Windows Home Server - Installation & Exploration
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- čas přidán 1. 02. 2023
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Back in 2007, Microsoft released Windows Home Server. Targeted at the consumer market, it gave users an easy way to back up all of their data, stream media to an Xbox 360, and more. I recently tracked down a new-old-stock copy, so let's unbox and explore it!
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#MichaelMJD #Windows #Server - Věda a technologie
I used to think home servers would become more popular than they actually did.
Heard about torrents? They are hosted mainly by normal people at home
Linux /nas and cloud products took over the market. Most non tech people hate messing with things. Of course if cloud storage prices go way up that could change.
In hindsight, how did MS possibly think this would catch on?
Cloud storage became cheap and accessible before stuff like this caught on.
Even regular servers are declining in popularity, since the cloud is the Next Big Thing now.
I like how Home Server feels like a weird mix of XP and Vista.
Combination of Windows XP/Server 2003 and Windows Vista.
It reminds me of using some Microsoft programs of the era on XP. Windows Live and others got the nice shiny aeroesque look and feel to them.
@@awsomewe360 Windows Home Server (2008) was a Operating System that was built upon Windows Server 2003
The Installation Process was basically a Frankenstein of the Windows Setup process upuntil Server 2003 and XP and The Vista Style Setup Client for Step 2 First Boot. That is basically how the System Install Routine that we have with Windows to this day...
That being said Home Server 2008 which was x86 only had a successor 3 Years later with Home Server 2011 (Codename Vail).
Vail being based upon Windows Server 2008 R2 (amd64/x64) had no direct upgrade patch. Though many off the shelf Homeserver 2008 units came with CPUs that didn't support x64 anyways.... Via C7 and Atom 230 and were barely fast enough for a Server 2003 anyways
@@itmkoeln I have a atom 330 still running today on which i run ubuntu 22.04 on it as my home server and both 230 and 330 has x64 support. I know that they are extremely slow but consumes very low energy when compared even with a low clock core2duo.
@@awsomewe360 YEAH i remember a lot of stuff around 2006 trying to ape Vista's UI (officially or not) would look super weird on XP
This was released back when Microsoft's Windows division still catered to consumers. I miss the old Microsoft that used to try new things even if they didn't work out. The HP Mediasmart Server was pretty cool looking with all of its LEDs and compact form factor. The drive extender feature (kind of like RAID but not) was pretty cool and I wish they would have continued to develop it.
Well, today's Microsoft enables you to legally use Windows 10 (and even 11, if I'm not mistaken) with a Windows 7 key from some dirt cheap old PC you thrifted at some point. Or even with no key at all (at least with Windows 10) with just some customization options blocked and the Activate windows message. That's cool, too.
@@BilisNegra microsoft being so rich that they're able to make Windows basically free now isn't really "consumer friendly" it's just good business. Windows 10 is still full of all sorts of anti-consumer data harvesting crap and both 10 and 11 heavily restrict personalization.
@@peefromtmv You can always go Linux, of course, but for a company of its kind, free Windows, even with some tradeoffs, is no small thing.
Well, as I recall the Drive Extender was basically what we have now as Storage Spaces.
Yes I would like to see more on the drive extender functionality, it was what attracted me to the product back in the day with the ability to add a variety of drives, both internal and external, and have them included in a drive pool.
I would love for you to tackle more Windows Server OS'es, maybe doing a history video on them all or something.
I absolutely agree!
Back in 2007 I used this to set up a small business server just for file storage and client back ups. I loved that system. The jabod system did not encrypt the disks, so when the system eventually died, all I had to do was move the disks to another system and copy the data off. Once Microsoft discontinued Homeserver the cheapest version of windows server was $750 instead of $50. The Homeserver was really the only product Microsoft ever made to compete in the network attached storage market.
crazy to think that Windows Multimedia peaked with Home Server and Windows 7.
