We recently replaced our existing Windows Home Server with the newer model from HP.  I thought I’d post the steps here that I took migrating from our old unit to the new one.

• Picked one of my home computers as the system to "move" to the new server
• Shutdown all of the other computers on our network to avoid any updates or conflicts
• Ran the EX485 setup process on that system naming the new server NEWSERVER
• Setup the same set of users and passwords on the EX485 that were on the EX470
• Ran the "Remove Disk" process on the EX470 removing one of our 500GB drives
• Moved the 500GB drive over to the EX485
• Created the additional shares on the EX485 to match those I created on the EX470
• Opened a window to the "Shared Folders on Server" on NEWSERVER
• On the same computer opened a second window to the EX470, named ECLIPSE, using the standard network convention \\ECLIPSE
• I then proceeded to copy the contents of each share from the EX470 to the EX485
• Once the copy was completed I then went through the process of removing our remaining 500GB hard drive from the EX470 and moving it to the EX485
• I then logged into the EX470 directly using "Remote Desktop Connection"
• I then right-mouse-clicked on "My Computer" and selected Properties from the pop-up menu
• I then clicked on the Computer Name tab and then the Change button on that page
• I renamed our EX470 OLDSERVER and followed the prompts to reboot the system
• Once I confirmed the EX470 rebooted under the new name and there were no issues I shut it down and removed it from the network
• With the migration from the EX470 complete I then logged into the EX485 directly using "Remote Desktop Connection"
• I proceeded with the same steps I used on the EX470 and renamed the EX485 from NEWSERVER to ECLIPSE and followed the prompts to reboot
• Once the EX485 rebooted, I then went to "\\ECLIPSE\Software\Home Server Connector Software" and reran the connector setup on the system I had been using
• I then opened the WHS console and turned on folder duplication so that my data would start replicating across all of my drives again
• Now that the migration was complete, folder duplication was on, and my main desktop was "talking" with the EX485 I proceeded to go to each of our remaining systems and rerun the Home Server Connector setup.  Each system successfully reestablished a connection with the "new" ECLIPSE and were added to the backup process

In the end, everything worked out like a champ.  Even my Zune was happy as it found all of it's music without issue since it was configured to look for \\ECLIPSE\MUSIC for its information.  The best part is, the EX470 was sitting on the shelf completely intact, so I could go back to it if I had to.

Overall, the process was more tedious than painful.  Granted, I had the luxury of not being at a point where my drives were so full that I was able to migrate them.  If they had been, then I would have been looking at additional expense purchasing more drives for the EX485.  I'm glad I made the upgrade as I can definitely tell the difference when accessing the server remotely and in day-to-day use.  I also signed up for Amazon's S3 service through the new interface on the WHS console and our photo's are now being backed up to it.  If you haven't checked the service out yet, but were thinking of doing so, they are having an anniversary sale through July, where initial data uploads are only .03/GB versus the normal .10/GB so it's a great time to do your initial backups where you generally have the largest amount of data to move.

I hope this write-up will help someone else out in their migration.

During an SBS Server migration we encountered a strange issue while setting up one of the client laptops.  We were importing their PST files from their POP3 accounts into their new Exchange accounts.  Up until this one system things had been going pretty smoothly.  I then opened Outlook 2007 on this Dell laptop just like I had on the previous 10 systems.

I clicked on the File-->Import and Export link and proceeded to run the wizard to point it at the PST file and kick off the import.  This is where the fun began.  When I got to the Import Personal Folders screen and clicked on the Browse button nothing displayed in the window.  At first I thought I had landed on a folder with no *.PST files in it since the default is to show only PST files.  So I proceeded to try and navigate to the folder I needed and still nothing was being displayed in the file window.  I could see the locations change in the Look In section but nothing was being displayed below.  Stumped I tried numerous variations of search terms in Live Search and Google with no success.  I tried creating a new Outlook profile with no change either.  Finally, I decided to move on (we still had more systems to convert) and opened the users account on another machine and imported it that way so they could function and I could address the issue later after completing the other migrations.

When I returned to the machine later I found that even though I had exited Outlook it was still showing as a running process in Task Manager.  At this point I suspected there might be an add-in issue so I started looking through the various add-ins as well as Add/Remove programs.  In doing so I discovered an add-in called "Outlook Setup Add-In".  Searching on it I found this article at Slipstick (a great resource when it comes to Outlook and Exchange) run by Diane Poremsky, an Outlook MVP.  After reading about this add-in's issues regarding slowness and CPU spiking with Outlook 2007 I decided to disable it.  Once I did, I know longer had any issues with Outlook "hanging" on exit.  It responded a lot quicker as well.  On a whim, I tried the Import/Export wizard one more time and Lo and Behold now all the files were listed as they should have been in the first place.

