Bob The Builder Bobs Mobile Home Diecast Figure

Posted In: Home Builders

Takisha Heidtke says...

I'm currently using Windows Home Server to handle one PC and one Macintosh.



Windows Home Server is incredibly easy to install and use.



I posted around 25 Windows Home Server videos on YouTube. The videos are incredibly popular.



I bought a barebones computer system for my Server PC. The barebones system sold out!



Windows Home Server makes a daily backup of my PC



Windows Home Server allows me to store one copy of my multimedia files, and access them from the Macintosh and PC clients.



Windows Home Server doesn't work with Apple's Time Machine backup feature... but that's ok.



I like the other features that Windows Home Server offers.



We are urged to make the Windows Home Server a "Headless" computer, and not access it directly.



Unfortunately, that is not a good idea.



Sometimes Windows Home Server gets an update, and needs to restart.



You need to know when that happens so you can enter your password, etc.

Posted on November 9, 2011

Domitila Berdes says...

I have been trying to set up a home server for over a year (you could also say: I had been playing around) . My main requirements were:

- Network storage

- Streaming audio files (for Logitech Squeezebox/Slimserver)

- An automated backup solution for my PCs



I had tried different Linux solutions (Ubuntu Server, Debian, etc.), which was fun (and I think I learned a lot), but those were quite uncomfortable to maintain and my installation never did everything it was supposed to.



So I finally set up an Asus eee Box as a quiet, energy efficient little Windows Home Server, which works perfectly for my requirements. Setup was easy, and administration is very comfortable.



So you may learn more and save a few bucks if you build your own system using Linux, but Windows Home Server just works and will save you a lot of time.



I believe that this OEM version is the cheapest way to get a WHS license, so I can recommend it.

Posted on November 11, 2011

Lianne Camel says...

Easy to install, set up and maintain.This is a great product for any home user, or even small business, thinking of setting up a server for storage etc.

It was easy to set up an old unused Dell desktop, with the only problem being the network card was not supported.The solution was simple, just download the correct one from Dell.

Sadly these days printed documentation is a rarity, so I would suggest getting one of the many books available.I used Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed by Paul McFedries and so far it has covered everything I needed.

Posted on November 13, 2011

Ambrose Stagno says...

I was wanting a Home "File Server" after seeing one in action at a local Attorneys office (I have been using macs for years until last year) and was pretty impressed on how well networking on domains/LAN, etc worked on Windows.



While googling "Home Server" expecting to have to setup a Linux server I found this little gem.



I downloaded the Eval Copy and installed it on an old P4 1.8 with 768 of memory, after install setup took 10 minutes.



I am completely impressed with this product, Microsoft put out such a killer product, I am amazed they don't advertise it more. My wife and I were swapping portable drives between the 2 laptops and her computer until now. I did not know or understand networking, all I knew was I liked how the network was setup at a friends business and wanted that, without having to buy expensive Server software, now all we did was take those external drives and put them in the new Home Server and loaded it will all of the pictures, music, documents, etc. Backing up my wife's computer is so much easier now, and I don't have to ask her if she did back it up, I know it happened.



This product is a must have if you have a computer (especially if you have a laptop) as you will never have to worry about where files are, if everyone can access them, and like me, you have no server experience.



Those little HP machines that are pre-configured with this software are a great deal to.

This is a must have.

Posted on November 13, 2011

Von Aimbez says...

This product is great,the best part about it is that you get 120 days to try it before you have to buy it.I was sold after 30 days and paid the 100 bucks for this outstanding software.The upgrade from the trail to the full version took 45 minutes and all of my stuff was still there just like I left it.I slapped 2 more 500 Gig Hard Disks in this bad boy and now I have a 2 Terabyte storage solution for under 300 bucks software included!



If you looking for a central storage solution for multiple machines this is the ticket.Additionally you can access it from anywhere in the world with the remote access activated.I have also added a PS3 and a iTunes server to this thing, so all my media is in one place!



Take an old P3 or P4 machine with 512 of ram and a 60 gig hard drive (minimum requirements) and make it into a server. You can't go wrong!This thing works great!

Posted on November 14, 2011

Gilda Markow says...