That's crazy [drops Windows Server 2022 ISO from MSDN]
Aren't you forgetting SBS? Server Standard was the smallest "normal" license that was pretty pricey, but SBS was WAY cheaper. IIRC Server Standard was somewhere around 500+€ per license (but allowed you to install it twice) while SBS was
@@d9zirable”windows server 2022 product key”
I was one of the lead support analyst for the HP MediaSmart Server's and our biggest headaches was when the standard byte size sector for hard drives moved from 512 to 4098 sectors, because the sys partition required 512 k. So I spent the last year of the servers lifetime helping customers recover data from the data partitions.
0:00: Intro
2:43: Unboxing
3:49: Installation
10:16: Entering details
11:28: Exploring the desktop
12:13: Sponsor - Linode
13:15: Setting up the client computer
17:01: Exploring the Home Server Console
23:36: Outro
Thanks for the timestamps, kind stranger!
@@adoggewokepupper No problem 😊
If only someone could comment accurate chapters for a video and then have it automatically apply to the video or something
I got this from a neighbor who did stuff for microsoft, it was very nice to play around with. Having an xbox 360 helped make it a nice media center experience since it was easy to use a low powered pc to handle file transfers, this was an incredibly smooth experience.
I had a Technet account when I was in college in the early 2000s. I had a old PC running a 900 mhz AMD Duron with a bunch of old hard drives running Windows Server 2003 from Technet to stream my (allegedly) Limewired/Torrented music and movies to my TV. Also hosted game disc images for my modified Xbox 1 and XBMC. Was super fun and nerdy. That thing was rock solid and only ever got rebooted if the power went out in a storm.
The same username/password requirement between the server and client(s) makes sense- it's how Windows' SMB file sharing works by default. Attempting to access/browse an SMB share will try to authenticate using your currently signed in credentials first, if it doesn't work it normally prompts you for different credentials. MS probably recognized this and forced this requirement on WHS to avoid confusion with the intended audience.
That explains why my Windows PC would automatically connect to my NAS without prompting for the credentials (even though i had guest access turned off on the NAS)
Wow, this actually looks like it was a useful piece of software. The fact it makes backups so easy would have been a blessing for so many people who just didn't (and still don't) run backups.
I used to run this, and afterwards the 2011 version that came after before I went Linux and Nextcloud for my home server. Good memories!
Windows Home Server is such an interesting product. Thanks for covering it, Michael!
I have great memories of Windows Home Server! Back in 2009 I built a 22 tb home server with some third party software that allowed me to rip my DVD and Bluray disks, download cover art, and use it to serve my Windows Media Center pc. I had 11 2 tb Western Digital Green Drives and one 500 gb black drive or the os. Unfortunately I lost it in a house fire in 2014. I'd probably would be still would be using it today! I loved the drive pooling feature so much, that I built a Windows 10 computer using a third party program called Drive Bender that I use as a file server and Plex.
Oh gods that’s a blast from the past, I actually used to run a home server with this forever ago :D
cool, ill probably get windows server 2022 for my home server
Cringe profile pic
@@jm036 cringe comment
@@anantav51 cope and seethe, dead end lifestyle
@@jm036 ur the one with no life if you really gaf about some random persons profile picture
My new favorite channel! Ive never been so excited for an unboxing
Please make a Video where you show EVERY copy of Windows you have. It would be really cool to see :)
Good Idea
Best part of WHS was the image based nightly backup. It only backed up the bits that changed so the nightly backups were quick. I used it to upgrade PCs to SSD's also. I ran WHS and it's R2 for years until they quit supporting home server, and now I run server essentials. I loved restoring any of my kids PCs from whatever they did to them easily.
Does server essentials include all the same features? Drive extender, backup, streaming etc?
@@Santor- it does client backups the same way. It uses drive spaces so it is similar in ease to add and remove drives from the pools. As for streaming, I run a plex server from it so that's covered in a different way.
@@05milmachine90 Alright, but server essentials isn't available anymore, is it? My understanding was the latest Ms server offering was lacking some of these features?
