Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage

If you’ve experienced some shockingly slow results from your Windows Home Server-based unit, we’ve one question for you: do you have Power Pack 1 and the HP add-ons installed? If so, you may not be alone in your frustrations. Apparently a number of users have seen dramatic slowdowns that have rendered their WHS devices nearly unusable. It seems that all the “bloatware” really takes a toll, as the hard drives are constantly pounded and console menus take ages (minutes, to be more precise) to appear. According to Within Windows, the only real solutions are to install more RAM and / or tweak your pagefile configurations afterwards. Anyone else raging mad about the performance issues? What are you going to do about it?

[Thanks, Bryant]

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Filed under: Ask Engadget, Home Entertainment, Storage, Networking

So we’ve asked you which HD media streamer you prefer. And we’ve done the same for NAS drives. But what if you’re the type that’s looking for the best of both worlds? Take it away, Stuart:

“We have a laptop and a desktop, with plans to add another computer in the near future. I’d like something that can primarily provide a large (1TB+) storage repository that can be accessed via our network, as well as have space for data backups and media streaming capabilities. I’ve read articles on Drobo and Windows Home Server-based devices, but after a certain point my brain just starts to get overloaded. Which solution out there would be best for me? I’m trying to stay below $700 if possible.”

We think your task is pretty clear cut here, reader. Which home server out there is a notch above the rest? Would you recommend a pre-built device or a homegrown solution? After giving this one a whirl, toss your own inquiry over to ask at engadget dawt com - your very words may grace this space next week.

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Filed under: Desktops

In the name of developers, developers, developers… data corruption bug be gone! Microsoft just released its Windows Homes Server Power Pack 1 for public beta consumption. Perhaps the most important contribution for some of you is a fix to WHS data corruption issues — a bug which proved more difficult to squash than previously thought. PP1 beta also teaches WHS a few new tricks including support for x64-based Windows boxes and the ability to backup the server to external media. Still, as solid as this release appears, it’s still beta, so be careful.

[Via ZDNET, thanks Matthew B.]

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Filed under: Desktops, Storage

Well, doesn’t Tranquil PC seems pretty stoked about their new Atom-based Harmony home servers? Though they’re not exactly mind-blowing (to us, anyway), two new fanless models should be shipping in June: the T7-HSAi (left, with a single 3.5-inch drive or two 2.5-inch drives) and T2-WHS-A3i (right, with up to two 3.5-inch drives), both featuring Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, 512MB or 1GB RAM options, and running Windows Home Server. With base configs and 500GB drives, the T7 will start at £278 ($550 US), and the T2 at £299 ($590 US).

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage, Networking

Guess what, loyal Windows Home Server users? A fix for that completely obnoxious data corruption bug is on the way. According to an email beamed out by the WHS team, the final release of Power Pack 1 is still aways out, but the public beta is all set to be loosed on those who willingly accept the associated risk(s). Said download is slated to launch in “early June,” but those who want to get in on the pre-release fun are being encouraged to sign up now. Needless to say, those who toss their name in the ring better be sure their data is backed way up — after all, the whole point of this test is to find any remaining holes that could render your files unusable. Keep an eye on that inbox for an invite, and if you’re content with just getting the end product, the wait is growing ever shorter.

[Thanks, Drew]

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Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs, Storage

Uh-oh — it looks like the nasty Windows Home Server bug that corrupts data affects quite a few more apps than Microsoft initially let on. The company’s just updated the WHS support note to include reports of data corruption when using iTunes, the Zune software, WinAmp, WMP 11, Photoshop, and a host of other applications — and the problem’s expanded in scope as well, now affecting files saved to the server in addition to files edited on the server. That basically makes WHS useless as of right now — if you can’t trust your data on it, there’s no point — so let’s hope there’s a fix on the way.

[Via wegotserved]

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Filed under: Media PCs, Storage

Looks like we’ve got a definitive answer to “How would you change Windows Home Server?” — make it so it doesn’t corrupt data. Microsoft has just posted a Knowledge Base document saying that it’s confirmed WHS corrupts various files when saved to the server by certain apps. The bug affects several MS apps, including Money, Outlook 2007, Vista Photo Gallery, Live Photo Gallery, and SyncToy, but it also hits Quicken, Quickbooks, and — fatally for a media server — BitTorrent clients. Microsoft says it’s working on a fix, but that in the meantime, you should avoid using WHS with these apps.

[Via Computerworld, thanks Tanner E.]

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Filed under: Storage

Don’t get down on yourself if you can’t remember the last time you saw anything interesting from Hush Technologies — we had to scour the archives ourselves — but the German firm is storming back with a stylish home server dubbed the HS1. The Windows Home Server-powered device features a sexy aluminum chassis (available in three colors), a fanless design, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an Ethernet jack, HDD kit for a pair of 3.5-inch drives and a 90-watt power supply. Interested consumers can customize the unit with up to 2TB of storage space and a gigabit Ethernet upgrade, but considering that the base configuration will run you €923.53 ($1,362), maxing this bad boy out won’t come cheap.

[Via WeGotServed]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Features, Media PCs, Storage

Windows Home Server hasn’t quite taken a full year to make its way from being a mere announcement all the way into your living room, but it came darn close. That being said, we’re not fielding any excuses as to why you haven’t had enough time to at least test out the RC1, get a feel for what WHS devices would eventually be unveiled and read up on outside reviews, alright? Granted, you may have been put off by the on-again / off-again release date debacle surrounding HP’s MediaSmart Home Server, but even if you weren’t keen on the unit that practically became the early face of the software, we’re confident that many of you were able to find a box that tickled your fancy from the cornucopia of alternatives.

Now that Microsoft’s latest flavor of Windows is out in the wild for anyone who cares to acquire it, we’re wondering just how satisfied you are with the final product. How irritated are you that you can’t just load up WHS on any old PC / case-o-discs? Has it totally revolutionized your (previously non-existent) backup schedule? How functional have you found remote access to truly be? Has this quelled the bickering between your offspring over who gets to use the PC with all the Tears for Fears tracks on it? Feel free to share with us your favorite add-ins (along with ones you’re currently working up), and don’t hesitate to dole out as much criticism / adoration as necessary to get yourself noticed.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Storage

Now that Microsoft’s Windows Home Server and Leopard’s Time Machine have legs, you’d best get to thinking about your digital storage AND backup requirements. Not up to it? No worries, Intel’s here to offload that processing with their Entry Storage System SS4200x. Their WHS friendly box will ship in two flavors: the hardware-only SS4200-EHW and SS4200-E with integrated software from EMC. The latter can be dropped onto your network as Network Attached Storage with support for 11 languages including those spoken my Macs and PCs. Besides being stuffed with all the requisite Intel chipsets (including a Celeron 400 class proc with DDR2 memory), the SS’s feature up to 4x internal disks for “several terabytes of capacity.” Exactly, Intel? Add a few more through the unit’s eSATA port for something between oodles and mucho capacity. Available in December starting at $500.

Update: Now that we have a picture, it’s pretty clear who Fujitsu-Siemens and Velocity Micro have been sleeping with, eh?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!