I had been using the trial version of Windows Home Server for the last 4 months and really like it. I ordered the OEM version of Windows Home Server to upgrade to a permanent license. When I began the upgrade it did not give me the option to "re-install". Without this option I would not be able to keep all of my files and backups that were already stored on the trial system. I found a post on the Internet that said to disconnect all drives other than the system boot drive and begin the installation. This will then give the option to "re-install". When the system first shuts down to reboot after selecting "re-install", that is the time to turn off the system and re-connect all hard disks that have data stored on them. Then power up and let the re-install continue. This all went smoothly with many reboots at various points in the install process. When it was finished all of my files and previous backups were still there in the shares. The only other thing I had to do was re-create the user ID's and passwords, enable the network interface, and re-install the connector software on my other home computers.

WHS is really Windows Server 2003 small business with the Windows Home Server software running on top of it. It is a very powerful and stable operating system for use as a file server. It is not a game system and does not even need a display after the software is installed.

Posted on November 14, 2011

Carman Marcoguisepp says...

I had some spare pc parts and I found the Windows Home Server demo online so I decided to give it a try.

After a few weeks I couldn't live without it. It was nice to have all my media in one place plus backups of all my pcs.

The real deal breaker was when my laptop crashed after an update, it was very simple process to restore my windows partitition from a backup.

The trial lasts about 6 monthes so when the warning message came up I started browsing for the real thing.

Amazon has the best price especially with free shipping.

So in conclusion, I highly recommend WHS and I built my own 2TB for about half the price of an HP Home Server.

I would also suggest if starting from scratch do some research first so you can hit the ground running. Try the wegotserved forum its very insightful plus has a lot of useful FREE addins.

Posted on November 15, 2011

Oralee Tomsich says...

I now own two WHS servers (my dad is going to inherit my old HP EX475 pretty soon).Basically this software is a fully licensed with key windows home server software package.Now why would you want that? well here it comes:



The HP (and other brands of home servers) use THIS software along with their proprietary (and often very cheap) hardware to give you a limited (4 drive - 1 that comes with the software pre loaded) configuration.It usually lacks enough memory to do serious backups (such as video editing consoles that may have 4 TB of data on them) and they lack the processing power to get the job done in one day, so your video editor is constantly backing up.An entry level OEM system will be based on the lowest end AMD proc, a MB with one stick of 128 MB ram, and a fan + 4 sata connectors.The high end HP system uses a 1.6 Ghz intel Atom with, I believe (correct me if wrong) 1 GB ram, and the same 4 sata connectors.Both have an external SATA as well.You'll pay more for the high end HP system than making your own much improved system either from older motherboards, or parts you have laying around from old computers.Remember that this WHS computer must keep track of every sector on every drive on every (limit 10) computer you connect to it.



The solution to the madness?Build it yourself!



You take a potent 3GB (because this is limited to 32 bit processors) and a 3.3 Ghz processor, core 2 duo, then load it up with as many 2TB, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache drives, starting with drive 0, the system drive which in WHS is very important since it is the "landing" spot for incomming sectors of your system being backed up disc.From there WHS moves that sector to it's appropriate drive on the WHS machine (for instance, if you have a machine that is very important, you may want WHS to make a mirrored backup in case a drive in the WHS frame fails - This is done easily by setting up that client computer as a mirrored backup, in which case WHS makes 2 coppies of every incomming sector on the drive 0 disk.This is why you want your largest drive on drive 0 in configuring WHS, but nobody is selling pre-made WHS systems with 2TB drive 0 mechanisms yet.





Notice I used the word sectors in describing the backup process.This system does not backup files, it backs up an image of the disc sector by sector.Thus when you do a restore, you get an exact copy of the original - no need to relicense your software that has been moved around on the drive because a restored copy puts the programs right back where they were to begin with.In fact, it's a great way to clone disk drives, drive at a time, with all installed software ready to run.