@@Santor- I believe you are right. The new offerings are not comparable. I will probably keep mine running just for local client backups and wall it off from anything else. Between that and a monthly off site backup, I think it's the best I can do for now.
I used this back in the day, it was a real breath of fresh air compared to the actual Server OSes. The hard drive pool was a nice feature too - removed the hassle of adding additional storage - you could just add another USB drive and it added it to the pool! I tried a few other MS servers after support for this finished and ended up just using Windows 10 on an old laptop as it met all my needs.
I used it back in the day, mainly for how it handled harddrives, yes it was a bit slow but it worked. I was happy with it, but I understand why it never took off, not many people were ready to invest their time in this. Instead a NAS made more sense (even if NAS devices in general are doing a bad job and their marketing assures you that your files are "secured and backed up").
My own server acts as my NAS. I also use it for a Jellyfin server, Nextcloud server, Minecraft server, Satisfactory server, and DNS sinkhole.
Nice video. Lots of memories with V1 and V2 home servers.
Todays Windows Server Essential (now just a role and not a dedicated SKU if I’m not mistaken) is the successor to Home Server back in 2007.
Great video Michael, I've heard of Home Server but I never saw it in action..nice to had the experience 🙂
I was just thinking about this product, I hadn't seen many videos on it. Thank you MJD for this video! I always wanted to try this OS.
I remember my dad using this back in 2010 and it having very cool features such as the ability to clone use user folder and i believe creating restore points and storing them on the server.
We still have that server, it's a gateway but we long since retired it. i would love to use that software on more modern Windows server OS but i can't find anything thats as useful as this
Windows Server Essentials used to feature most of these features client restore etc. that was around from Server 2012 until 2012 R2 and could be installed as a role up until Server 2016 on Standard and Datacenter. This role was removed from Server 2019 onwards. Even if you upgrade a server 2016 to 2019 or 2022. with support for Server 2012 (R2) ending in october and Server 2016 end of support upcoming in January 2027 while server 2019 and 2022 have until January 2029 and October 2031 respectively. Which is 7 and 9 a half years vs. 4
@@itmkoeln it makes me sad to know my essentials 2012 server is nearing the end. It's ran 24/7 for almost 10 years now and has never let me down. Nothing current just works as easily and integrates as nicely.
@@05milmachine90 True, I still run my HP media Center as I've never found a product that can replace it with even remotely the same features.
I still have a home server PC! (HP MediaSmart), though it's running Alpine Linux with NextCloud now.
I used my home server for many years until I switched to Dropbox. It was really nice for multiple computer backups and things like image sharing. This definitely brought back memories!
I loved the drive extender feature of Windows Home Server. It allowed you to use multiple hard drives without requiring a raid controller. At the time this was a nice feature. It must be said that most Linux distro’s can do software raid out of the box.
What the installer does at 8:41 :
- Mounting the cdrom
- Continuing to configure storage
- Installing the debugger
- Disabling SIS filter
- Configuring to fix MFT $Upcase table on next reboot
- Converting the volume to dynamic
- Configuring network
- Rebooting the OS
Hey, do you have a source for this info? I'd love to read more about this stuff
@@gnome6671 The source is the video itself, I went frame by frame
As always, another great video!
I used it for a great time. Worked really well once I added my music, photos and movies. I had so much data on it I still have the hard drive for it. It worked really well when I was on the go when I streamed movies from my laptop and mobile phone. Way ahead of it’s time back in the day.
Aaaaaah man I was waiting for this one!!! You the man
Comgrats on 341K!
Windows Home Server 2011 vid? Also I wish they still made home versions of their server software. I thought that plug and play functionality would be super cool (of course these exist in simple things now that don't have to run an operating system like that)
i really liked using it back in day , very easy to configure
I was working for an IT company in 2008 when this was new - the trade price on the HP ML115 (Tower Server, but basically a precursor to the HP Microserver) was £100, so I got a full home server setup for around £200 with drives and OS. It was awesome, for a while...!
