The Windows Home Server team today launched a new Power Pack 1 Beta Forum over at Microsoft Forums, and sent out the following email to those already registered at Microsoft Connect:
The Windows Home Server team is pleased to announce details of the public beta of Windows Home Server Power Pack 1. This public beta will include the fix for the data corruption bug described in Knowledge Base article #946676 as well as a host of other bug fixes and new capabilities.
The Power Pack 1 download is planned to be available in early June and Beta participants are encouraged to sign up and begin preparing now. Due to the nature of the shared folder data corruption bug (KB #946676) a broad beta test program with sufficient time for feedback is required. The timeline for a final release will depend on this feedback and testing, in order to deliver a fix of the highest quality.
To meet our goals for the beta test we need the number of beta testers who are actively using and testing the Power Pack 1 beta to ramp up very quickly. Therefore we are asking beta testers to begin preparing in advance.
Below is a set of instructions to prepare a home server for testing the beta of Power Pack 1:
Ensure you have a complete backup of all of your files. While internal testing so far indicates that we have fixed the data corruption bug in the beta release, the whole point of a beta test is to validate internal testing. This means there is a risk that our internal tests have not detected all issues.
As a beta tester it is your responsibility to ensure that your data is backed up and protected before you install the beta. If you are setting up a new home server to run the beta on, download and install the “Windows Home Server RTM Evaluation Edition” from Microsoft Connect.
Ensure that Windows Updates are enabled for your home server. Your home server must have all the latest updates from Windows Update installed before you install the beta Power Pack 1 update package.
To turn on automatic updates:
- Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
- Click On (recommended) in the Windows Update section.
- Click Update Now to get the latest updates immediately
Please turn on the Customer Experience Improvement for your home server. The information provided to the team through this program is invaluable in helping us understand how we are doing against our goals.
To turn on Customer Experience Improvement:
- Go to the Windows Home Server Console > Settings > General page.
- If you agree to opt-in to this program, ensure the Help make Windows Home Server better in the Customer Experience Improvement section is enabled.
Please ensure that you have a backup of all of your files and data. If your data set is large (the larger the better for testing purposes) this will take a while, so you might want to get started now!
Thank you very much for getting ready to beta test Power Pack 1. More details and installation instructions will be sent within the next 1-2 weeks.
Best wishes, The Windows Home Server team
So, it looks like the fun is about to start - get your home servers ready to hammer the PP1 build, and if you’re not signed up, head on over to Microsoft Connect immediately!
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 am
Though I am happy to see this being released to test (having been bitten by the bug a couple of times now) I do have one slight issue:
‘Please ensure that you have a backup of all of your files and data’
Other than on the WHS I do not have a spare TB or two to dump the data on during testing
Anyone want to help me split the backups and stored files over 5 other disks I have spare (also loan me an OS to run the PC on)
Oh well here goes the weekend shuffling data
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Its good to finally see PP1 getting close, with a fix for the data corruption bug (which should not have happened). I am looking forward to reading reviews and testing information but won’t be installing the beta on my server due to not having time to or spare drives to back up none critical data.
To the people who are going to install and test PP1, have fun and i look forward to hearing/reading your feedback. Lets all hope this solved cutrrent WHS issues so i can reccomend it to friends and family.
RB
May 24th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
do you have to re-install the whole home server to test pp1?
or can I just execute the Windows Home Server - Server Installation DVD?
and do I need to burn the new client installation and restore CD?
or can I just use the old ones?
May 28th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
This is rather confusing for me…
I wil admit that for various reasons I have been out of the loop regarding my WHS system…
But how are we meant to back up almost 2.5TB of data of one form or another from our WHS?
Apart from investing in drives, is there a utility to manage the back up of each share to make the process easier?
Like other comments, whislt I am glad a bug fix is alomost here, I do not ahve the time or money to back up my system….
i could buy soem drives early I guess for another project, but I would still need a utility or at least a clear how to, I ahd problems backing up data earlier this year when a WHS re-install went terribly wrong, making me lose some data, duplicate other data and discover the “invalid page hanlder error message’
Adrian
May 31st, 2008 at 3:32 am
There is now an “ad” for Power Pack1 RC4 on Microsoft Connect, but nothing under downloads for WHS.
…latest download is still the Dual Boot Restore CD.
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:07 am
I’m thinking that it might also be a good idea to uninstall any ad-ins that we have on the servers and then after the PP-1 install/update re-install the required add-ins one at a time and see if they still work properly without any added bugs. If one doesn’t remove them first and any ad-in bugs do appear due to PP-1 conflicts it may be quite confusing or take quite a bit of time to recognize that the ad-in is no longer compatable with the updated WHS. They can then be reinstalled and tested one at a time after the update!!
Mark
June 4th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Good luck to the testers, I for one am not gonna risk it the beta myself as I haven’t got the time to devote to it. I will wait for the final release candidate.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I’d like to test the Power Pack, but much too nervous. I don’t have the time to backup and move data around, I bought the Home Server to reduce my time spent messing around keeping my computers up to date, not being the Guinea Pigs for Microsoft. Any ideas how long it will be before its out of Beta?
June 7th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I agree with Alex, frankly. I’m looking for simplification, not at becoming an IT expert. Please let us know when the final product is ready to install.
June 18th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I loaded in Power Pack 1 yesterday as well as upgraded three computers to the latest version of connector. I’ve tried the reccomended MS tests and such in attempt to get things corrupted and it passed the tests with flying colors. Both PP-1 and the connector upgrades were extremely easy to install and went without a hitch, once initiated it all happened automatically on my Poweredge 2650. Also, none of the add-ins I use were affected. I’d say so far that its a 100% sucess.