My Windows Home Server Build

Well I finally finished moving to a new home and purchased the remaining items for my WHS. I decided to blog about the install just in case someone out there is interested in building one for themselves or purchasing one from HP. I ordered the 120 day trial from Microsoft to give it one last run before purchasing the software. You really can’t beat the opportunity to actually try out a retail product from Microsoft for 120 days for FREE! Enough with my continuous Microsoft praising and on with my WHS experience.

Reasons I build a new server with WHS:

1. Store and Backup family pictures.
2. Backup all pc’s in the home automatically while I sleep!
3. Make it easy for the kids to access movies and pics.
4. Create an easy way for family across the country to view pics online.
5. Try out the cool add-ins out there on the web.
6. Just because it’s fun!

 The gear list includes the following,

1. Window Home Server OS (120 Day Trial from Microsoft!)
2. Antec Sonata III 500 Black (Super Quiet 500w Power Supply included)
3. Asus M3A78-Em AM2+ Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
4. AMD 7750 Athlon x2 Black Edition 2.7 Ghz  
5. Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
6. Western Digital Caviar Black WD750GB 7200 Rpm 32mb Cache Sata Drive (x2)
7. Western Digital 350GB Drive from old pc.

and I decided to use the onboard video since I will not be using this box for gaming.

Hardware Installation:

The installation was very simple of all the products and the case had plenty of room for the board since the board was Micro ATX. The best part is the complete system is really quite compared to my gaming pc. The only downsides are the fingerprints that are visible on the outside of the case from just barely touching the pc. *Make sure you plug-in the Network Cable so you have access to the server after installation*

Software Installation:

Well immediately I go through the bios and make sure that the default drive is the 350 gig and make the DVD drive the primary boot device.  Next I read over the install steps from http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows/installing-windows-home-server/ to make sure I don’t miss anything on the install of the OS(Operating System-NooB-) . I then begin the install process which appeared to take at least a good hour and a half!  Not sure if it was because I had a 9:45pm conference all in the middle of the installation or it really takes that long for the software to install. The process was exactly like the howtogeek.com tutorial explained and seeing the finally desktop is a relief.  

New PC  Tuneup!

1. I tried to install the drivers from the disc that accompanied the motherboard…ERROR! The popup states that the OS is not supported. When setting up so the next best thing would be to Click on Start then Right mouse click and select Manage.  Select Device Manager under System Tools and look for all the exclamation points. Then Right Mouse click and select Update Drivers, and it will allow you to automatically search the drivers disc within the drive. The most important driver to install is the Network Adapter. Without this you will not be able to connect to the server from another pc, and you will not be able to have access to the web to install updates.
2. Once the network driver was installed I was able to access the Server from the network and began to download updates from Microsoft.
3. While the server was updating I installed the WHS Connector CD on my other PC to install the application that will allow me to access the server remotely.
4. Now that I have completed all of the updates an hour or so later I am ready to configure my backups but first it’s time to research free security and upgraded firewall.

 To Be Continued…….