Recognized the channel instantly with the goofy baseball figure. Subbed right away
Great video as always!
The installer is the most beatiful of all I've seen! Wish it'd be default for every Windows version setup!!
I really like the combined design elements. it makes for sort of a "retrofuturistic" look (as "retro" as you can consider XP)
I think 22 years old counts as retro
@i_lost_my_bagel ah mate that means im retro then haha
Another great video!
I enjoy your videos because they just hit different some times
I love the IBM clicking keyboard you still have.
Used to love this ... Had a server running this at my home back then.
Backup for computers
Drive Extender
Those speakers bring back Creative memories and Soundblaster.
Back in 2012 I was running Home Server on an old Sempron PC that I had (1.4 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM and dual 80 GB hard disks). I was using it for media sharing and to backup my other systems. One of the best features of WHS v1 was the storage manager (Drive Extender), which made adding and replacing disks really easy. I remember people not being happy when Microsoft removed that feature in Windows Home Server 2011.
To be fair Home Server 2007 and 2011 were supported for the same time…
And the fact that 2007 was based on the 32-Bit Version of Windows Server 2003 where 2011 was 64-Bit Windows Server 2008 R2 so there was no real upgrade path in the first place anyways. 2011 was a rewrite… and it actually lived on in 2012 and R2 as Server Essentials though obviously Server 2012 (R2) Essentials had another pricetag and required to be both setup with a AD Domain Service and then even the PDC role. In Server 2016 they’ve given you the opportunity to install Essentials experience. But as of 2019 the Essentials Rolle in servers disappeared
@@itmkoeln Yeah, the two OSes had very different codebases. I've used Windows Server Essentials at work, and it's actually a really nice package, but Microsoft's core market is higher business stuff, so it was expected that Essentials wasn't going to last. It's a bummer, but it is what it is.
Another epic video by MJD ;))
I've never seen this before, very cool. I like how it's a mix of XP and Vista.
I remember Windows Home Server. I beta tested it back in the day and it was really good back then. Good times,….good times. There was also an updated version of Windows Home Server from the one showed here but it didn’t have Drive Extender.
I remember having to trial version of Windows Home Server. I think it gave you 60 days to trial it. Seeing this brings back memories.
I absolutely loved Home Server! I was kinda bummed when Microsoft discontinued it. Nostalgia alert!
Hey new MJD vid!
I still have the 2011 version. Installed on a tiny shoebox Celeron server. Use it mostly for storage, and added Plex option to share video stream.
I Installed so many Home Servers for clients. From Beta to Essentials server 2016. The client computer restore was worth it.
This is really awesome!!!!!
home server was an awesome product. The workstation backup feature alone was well worth it. It's too bad Microsoft couldn't figure it out and keep it going.
I used this once - at my first job at a crummy computer shop, I had to set up I think it was QuickBooks at a small business, they had a Windows Home Server, prebuilt one with no VGA input, so I attempted to set up the server app on the Windows Home Server, it didn't like me RDPing in, and it especially didn't like me trying to install something on it. I think I ended up setting up one of their office PCs as the server as they didn't want to spend extra for a proper Windows Server 2008 server or even an additional Windows 7 PC. Honestly, I can see how Windows Home Server would've been ideal for some people, but honestly - I was quite happy to go home to my Windows Server 2008 box at home, and don't think I really missed out on anything by not having WHS.
My first homeserver ran WHS, an HP EX470. Still have it, but it runs linux now. WHS was a great OS for the time though. The second version was worse though, because they removed the best feature, Drive Extender.
I remember a cool thing that there are a bunch of useful addons that one can download and install via the home server console !
Great video as always MDJ! It’d be fun to see you do a video about you installing Gentoo Linux or Arch Linux and trying not to lose your insanity over it. I myself have successfully installed both Systems Twice on what used to be my Windows 7 PC! (For Arch Linux, I used something called ArchInstall, but I still feel proud to call myself an Arch Linux User!)
