By Philip Churchill on December 03rd, 2013
On The Move
We are currently moving webhosts and apologize for any down time – We will be right back!
By Philip Churchill on November 29th, 2013
Upgrading Windows 8 Clients to Windows 8.1 in WS2012e Error
If you are running WS2012 Essentials and upgrade your connected computers from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 then you may experience an Alert Viewer error after the upgrade is complete:
But do not be concerned as the resolution is a simple reboot of the connected PC – Simple!
From The Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server Blog.
By Philip Churchill on November 29th, 2013
WD Red NAS Hard Drive Deals
Amazon have the WD Red NAS hard drives at some decent pricing. The 1TB is available for $70, the 2TB at $97, the 3TB at $134 and finally the 4TB drive at $197.
You can catch it here.
By Philip Churchill on November 28th, 2013
Add-In: StableBit DrivePool v2.1.0.432 BETA
The beta release of StableBit DrivePool for WHS2011, Windows Server 2012 Essentials and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials has had an update to support reparse points.
Here is the change log for 2.1.0.432 BETA:
- CoveFS metadata (/.covefs) will be automatically duplicated, depending on the number of disks in the pool, up to 3 times.
- [D] Re-implemented symbolic links (file / directory), junction points and mount points on the pool.
(CoveFs_ReparsePointsEnabled in .config, enabled by default)
– Reparse point metadata is now stored in a special hidden reparse metadata folder on the pool:
/.covefs/reparse. This folder will not be enumerated on the pool but is used by CoveFS to manage reparse points.
– The special NTFS specific \$Extend\$Reparse:$R:$INDEX_ALLOCATION file, for enumerating all of the reparse points on a volume is not supported yet. - Added disk index to the disk tooltips.
- Added total disk count to disk lists.
- Disk metadata updating with the Scanner was sometimes generating error reports if a disk was removed as we were querying for information about it.
- [D] Finally figured out the workaround for the "Samsung magician" bug. Turns out that they don’t like something about our disk name, perhaps it was too long and their app was crashing. I’ve reduced the name and the bug no longer manifests, but unfortunately due to how Plug and Play works in Windows this fix will only be effective for new pools.
- [D] Added product / vendor / firmware codes to our virtual disks in an attempt to work around some kind of bug in the "Samsung magician" software, but attempts at a workaround have failed.
- [D] Redefined our virtual disk enumerator into a SCSI Adapter in order to make it participate in WMI SCSI Controller enumeration.
You can find this beta release here and a blog blog detailing the added support for reparse points here as well.
By Philip Churchill on November 27th, 2013
HP MicroServer System Hang with WS2012 Essentials R2 FIXED
Ed Bott is highlighting a firmware upgrade from HP which enables the MicroServer to continue on with the installation of WS2012 Essential R2 without the system hanging.
So if you want to install Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 Essentials R2 onto the ProLiant MicroServer N40L or the newer Gen8 N54L then make sure you update the firmware otherwise the system will hang after the first re-boot.
More details from Ed Bott.
By Philip Churchill on November 26th, 2013
Add-In: Drive Bender v2.0.2.2 Beta
Another update for the beta release of Drive Bender for WHS 2011 and SBS Essentials 2011 users.
This release has just the one bug fix:
- Under certain conditions a deadlock can occur causing the pool file system to stop responding.
As always version 2.0.2.2 beta can be downloaded from here.
By Philip Churchill on November 25th, 2013
Drive Bender v2.0.2.0 Beta
The beta release of Drive Bender for WHS 2011 and SBS Essentials 2011 has been updated to version v2.0.2.0.
Here’s the change log for this latest beta release:
- [Updated Feature] Updated the core driver to the next generation.
- [New feature] Full support for NFS.
- [New feature] The "Landing zone" feature is now enabled.
- [Updated Feature] Pooled drives are now created using a GPT partition (XP / Server 2003 will still use MBR).
- [New feature] System tray notification application has been added to the Windows and client installers.
- [Updated Feature] Introduced the new drive management framework.
- [Updated Feature] Adding and removing a drive and pool repair are now using the new drive management framework for improved performance and reliability.
- [Bug fix] If one or more drives is disconnected at start up, the underlying mount point will not come up.
- [Bug fix] Many bug fixes to the Drive Bender Manager.
You can download this release from here.
By Philip Churchill on November 21st, 2013
Options Available in WS2012 R2 using the Windows Server Essentials Experience Role
The HP and Microsoft Blog Coffee Coaching has a short 4 minute video and a blog post on their new deployment options available in Windows Server 2012 R2 using the Windows Server Essentials Experience Role:
You can find their blog post here.
By Philip Churchill on November 20th, 2013
Add-In: My Movies Home and Essentials Server Solution v2.14 PR6 Build 2
The pre-release version of My Movies Home and Essentials Server Solution for WHS2011 and WS2012 Essentials has been updated to version 2.14 PR6 Build 2.
Here’s the change log for this version:
- Added: Lossless MKV option for video converter, allowing to copy to lossless MKV files.
- Added: Option of setting disc copier target to video converter, allowing for directly copying to MP4 files, MKV files, or any other file supported by the video converter.
- Added: Advanced configuration options to control disc ejections.
- Added: Update allowing installer files to contain a display name, in case the company changed name.
- Change: The video converter now features improved internal options for detecting the main movie of copied movie titles based on the running time setting in the profiles meta-data.
- Change: The video converter now uses a main movie marking on the meta-data profile when converting movie discs, allowing users to override the automatic detection, and contribute that setting to the online service.
- Fix: Facebook login after unannounced Facebook URL change
- Fix: Issue with audio discs being handled multiple times.
- Fix: Removing media streaming requirement, allowing for support on Server Essentials R2
This pre-release can be downloaded from here.
By Philip Churchill on November 19th, 2013
The My Server 2012 R2 Windows and Windows Phone Apps
The Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server Blog have a nice write up on the My Server 2012 R2 Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps.
Available in the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store as a free download. My Server 2012 R2 allows you to access your business files and folders located on your server from mobile devices. The offline cache function of the My Server Windows Store app even allows you to continue working when you are temporarily disconnected from the Internet. In addition, the My Server apps allow you to manage user accounts, server alerts, and computers from your mobile devices for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.
More information is available from here.
