I recently purchased a copy of Windows Home Server in order to take advantage of the functionality. I loaded Windows Home Server on a spare laptop as opposed to a server in my home office to be more “GREEN”. I simply added a couple of USB drives to accommodate for backups and space. The laptop is a several year old Averatec with 1 GB of RAM. My main objectives for this server are the following:

  • Automate Backups of all my computers
  • Access files from anywhere in my home
  • Stream Music and Videos to any computer or device in my home
  • Add space as needed

I will be writing a lot on Windows Home Server over the next few weeks. Let me know what you think and if you are using it as well. Remember, you do not have to buy a server to run Windows Home Server (WHS). If you have old hardware that meets the minimum requirements, give it a try.

You can also download a trial copy for 120 days. What have you got to lose?

Let’s move on.

After I loaded Windows Home Server, I installed the Windows Home Server Connector software that allows each machine on my network to talk to the Windows Home Server.  A Windows Home Server icon is placed in my system tray (Figure A.) similar to Windows OneCare.

Figure A.

After loading the connection software and rebooting, the first error message I received was that Windows Home Server did not recognized my account (Figure B). The account on my personal computer was called Office but I had no account in Windows Home Server. I created an account in Windows Home Server (Figure C.) and the following error went away.

Figure B.
Figure C.

The next error I received was that my passwords didn’t match on Windows Home Server and my Desktop computer (Figure D).

 

Figure D.

If I wanted to have seamless connections to my Windows Home Server, it would be best to create the same password on my desktop that I created on my Windows Home Server.  A wizard walked me through the process (Figure E, F, and G).

Figure E.
Figure F.
Figure G.

At this point, I kicked off my first backup. It worked flawlessly. I look forward to unlocking the secrets of Windows Home Server and sharing them with my Techrepublic family (Figure H).

Figure H.