Windows Home Server 2011 Replacement

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  • Currently the Home Server is running on a Intel 975X board with a Pentium 965, with 3GB of Ram and 6 500GB WD Blue drives and old NVidia 6800 My planned replacement is an Asus P5Q, with Q9650 or E8500/8400 (cannot remember) 8GB of Ram and keep the 6 500GB Blue, and add a 500 Black and 500 Green (as back up drive). And old NVidia 6800.
  • Windows Home Server was designed for households and home-based businesses that have more than one personal computer. If you have multiple PCs with increasingly large amounts of digital photography, music, video, and documents, then protecting, organizing, and connecting this digital media can be a challenging task.

Microsoft made it easy for developers to install new applications on your Windows Home Server server — as long as you know the server’s password. If you find a new Windows Home Server add-in that you really want, then install it. If you discover another add-in that’s better, uninstall the unwanted app (bye-bye!) and then add the new one.

Download and install an add-in with these simple steps:

  1. Go to any home or office computer on your network and download the application’s installation file.

    Every application designed to be installed with Windows Home Server comes in a specific kind of file called an .msi file.

  2. Double-click the icon on the desktop marked Shared Folders on Server, then double-click the Software folder, and then double-click the folder called Add-Ins.

  3. Copy the installation file (the .msi file) into the Add-Ins folder, and then X-button out of Windows Explorer.

  4. Double-click the Windows Home Server icon in the notification area, near the time.

  5. When the Windows Home Server logon dialog box appears, type your server’s password and click the right-pointing arrow.

  6. When the Windows Home Server Console appears, at the upper right, click the Settings icon.

    Windows Home Server Console shows you the Settings dialog box.

  7. On the left, click Add-Ins. Then click the Available tab.

    You see a list of available add-ins. Not surprisingly, the list of available add-ins corresponds one-to-one with the .msi files in the Add-Ins folder. Rocket science.

  8. Find the add-in you want to install, and click its Install button.

    Windows Home Server installs the program by running the .msi file. When it’s done, you see the Installation Succeeded message.

  9. Click OK.

    Windows Home Server advises that the computer has lost its connection to the server, and the Windows Home Server logon dialog box appears again.

  10. Type the server’s password and click the right-arrow.

    The Windows Home Server Console appears again. If the add-in put a new tab on the Console, you can see the new tab. Your new add-in is running. Take it for a spin.

Finding the right add-ins can be a daunting task. If you ever change your mind about a particular add-in, uninstalling it couldn’t be simpler, if you know the server’s password.

Uninstall an add-in with these simple steps (don’t worry, its feelings won’t be hurt):

Thanks to all for your responses. I'm getting the sense that Windows 10 may not be my best option for a Home Server to stream my movies and TV series to my Windows 10-based HTPCs, iPads, and xBox. I just need a Home Server solution that can stream movies and TV series to the devices I mentioned, with minimum CPU load. Microsoft made it easy for developers to install new applications on your Windows Home Server server — as long as you know the server’s password. If you find a new Windows Home Server add-in that you really want, then install it. If you discover another add-in that’s better, uninstall the unwanted app (bye-bye!) and then. With the demise of the underappreciated Windows Home Server, Microsoft is offering up two interesting alternatives going forward: Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials. Windows 8 has a lot going for it, including a low price, a simple user experience, and easy compatibility on a home network. Aug 12, 2013  Windows Home Server 2011 replacement. Discussion in 'Microsoft Windows' started by Azafran, Aug 12, 2013. I bought a PC with WHS-2011 pre-installed to use as a wireless backup system for two laptops and a separate business PC. It worked ok for nearly 2.

  1. Log on to any computer on your network, and double-click the Windows Home Server icon in the notification area, near the time.

    When the Windows Home Server logon dialog box appears, type your server’s password and click the right-arrow.

  2. When the Windows Home Server Console appears, on the upper right, click the Settings icon.

    Windows Home Server shows you the Settings dialog box.