It's MJD
I know, but I came up with a fun nickname for MJD.
i UsE aRcH bTw
The original WHS worked well, especially for backing up a few WinXP/7 machines and running Plex. The update (WHS 2011?) changed the disk management scheme and was not as easy to set up or install/expand storage. Troubleshooting it when something went wrong (which was rare, but not unheard of) was not fun.
nothing like watching michael mjd and drinking pepsi at 6 in the morning
Good day when MJD uploads.
The HP Media Smart (I think that exact model) is what is in my mom's house. I've always been terrible at networking (just understanding it even. Networking is kinda intimidating for someone who never learned about it in any formal kind of setting)
I never realized that the HP Media Smart is "plug n play". My mom still has the discs for it. It's getting on in years. She always keeps it running because she thinks it has something to do with the internet connection, but she doesn't even use the computers that the server is connected to anymore.
I want to upgrade the Media Smart with SSDs
It’s cool how you got a product with saying not to be sold
I knew! I am wanted ro sugest this to you! I am predicting the future!😀 Sorry if my english is not that good.
I used to run this on an old dual socket Pentium 3 system...I thought it was awesome, although my mother probably wondered why the electricity bill was so high
I started on Home Server and then went to Home Server 2012 R2, now i just have Server 2019 Standard. i only use if for Storage Pool and have all my movies pictures and documents housed there. Also, i use server2019 because it doesn't reboot when it decides.
edit: I thought I'd add I also use the server with 2 Hyper-V servers. I use one for home automation, and the other is for "things"
its kindof awesome
23:35 This explorer interface reminds me of Longhorn
February 3, 2023 1:18AM
I still run mine on an offline dedicated shadow network, works great with a bunch of win10 and Linux PC's.
I used to have a book back when I was 10 called Windows Vista Inside Out
It mentioned Home Server very briefly
Back in like idk 2010 we had a HP home server I don’t remember what it was called but it was a HP and it ran windows home server 2007.
Edit it was a HP mediasmart server they showed it in the video.
I first seen those Microsoft store stickers on OG Xbox Games when Scott the Woz talked about them XD
You can enable XP-style UI themes and install missing features such as the games and use WHS as if it was XP Pro - sometimes that was cheaper than buying an XP license.
With few extra features that regular xp doesn't have. Also, I'm pretty sure the reason why Windows home server 2007 is cheaper than a Windows XP and Windows Vista license is because most computers back then came pre-installed with either XP or Vista and plus a computer which was meant to run Windows home server 2007 didn't have a monitor so microsoft thought a good marketing strategy was to just make it cheap hoping that they weren't gonna use Windows home server 2007 as a everyday operating system.
Windows Server used to be really brilliant. Backing up client data was super easy and worked without any problems.
Protecting certain shares from failures and some not was also a very good solution. Storage space was very expensive and the movies and series didn't necessarily have to be backed up twice.
At 1:37 I'm wondering: if you didn't have any video output for this machine, how would you install the OS in the first place? If it only came preinstalled, does that mean if you had a problem that required repairing the OS or accessing the BIOS, you would have to send it back to the manufacturer? I imagine that if you had to access the 'guts' of the machine they could do something like Dell's iDRAC or HPE's iLO where there's a dedicated hardware subsystem that runs above the main OS and gives you access to BIOS settings and more from a web interface and a dedicated administration port, but was that how they did it here?
You know, the truth is, I've never tried it before, but this video got me excited to use it
Yes big thump ups
I've worked with Windows servers for over 10 years now. I can definitely see a resemblance between the console here and that from SBS 2008.
We actually had one back in the days and it would constantly break down. Backup PCs was a nightmare and you where needed to constantly reconnect a PC to the server
This brings back memories ... I used v1 for years for backup, then switched to WHS2011 until the support ended :)
I still use WHS2011 today!
I wish this one was also everything went wrong video. Like the 90s mystery pc lol.