Compare a 1Ghz AMD chip with 128 MB ram and a 3.33 Ghz core 2 duo with 3 GB of ram and it's a racehorse vs. a tortise.NO COMPARISON.Backups of my video server that took 6 hours+ to finish (if they finished) now take 30 minutes.AND, I'm not limited to 4 drive bays - I can add sata cards and more sata discs as needed for system expansion.The HP EX series of WHS boxes, while incredibly idiot proof (hey I started with one!) don't let you add discs beyond the 3 open drive slots.With my own chassis I can easily put 12 drives, 2TB ea into it, to hold 24 TB of storage (WHS runs a SQL database of 10 computers drive sectors and has a limit of around 150 TB if I recall from memory)It is, after all, a "home" server.WHS is very future proof in that if you want to remove a 2TB drive and install a 4 TB drive, you can login to the server from any client, ask it to relocate the data on the 2TB drive to other system drives (it will enforce duplication requirements) - and it will return in a couple of hours saying the drive is now empty and detached.You can hotswap it, put in the 4TB drive, and within seconds WHS will "see" the 4TB drive.You right click on "add", select "storage pool" and that 4TB is now part of the system's storage space (assuming you had room to relocate the original 2TB to other drives - it won't take a drive out of use if it can not safely relocate the storage on it).If you have a spare sata port then you can reverse the order and install the 4TB before removing the 2TB.It's pretty simple after a while.When the system is not backing up pc's at night using wake-on-lan and go to sleep commands, it does a load ballancing act during the day - this ensures that the data is evenly distributed across the available drives, and on sundays it deletes obsolte backups (per your definition of when a backup becomes obsolete).



Because it is built on windows server 2003, it can run DNS, IIS, mail, and other server functions while doing your backups.You can also have "shared" folders on the server with management permissions that can be setup to automatically mirror on two different discs should one fail, or to just store one copy of the data.Since this is setup in the server, multiple connectors can attach to the folders and read or write data to the common share, which ideally should be on your house network backbone made on 1GB/s connections.Naturally, the servers can also share usb printers, cd/DVD drives, etc.



Cutting my backup time down has been a substantial benefit of building my own WHS box, and a learning experience on how WHS works.When your system becomes too big to backup with an off the shelf WHS box from HP or other mfgrs, take that old computer and re-task it to be an awesome WHS machine (my box was designed with an asus motherboard to be a high end digital TV DVR when the switch to HDTV was comming - but lack of support for a good 32 bit processor DVR in windows media server killed the design, so the carcas got a new leash on life when the local store put 2TB hitachi (formerly IBM) drives on a one day sale for 109 ea.Stuffed with these units I now look at my report of 4TB of data stored, and 8TB of free space, along with empty space to double the drives if I need to.



Keep in mind the 32 bit limitation on WHS but choosing hardware accordingly you can build a much better WHS system than you can buy presently - the PC being backed up doesn't know the difference except how long it takes (it's computationally intensive work on the server to track each sector of every drive in every PC - limit 10 - that it backs up so a strong SQL system is a good choice)



There are two discussion groups out there that cover WHS - one is in the USA and one in the UK.I recommend joining both of them due to the fact that backups are normally scheduled to run late at night - this way someone will be awake on the foreign group if you run into problems.Just contact them and most users are happy to help out because someone has solved your issue already.My last tip re: WHS and PCs that it backs up - standardize on a drive type/size.I picked the 2TB Hitachi drives because they are the fastest on the market at a reasonable (hundred dollar ish) price.I usually buy 2 whenever they go on sale again - one goes to the backup server, and one goes into my video editing console as a drive for adobe to use in rendering HD digital video for blu ray burns.

Posted on November 18, 2011

Renita Erdahl says...

Like most other reviewers, I agree that Windows Home Server (WHS) is a pretty good product, and I recommend it as a good solution for backup and file sharing in a home environment. Having said that, the product strikes me as a "first release" that was put together at relatively low cost by Microsoft and thus suffers from a few limitations.



Like many others these days, I have a small home network of computers owned by several family members who have typical needs such as:

- File sharing: have a central "library" for pictures, videos, downloads, etc. that can be shared by all users, and that is kept secure (protected from hard disk failure and from inadvertent damage by users).

- Backup: regularly and reliably back up the hard disks of each computer to a different hard drive.

- Print sharing: provide common access to several different printers.



To do this, I put together a low-cost, low-power "mini-server" that I built using Intel's Atom 330 processor on a mini-ITX board in a small form factor case with 2 WDC 1-TB "green" drives - a setup that is very quiet and draws less than 40 watts of power so it can be left on all the time.I have tried running Windows XP Pro and Ubuntu Linux on it to do the items listed above, but didn't find either to be completely satisfactory.



