January 2009

Visitors to this site know that we’re primarily devoted Windows Home Server products, especially the MediaSmart Server. However some users don’t need all the features that the MediaSmart Server provides, and are looking for a good, inexpensive network backup and storage solution. In this situation the MediaVault should be considered, as it provides much of […]

An announcement at the Windows Home Server blog has info on a new update for Windows Home Server that is available today. Today the Windows Home Server team is releasing a small update to the product. The update improves the capability of Windows Home Server to repair abnormalities detected in the home computer backup database. […]

If you’ve used the Remote Access features of your MediaSmart Server with a TZO domain name, no doubt you’ve encountered the Certificate Warning as shown below in Internet Explorer and Firefox. This issue also affected users of the Homeserver.com domain provided by Windows Home Server until a few months after the initial release when they […]

HP has released an update package for the MediaSmart Server, labeled HPMSS-1.3-R1. The update appears to have been built on Jan 12 2009 and just made available today. Files are included that make it appear that it will support all language versions of the MediaSmart Server, however I have not tested anything but English at […]

Philip over at MSWHS.com has the scoop on a video interview with an HP representative going through the features of the new MediaSmart Server. The fun part of this for me is that Bryce was the Test Lead for the MediaVault products when I was at HP, and he took over my job as Test […]

These days many of us are interested in reducing the amount of energy we use in our homes. The Home Server helps accomplish this by allowing us to put our PCs to sleep or hibernate when not in use yet providing access to our important files, all while using little power. Before you attempt to […]

At my job we have an order placed with HP for some new equipment, including three servers, a couple storage arrays, and other miscellaneous parts. Yesterday we received the first part of that order, 6 x 7-foot network cables. Each cable was individually packaged inside a cardboard box, and all six boxes came inside a […]

One topic that frequently comes up in regards to the Home Server is what should you do in order to protect your important data from in-home disasters such as theft, fire, and flood? The typical scenario is to use some form of Online Backup to store your most critical information off-site, which HP has made […]

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot ever since I first uncovered that the new MediaSmart Servers don’t support port multipliers on their eSATA port. HP has told me that the vast majority of their customers don’t use port multipliers on the eSATA port and so the removal of this feature from the MediaSmart […]

There are various features that are valued as part of the Home Server. For some users it is media streaming capabilities, others like the easy remote access to allow friends and family to access our shared content on the server, and many others are most interested in the ability to back up the PCs and […]