HP has sent along the message that many of you have been anxious to hear for quite some time now: the 3.0 software update for the EX470/EX475/EX485/EX487 servers will be available later this week and will start shipping next week.
I’ve had copies of the upgrade DVD’s for about two weeks now and have performed the Server Recovery process on both an EX475 and EX487, with much better results than I experienced last time. There are two versions of the software, one for the EX470 and EX475, the other for the EX485 and EX487. Both sets include all three disks that you need: Client Software Install CD, PC Restore CD, and the Server Recovery DVD.
I will agree with the guidance by HP that you need to have at least 1GB of RAM (2GB is ideal) in your server to get decent performance so be sure to upgrade that first if you’re planning on installing this update. Also, the update does include a version of the Twonky media streaming software that is newer than the version included with the 3.0 patch 1 software on the EX490 and EX495 servers, and I did not encounter the same crippling CPU load issue as I experienced previously.
I have also made the install guides from HP available for you to download, be sure to read them thoroughly before you upgrade. These guides cover the new features available in the 3.0 software, explain what features you will lose from the 1.3 or 2.5 versions, and of course provide step by step instructions on how to perform the upgrade. The guides are also included on the upgrade disks, but I’m providing these copies with the permission of HP to give you a chance to review them prior to performing the update.
EX470 and EX475 Software Update Guide (right-click and Save-As)
EX485 and EX487 Software Update Guide (right-click and Save-As)
I have seen placeholders for the ordering page on the HP site, we’ll be sure to let you know when the links are live. Watch this site for my upgrade guide coming in the next day or so. In the mean time, you can read the full release from HP below.
HP MediaSmart Server 3.0 Software Update Availability
The 3.0 software update DVD will be available to order beginning later this week, with shipments beginning next week. These optional updates are available to purchase for owners of our EX470/475/485/487 products who want to upgrade their servers to the latest 3.0 software that is shipping on the EX490/495 products.
Please note the previously communicated information related to these updates:
1) The cost of the upgrade DVD has been finalized and will be US$25 or €25.
2) These upgrades will be available as a server recovery solution. HP recommends that you back up all server files prior to installing the upgrade.
3) This upgrade is not recommended for EX470/475 owners who have not already upgraded their Server DRAM to 1GB as certain features will not function.
To order the upgrade DVD, visit www.hp.com and enter your product model number in the “Support and Drivers” section. Then follow the path for your MediaSmart Server model number to order the upgrades.
We thank everyone for their continued support of the MediaSmart Server family of products.
Article by Alex Kuretz
I'm Alex Kuretz, and I'm the founder of MediaSmartServer.net. I was the Lead Test and Integration Engineer at HP for the MediaSmart Server until April 2008 when I moved on to other opportunities outside HP. I've kept active in the Windows Home Server community, creating several add-ins and helping users make the most of their Home Servers.
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I had the same issue, the disks are labled funny.
Just got mine and checked after reading these posts. My too are labeled wrong. I have the Ex470 set. After waiting almost a month after the order and they label them wrong. Crazy.
Thanks for all these reports, I’ve passed the info along to HP and they have indicated they will look into the problem and attempt to fix it.
HP has indicated that they are aware of the problem, have reported it to the duplication company, and will be fixing the problem for additional production runs.
I got my discs today and yes they are labeled wrong but no big deal. I will make new discs with the proper labels so I do not confuse them in future.
Seems to be an US problem. Mine which i’ve got 2 weeks ago from holland are labelled correctly. And the the new software is running really good on the “old” ex470. Really satisfied with the update. Had some heavy CPU load in the first 4days when twinky was indexing my music.
I did the upgrade on my Ex470 (with 2G RAM) and after some brief glitches all is well. Except, I get a “runtime error” when I try to run the Photo Viewer. Has anyone else had this problem or is there a way to fix it?
Thanks
@David – I think this forum topic should help you.
I have been to HP web site and could not find where you order the disks for am EX475. Any ideas? All I could find are 2 download files that appear to be patches.
Thanks
link to 3.0 upgrade for mediasmart 47x
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3548165&lang=en
shipping US & Canada only? why can’t I download it?
do they want this put onto BITorent or something?
@Chris – With a FedEx shipping option for a total charge of $65 as the only option available to Canadians, I think they really do want us to share this on BITorrent!
@Brovig – I’ve emailed the HP CEO about it, again.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/email/hurd/
To be fair, last time I got a quick and encouraging response, albeit it took them several months testing to get this far
UK people. I just noticed, click the ‘All Regions’ and follow the path to this;
http://www.best2serve.com/?show_flow=SWCD&land=GB&lang=en&sapos_keyword=589796-ZH1-EMEA&product_id=70463&category_id=285723
the url looks dodgy but that was an HP redirect.
