Dear Dekard,
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.
o 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.
o 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
