Helmers Blog

Nerd Stuff Like a real Microsoft-fan/nerd I own an XBOX 360, a (Windows 7) Media Center and a Windows Home Server to satisfy my Multimedia and gaming needs. In this blog post I will tell you about my setup and why I choose the products I mentioned. There is also space for some criticism, because hey..it’s Microsoft stuff! Just kidding…I love the products, but I am missing some features. Some of the missing features have something to do with the country I live in. I love pictures, don’t you? That’s why I first show you a picture of my network, so you can’t imagine how everything is connected. If you have a question, don’t hesitate just drop me a line. How? Check my About page for my contact info. Just click the Read More link to read the whole story!

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A few weeks ago I blogged about the recover process of my MediaSmart Server, too bad the Windows Home Server died several days later. I have to say that I’m very pleased with HP support (for now ).

It took me a lot of phone calls, but HP Netherlands has agreed to repair my American MediaSmart Server! This is one of the main reasons I can’t test the new (beta) release of Power Pack 3. But what I read about it is making me very happy! With Power Pack 3 Windows Home Server will have full support for Windows 7 Clients!

I must say that I’m impressed with all the new features which Power Pack 3 will add to (the already super product) Windows Home Server. The only thing that is missing at the moment are the non-English versions, so all the people who do not speak English very well (like my parents…and many others) can also use this (in my opinion) product!

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A few months ago I bought a HP MediaSmart Server ex475 (Windows Home Server). In my opinion one of the best solutions for the storage of your family video, pictures, documents and last but not least your PC backups!

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A few days ago I read that Windows Home Server was available for download at the MSDN website. Today I talked to Robert Bakker and he told me since a little bit more then a week it’s also available on for everybody with a TechNet Plus Direct Subscribtion.

So if you want to install a Windows Home Server, just logon to your TechNet (or MSDN) Subscription and start downloading right away!

When I installed it I’m going to test how Windows Home Server cooperates with my Windows 7 Client (with Media Center and Internet Access to Home Media).

On the Windows Home Server Blog I read the following today :

Hi all. Next week on Tuesday, Nov 27 we will release a new update for Windows Home Server software.  This is a scheduled update – part of the ongoing process of continually enhancing the customer experience with Windows Home Server.  The new functionality will be downloaded via Windows Update and made available to existing Windows Home Server customers.

Details are available here, but the main benefit of the update is that it will improve the remote access experience for Windows Home Server users by providing them with a “trusted SSL certificate” for their home servers. That means customers will be able to access their home server from outside the home more seamlessly, without any security warnings.  The Windows Home Server team worked closely with Windows Live Domains and GoDaddy, a leading provider of Web domain addresses, to provide the certificate for the homeserver.com web pages customers use for remote access.

In addition, this month’s update provides a new “Delete All” button to let users delete all home computer backups that are stored on the home server, as well as a few improvements to the Shared Folders and Server Storage components of Windows Home Server.

Enjoy,

J

More Info about the update