Who whatches michael MJD everyday
↓
Request (though your don't have to): try seeing if the Windows home server connecter software will work on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11
I know it worked up through 8.1 but each windows update broke it in ways that required nerdy googling and command line type stuff to fix. It got tiring figuring out why it broke, how to fix it, then implementing that fix on 9 other computers in the house
@@05milmachine90 ok
@@05milmachine90 You had nine computers at home, all regularly used (not stored collecting dust)? Well, that's cool.
It worked/works with win 10, haven't tried 11. I still use it in an offline manner, with 2 home routers, 1 Internet connected, the other not.
@@BilisNegra there was a time I was really into SFF HTPCs and had one on every TV. That combined with kids and wife's desktops and laptops and yeah, 9 was easy. Lol
I really did USE this Home Server from MS!
I was so damn NICE and fast and it really workend insane good
Damn this brings back great memories (Do think that this was sold to Synology)
But then shortly after came NAS
It would be nice to do a home server edition with current technology, be interesting to see how it would work and what hardware it could work on.
Then less OneDrive money could be made
@@martin5697 you pay?
I had this. I bought oem install disks through my father in law who had a wholesaler account. It was fun to play with. I may install it again for fun. Not sure if activation would still work.
Nice
39 minutes is probably just the worst possible install time they estimate for the hardware it is meant for. When I installed Windows 10 on my PC with a Ryzen 9 5950x it was on the desktop for the first time ready to use in 5 minutes. Of course at that time it was still doing some updating but it blew my mind how quick it was!
I mean many off the shelf Home Servers that I know of from Acer and Wortmann for example used like Atom N280 and 230 or 330 at the most. Many even ran Via C7 or Nano... so even a P4 is "plenty"
Cool vid
I used WHS that came with an Asus product that had 4 drive bays. Lasted 10yrs before the server failed
I'm curious what would the OS be like if you killed that last "Update" process because at that time the Start menu looked to be fully enabled and the boot screen said Server 2003 Small Business. Maybe this is just a Small Business OS that gets nerfed into Home Server at the last step?
I bought the Home Server 2011 version. The ONLY physical copy of any Microsoft operating systems I ever bought. I have of course other physical medium for other operating systems from Microsoft but not that I bought myself. I own multiple copies of 8.1/10 and 11, but they are online bought keys only
neat. I have a copy of windows home server 2011 (opened) that I never got around to playing around with, I'm curious how similar it is to this version...
what I don't get with windows till this day having a very good snapshot or backup solution like what macOS has with Time Machine which I really really like about macOS and migration as well its so nice to just reinstall a macOS system on one of ur Mac computers plug in a time machine usb disk and just migrate the system and it works great man... also linux has btrfs with snapshot features and theres a bistro call mx linux where it makes back up iso so not only it backup up the system and make a iso for it in also gives u a option to run the installer to install it on a new pc or another computer with all ur settings its nice features like this that would be nice to have in windows... its why I don't use windows anymore .... its not the only OS for pc gaming linux is very good now for pc gaming also linux has very good file system and I love btrfs and snapshots feature and yeah its amazing I also like macOS and their hardware and I think they have also a great backup solution also windows doesn't have unix on it and dos and powershelll and linux emulation is not that great to me and yeah meh... im a unix guy I only use unix stuff and it just works!
My old employer had this on their main file server when I left in 2022, still running daily
Windows home server was used for many arcade games such as super street fighter 4 ae and in the groove 3
One problem I experienced with this product at the time was that there was no antivirus software and you had to purchase enterprise versions of software as companies deemed this to be a enterprise server product and not for home use. The companies wouldn't budge on their products and so I ended up giving up on this product.
I did get MS Home Server with an HP Proliant Mini Server, but I gave up on it pretty quickly as most of my Utils required the more expensive "server" versions, like Norton AV, Partition Magic, etc. which didn't differentiate "home" from business server :(
This strikes me as an almost sort of early predecessor to Windows Storage Server.