Then I discovered WHS, so downloaded and tried the free 120-day evaluation copy. My experience with that was worth the cost of purchasing WHS, so I did.However, WHS does have a few limitations and quirks that potential buyers should be aware of:



* Microsoft did a pretty good job of covering up the complications of the product's Windows Server 2003 underpinnings through the use of a remote WHS Console for connected machines, but this is incomplete and you still need to access the WHS machine directly via a directly-attached monitor/kbd/mouse or via RDP, even though you are presented with a screen in WHS that warns you against this.But for certain tasks such as applying fixes you still need to access the machine directly.



* It is specifically not intended by MS to be a print server - a very disappointing omission, because that is one the normal "shared" missions of a server.I suspect MS omitted this because installing printers is not something they could easily fit into the WHS Console.You can configure shared printers on WHS as you would in Windows Server 2003 - and I did - but one of my printers just wouldn't install for some reason.This whole area needs more work.



* As many others have pointed out, you can't easily upgrade from the eval version to the product version without doing a reinstall and re-registering users.Fortunately your data is preserved.



* I *strongly* recommend using multiple hard disks in your WHS machine to take advantage of the very nice "duplication" feature that MS has built in that replicates a copy of the precious data you have stored on WHS.Much easier than trying to do this via RAID.



* Another badly-needed missing feature is some type of mechanism that provides more control over what individual users can do to shared data.WHS only provides primitive controls such as granting read or write permissions, but this is not enough.For example, I want other family members to be able to add their photos to the shared photo library but not to be able to delete items, e.g. a "contribute" level of access to prevent a user from inadvertently destroying shared items.(I often use Microsoft's free SyncToy to do this.)



* The fact that there has only been one release of WHS (albeit updated with 3 service packs), that it still runs on a fairly old base system (Windows Server 2003), and that MS has not actively promoted the product does create some concern that it was only a trial balloon by MS that might not have a future and thus will leave users stranded.There have been rumors of a new version, but until we hear the facts this is still an area of concern.



Despite the above items, it's a great concept and it is a product that I really like because the parts that are there work very well.I just hope that MS sees fit to come out with a new version that addresses some of the obvious shortcomings of the initial version.

Posted on November 18, 2011

Michael Ridell says...

At the time I'm writing this, Amazon has two versions of WHS listed:this one with a plain white graphic, and another more expensive one with a blue graphic.THIS is the more recent version, despite its lower price.



Microsoft hit a home run with Windows Home Server (WHS).It is one of the first times I've seen a sophisticated software product that is perfect for regular non-techie consumers.It is easy to use, but does not assume the user is a moron.It does this by placing just the right warnings at the right times.Obviously, it's been user-tested a LOT.



Under the covers is is built on Windows Server 2003 SP2.That is an excellent choice, because it is a very mature operating system, and is in use in millions of computer servers around the world.In fact, one of the things I was surprised about when first booting up the software is that you really do have access to the regular Windows desktop, including Start menu and many of the normal programs and features you would expect to see.



So for me, as someone who is very comfortable working with servers, I was very happy to see that although the product does not NEED any kind of tweaking, I had full access to be able to make subtle adjustments that I wanted.For example, I was able to adjust the encryption level on remote desktop sessions to "High" (from the default Normal) in the Administrative Tools > Terminal Services Configuration application.What a great thing that Microsoft did not "dumb down" the product and restrict access for those who know what they're doing.



One of the first things you should do with any new OS install is to run Windows Update, so that it gets patched with all the latest updates from Microsoft.This install is no different, and there were in fact many updates to install (53 or 54 in total).So before playing with your new server, first run Windows Update from the Start > All Programs menu, select the "Custom" option, and check all the boxes to install everything.



Then, after you install the updates (which includes the upgrade from IE6 to IE7) and the computer reboots, run Windows Update again.Typically, in an update that large there are updates that don't install because of some dependencies, and there will be additional updates to the updates you just installed.This is common.Every time Windows Update finishes, immediately run it again -- until you see "0" (zero) next to every category on the left.Also, don't use "Express", keep using "Custom" (contrary to the "recommended" tag next to Express).



Another thing you may want to do is get rid of the Logon Warning that appears every time you log in to the server's desktop (either remotely or on the computer itself).You can do that simply by deleting "Logon Warning" from the All Programs > Startup folder in the Start menu.It is a simple HTML file, so deleting it does not do any harm.



I am really happy with this home server product from Microsoft, and I highly recommend it for any household that has more than one computer.

Posted on November 21, 2011