Questions – We need your Answers
We have some questions from our readers that we are posting here so (hopefully) you can help answer them. First off we have Jacques from Switzerland, who asks the following:
Do your PC’s wake up each night and go to sleep automatically after being backed up by WHS ?
I have three PC’s, all with Windows Vista installed. Two of the PCs do no go to sleep after the backup in the night, the third PC works fine most of the time, but once a week it does not backup. I think this problem is more related with Vista’s sleep mode rather than with Windows Home Server, but I am sure that I am not the only one with this …
Many thanks for your help
Next up is Bob Crook, who is experiencing slow transfer speeds:
I currently have two Windows Home Servers running, one pre-release and one new full version, both with Gigabit Ethernet Cards, and both connected to a Gigabit network switch. Since it is not possible to transfer one hard drive from one WHS to another without losing data, is there any workaround that anyone has found for huge data transfers? I have noticed that I am only getting a transfer rate of around 4 megabits per second copying speed between the two servers so moving all my data is taking a long time to say the least. Is the response “Oh well” or do we pray for someone in the 10Gbe industry to produce a low cost card and switch just for us. Maybe someone can develop a USB connection device like the file transfer cables used between computers to speed up such a transfer process.
Thirdly Wm Johnston has an issue with the WHS Connector software:
I got my copy of the OEM WHS Today and have been unable to get the connector software to work no matter what I do. I have even copied it form the WHS Install CD with the same results. Is there a download version with fixes, or a work around. I beta tested and everything went great with all the different versions on my equipment. I’m at a loss why the OEM release is giving everyone so many problems.
Any help, suggestions. Thanks.
And finally Jermaine asks the following:
Do you guys know that if I buy a Media Server and put a movie onto it, would I be able to go to work, log-on to the server and be able to watch it?
There we go, four people thinking of buying a Windows Home Server system or that already have one but are having some sort of problem that require your help. Over to you!
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Copy Speed – I have a dual port server adapter on its way and will post results – Intel Dual Server 10/100/1000 Adapter. Looks like 10gbe is a long way off as far as cheap is concerned as most 10gbe adapters running $1000.
Wm johnson – Try disabling your firewall and try loading again. Had the same issue but most blogs and forums referred to the issue as a firewall one.
Jermaine – No. Doesn’t work even if you have media sharing enabled. File has to be downloaded before you can play.
Ok i cannot stream the videos from my sever to my remote computer – but i will be able to download from the sever on to my computer and then watch the movie – the transfer of a dvd movie will that be long say more then 30 min ?
Jermaine – depends on file size – how about using a removable hard drive. Ever heard of slingbox? But you’ll probably need IT permissions before you start watching slingbox at work.
Hey guys, here are a few things to try that might help.
Jacques: I’m willing to bet these issues might be related to ACPI drivers and other running programs on those machines. First, ACPI is what controls sleep, hibernation, etc. on the machines. Check to make sure you have up-to-date drivers for your motherboard and chipsets installed. Also, make sure your BIOS is flashed to the latest version available — Dell has had several (for example) updates to their BIOS for ACPI and power issues.
Next, check to see what all is running on the PC’s that won’t go back to sleep. Are there tasks that kick off that keep the hard disk or CPU busy? Anything that is requesting time and doing activity will keep the PC from going into sleep mode.
Bob: Try this, it will help immensely. Turn OFF (temporarily) folder duplication if you have it enabled on the new server. Copy your files and when you are done turn it back on. If you have it turned on while copying large amounts of data you will be competing for resources as the system tries to balance itself.
Jermaine – Highly recommend against it — it will do it just fine, but you will be eating enourmous amounts of bandwidth and getting a pretty “crappy” experience to boot. Save the video watching for home.
Wm: what types of errors are you getting? Is the installed launching at all, or does it bomb somewhere during the install? If it is bombing launching the installer, make sure you have the Windows Installer 3.1 patch installed on your system.
well the only reason why i ask is because i was told you could just copy whatever is in your folder on the sever and then extract into on to your remote computer .. i never wanted to stream a video . but i see what your saying..iguess the pictures and and music would be a lot easier to transfer
Jermaine: This is most definitely possible through the use of the WebGuide add-in. This great add-in gives you access to your pictures, Music, and video all via the WHS website. Once you install the add-in and log into your website, you will immediately notice the addition of the WebGuide link. Click it and you’ll be taken to the WebGuide website that was installed on your home server. Through this interface you can stream both music and video. It gives you the option to select the streaming bit rate right there in the web interface in addition to measuring the available bandwidth. Also, when under either music or video, when you click “Download Album” it’ll zip up the album and let you download a .zip file of the entire thing. This is a great add-in which everyone should check out. You can download it here: http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/forums/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=1519
File copying – Thank you Robert for the note on duplicating – However I came up with a 70 percent increase in file copying performance by installing an Intel Dual Port 10/100/100 Server Adapter on the WHS connected to a Link-Aggregated-compatible managed Dell 2708 gigabit switch. By using “teaming” I am able to get a full duplex 2 gigbit connection. Woohoo!
UPDATE: Used adapters can be purchased through Ebay for less than $40
Further info from Intel’s website indicates that it’s dual port server adapter is compatible with Windows XP so I shall shortly be adding one to a WIndows Media Center PC to confirm. This I believe is significant because recorded TV files are so large that there are distinct benefits in getting those types of files over to a media sharing WHS as quickly as possible. In another few years perhaps the new 10gbe network cards and switches will be available at a reasonable price.
Hi Bob Crook,
Thanks for the details and the update, keep us updated.
I’m sorry if this is ill-placed, so please don’t goon me 😛
I can’t seem to get my Xbox360 OR my PS3 to find or recognize my WHS (HP). I’ve done everything right as far as I know, UPnP is enabled (on server and PS3) and Xbox should just find it —??
Is there anything small I may have overlooked or is it my crappy DLink router?
Thanks in advance.