£10 only too, in your face Canadians
Mine is all installed – did a factory reset for various reasons – running really well on EX475. One problem only: Console persists in saying Remote Access is not available and offers to repair, but it DOES work, and fine.
The Windows Live domain name – accessed by the Details button – sees that all is well, so why doesn’t the main console?
Are there only 2 disc to this upgrade? Server and Client PC only. No software installation as indicated in some article I read.
@Wilson, what more do you need
One disc to upgrade your server, one to restore your PCs from a backup with the upgraded server. Once the installation is finished, you will likely have to upgrade the Connector software you already have…
I don’t have my discs yet, so this is an educated guess based on every other upgrade we’ve had to do so far. I don’t expect surprises
So, do I have this right?
HP (as any other vendor) needs to supply fixes for it’s software. For some strange reason it makes things worse by imbedding someone elses software (Twonky) into it’s release (instead of an add-on) and then can’t get the fixed version out to it’s customers?
Great!
Marsha you can get Twonky outside of HP but you will have to purchase it. All HP has done is incorperate it into their software and all problems aside its free to use. Alex has done a great job finding fixes for Twonky one of them created by HP which is simple the other due to a problem with that version of Twonky which was fixed in a newer version yet to be released by HP for distribution in their software.
I know this may be flogging a dead horse and I know I should go over to the forum but I just found out after doing the upgrade that may website That was previously working no longer works the way it was supposed to work prior. I am using TZO and I was going to port 8080 with SSL. After the upgrade this no longer works. The folks at TZO have told me that for remote access – I need 443 which is blocked by my ISP. TZO says both they and HP are aware of the issue BUT TZO folks said they do not expect a solution anytime soon. I am on a 470 box and now consider the 3.0 version almost as a downgrade. I am running php and hmailserver and Have to reinstall those with my settings but now I think why bother if I cannot even get the website to wort
@Jeff – Sorry to hear of your troubles. I’m not aware of any changes that would cause what you are experiencing, the underlying Windows Home Server OS is the same, and that is what manages IIS. You should be able to reconfigure the IIS ports to get SSL running on a different port if you need to.
I too have an EX 470. If I recall, I had to make a change within WHS to get the Web functions to work when ports 80 and 443 were forwarded. My ISP blocks both ports and I am using TZO.
Since upgrading, I haven’t had a chance to make these same changes to get the web functions to work. I am assuming I have to do the same change since the OS code has been replaced.
In future releases, it would be nice if port forwarding in the WHS was a simple table change the way it is in some other software I have.
What did yo do David – TZO tells me it has to be 443
Jeoff,
Here is the link to the process that I followed.
http://www.myhomeserver.com/?page_id=66
I’d be interested if others have also done this code modification when they forward their ports?
That is what I did originally Dave – it does not work in 3.0
What “doesn’t work”? Are you getting an error message? What functionality breaks when you change it? Did you see my follow-up to your forums post?
Sorry Alex what I meant was that, the way it work before the upgrade no longer works before I could just type http://galien.ca and TZO would take me to my website. Now I have to type https://galien.ca:8080 and as you suggested edit my links. I am beyond a novice but not an expert and I was hoping the upgrade would not make me have to do a lot of additional wortk
Interestingly I am sorry but when I saw Dave’s post I jumped to the conclusions that it was the same as I had done before – it was not and I will try the tutorial and see if I have some success but clearly in discussions with TZO something has changed
Hi Alex,
Sorry to bother you but I cant find the form to order the DVD to upgrade.
I just found two upgrades:
Update Date Version Previous Size
» Update for HP MediaSmart Server / Data Vault (version 3.3)
03-2010 3.3.1.35433 - 4.14M
» Update for HP MediaSmart Server / Data Vault 3.0
03-2010 3.2.1.34990 - 36.65M
Are those two the upgrade?
Thanks
Magrart
Look under one of the Client OS versions like XP or Vista, you’ll find the 3.0 upgrade order link there.
I did the upgrade for my EX470 and now I am having an sluggish issue with the console software. It can take about a minute for the application to open fully and the same issue if a click on any of the programs. I have 2GB of memory so I don’t know what else to look for. Can anyone help?
@ Norman Brown ~ There could be any number of things causing your issue and I would be more then happy to help you out. Because this may take several posts to work out could you kindly post your help request in the forums and we can work on your issue there. If you turned on all the media functions then it can take sometime for your server to settle down. Just one thing to look at.
Got the the new server software 3.0 on my 475 installed and then it asked to do updates and I’ve been stuck on “Installing Updates on your home server …..2%) for over 10 mins. now? Is this right? How long should I wait to assume it’s hung? How do I get out of it?
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