the meantime if you want to install the Connector software on your Vista x64 machine. Well, good news, we have a solution for you.

You can easily install the Windows Home Server Connector software on Vista x64 by running the following in an elevated command prompt (Start > All Programs > Accessories and then right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as administrator”) in Windows Vista.

msiexec /i "\\SERVER\Software\Home Server Connector Software\whsconnector.msi" WHSMSI="RUNSETUP"

It will then install the connector software fine on that Vista x64 machine without running the SETUP.EXE bootstrap. Backups won’t work, but everything else will on that machine, so just disable backups for that machine in the console once it’s installed.

Thanks to Jerry Zeisler for bringing our coding mistake to our attention, which has now been corrected.

Installation • Tutorial
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By on November 02nd, 2007

Add-In Honorable Mention List at Microsoft

http_www.microsoft

Microsoft has placed the Code2Fame Challenge Winners up at their WHS page. As well as the 3 top winners:

Honorable mentions are mentioned for the following:

add-ins • Windows Home Server
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By on November 02nd, 2007

The 120-Day Evaluation Kit is here

The 120-day trial version of Windows Home Server is finally here. The evaluation kit can be ordered on line for free from around the world, all you have to pay are the shipping and handling charges.

120-Day Evalution

For the US the charge is $5.99 with one to three weeks for delivery. Canada have the English or French version available for $9.99 and In the UK up to 5 copy’s can be ordered at £4.58 + VAT each, plus you have the option of the English, French, German or Spanish versions. You need to allow up to 28 days for delivery.

For your reference, these are the part numbers for the different language versions of the 120-Day Evaluation Kit:

  • CCQ-00003 – English DVD
  • CCQ-00005 – French DVD
  • CCQ-00006 – German DVD
  • CCQ-00007 – Spanish DVD

Thanks to ?ukasz Foks for bringing this quickly to our attention.

 

News • Windows Home Server
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