  3. On the left, click Add-Ins.

    The Installed tab shows you a list of all the Add-ins installed on your server.

  4. Pick the Add-in you want to axe, and click its Uninstall button.

    You see a message that says the add-in was uninstalled.

  5. Click OK.

    The connection with the server is broken. If you want to log back in to the Windows Home Server Console to verify that the add-in isn’t running anymore, by all means do so.

As part of my journey to install Windows Home Server 2011 on my HP MediaSmart EX470 server, I have been looking for useful add-ins and customizations. Below is a list of the ones I have implemented and found useful, though keep in mind that not all are essential or free… oh, and none are written by me, so you use them at your own risk…

Configuration / monitoring

The AWIECO DriveInfo is a free add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials. The add-in integrates itself into the 'Server Folders and Hard Drives' area of your Dashboard. It shows a graphical overview of your hard disks and drives inside the Dashboard.

Free kpi template excel word. The AWIECO RemoteLauncher add-in for Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Home Server 2011 is a free add-in, which gives you more administrative possibilities to manage your SBS or WHS remotely. It pre-installs a number of pre-defined system tools which are useful for remote admin etc. If you really want, you can install applications on the server and run them remotely.

Download

Acer Home Server

This add-in allows you to easily set up an Apple Mac computer's Time Machine to use a backup location on WHS 2011. This is something that was complicated to do before, but this takes away the guesswork.

Windows Home Server Add-In adds iSCSI Target Storage capability to your Windows Home Server. Okay, not everyone has or needs an iSCSI SAN, but think about setting up a cluster on Hyper-V and using your WHS for storage?

Home

Windows Home Server 2011 Replacement Key

ISO Mounter is a software add-in for Microsoft Home Server and Small Business Server that allows you to mount ISO files (DVD and CD images) stored on your server so they can be viewed directly through your servers folder share on all of your PC's and laptops. Note that this is not a free tool, but not expensive.

SpeedFan by Alfredo Milani Comparetti

SpeedFan is a program that monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can access S.M.A.R.T. info and show hard disk temperatures. On the HP MediaSmart Servers, it is a good way of monitoring CPU and drive temperatures and controlling the fan speeds to avoid over-heating.

Storage

Windows Live Mesh

Windows Live Mesh is a great free tool to sync data between machines and yes it does run on WHS 2011. There is a good blog post here on how to install Windows Live Mesh on WHS 2011.

DriveBender

Drive pooling technology for all versions of Microsoft Windows. This is a replacement for those wanting the equivalent of the WHS v1 Drive Extender technology. Note that in a previous post, I discussed not combining DriveBender with Live Mesh.. you have been warned! (though others report that this works fin, but I suspect it is a function of resource availability on the lower powered HP MediaSmart EX 470/475 servers)

StableBit DrivePool is an add-in for Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. This is a replacement for those wanting the equivalent of the WHS v1 Drive Extender technology.

Snoop-de-dupe will automatically scan your server storage and display duplicate files in an easy-to-view layout directly within the server’s user Console. Once snoop-de-dupe locates duplicate files then you can respond to them as you choose. You can delete the duplicate files, ignore/keep the duplicate files, or replace the duplicate files with a hard-link.

Video / Communications

My Movies for Windows Home Server is an add-on program for Windows Home Server, providing a set of features around movies and music, making it a great solution for adding, identifying and maintaining movie and music data on your Windows Home Server, serving it to different Media Center solutions or music playback devices. I have now used MyMovies for several years to help me archive and organize my videos.

TV4Home installs MediaPortal TV Server on your Windows Home Server. You can then record your favorite TV shows or stream Live-TV to network clients. It supports a wide range of tuners (see here).

There are many more add-ins and so I encourage you to try out sites like wegotserved.com and MSWHS.com and even the Microsoft site as there are lots of good lists of add-ins.

Windows Home Server Replacement 2017

Enjoy!