I was setting up a Palm Treo 650 to make use of Exchange Active Sync (EAS) for one of my clients.  I'm not that familiar with the Palm O/S as my first exposure to PDA's was an iPAQ 3630. And all of my phones have been Windows Mobile based.  So needless to say there were a few "bumps" along the way getting the 650 setup.  Therefore, I wanted to post a few comments that may help you out if you are in the same situation.

First, the client's phone provider is AT&T (Formerly Cingular) and the phone ships with VersaMail 3.1.  As a result you won't find support for EAS out of the box as that was first introduced in VersaMail 3.5.  So the first thing to do is confirm the version of VersaMail on your Treo.  If you need to upgrade to VersaMail 3.5 you can find an article here, http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/9311/palm-offers-exchange-update-for-the-treo-650/, discussing how to acquire the appropriate software.  It's not that expensive ($12USD in our case) and can be downloaded from the net so you don't have to wait for software to be shipped or travel to a retail store to pick it up.

Once you've purchased the upgrades, download them to the desktop you'll normally sync your Treo with via HotSync.  The default HotSync setup will automatically transfer the upgrade to your Treo and install it.  Once you're running VersaMail 3.5 you will be able to walk through the wizard to configure the phone to access EAS.

The final "bump" I encountered is an embarrassing one.  No doubt somewhere in your career you've encountered the "Is it plugged in?" question during a support session.  Well, this falls along those lines.  The phone was configured as expected, everything looked good and should have been working.  I spent about 30 minutes troubleshooting the issue to no avail.  I was just about to give up when something struck me.  I asked the client if the phone had been setup on AT&T's data plan.  Their response, "What's that?".  So they contacted their rep and added the data plan to the phone.  Once we confirmed the plan was activated we synced again and everything worked like a charm.

When I'm troubleshooting issues I find in Event Logs, one of the first places I head to is, http://www.eventid.net.  When you go to the site you can enter an EventID and you'll get back a list of EventID's that match along with the various "Source" entries they apply to.  Once you find the issue that matches your event there's a link to click on where you will find a comments and links from others who have encountered the same issue.  This in itself is a great resource, but for a very reasonable fee you can sign up for an account that will allow you to have one-click access to any links referenced in the comments, the ability to set notifications when/if there are updates, no ad banners and more.

The next time you get stuck check them out and if you find value in the site, signup and help them keep it going.

If you are in a situation where you have a CD or DVD stuck in the drive and unable to eject it, here's a quick tip.  Look at the front of your drive and you should see a small pinhole near the center of it.  Grab a paperclip and straighten it out.  Take the end of the paperclip and gently push it into the hole.  Apply pressure until you see the drive door start to open.  Once you can grasp the end of the drawer slowly pull it out until you can remove the disc.

One word of caution, don't try and force the paperclip as you could damage the drive or disc if it slips, so always gently apply pressure.

Do you have a lot of links listed in the Links web part on your main Companyweb SharePoint page in SBS?  Are you frustrated by the fact that only 20 of them appear at a time and you have to click on the "More links..." option to see the remaining ones?  If so, there's an easy fix that will allow you to display as many on the main page as you'd like.  The trick is finding the right location to make the change.

It took a bit of digging, but I finally found that right location.  First, I went to where I thought the change should be made.  I went to the Links page and clicked on the "Modify settings and columns" option.  There, I clicked on the "All Links" option under Views to edit it.  Scrolling to the bottom of that page you'll find an entry labeled "Item Limit".  Seeing that it was set to 20 I changed it to 100, OK'd my way back out and to my surprise find nothing's different!

After some detective work I finally found the place to change it and it seems rather simple now.  From the main page click on the down arrow on the Links title bar and select "Modify Shared Web Part".  On the screen that comes up on the right hand side will be a column labeled "Links".  The second entry is labeled "Selected View" and by default the selection will be on "Current View"  immediately below the drop-down list is a link labeled "Edit the current view". Click on it and you'll be taken to what appears to be the same page I found above when I attempted to modify the settings by going directly to the Links page.  Scrolling down you'll find that same "Item Limit"  option and it to will show the default of 20.  Modify it to the number of links you'd like displayed at one time and then decide whether you want that amount displayed in batches (i.e. still offer the 'more links...' option) or if you want to impose a hard limit as to how many links will be displayed on the main page.

That's it.  Once you OK your way back out you'll now see the number of links you specified in the "Item Limit" option on your main page.

I was at a client site recently troubleshooting an RDP issue.  The problem, we were unable to RDP into the SBS server either locally or via the Remote Web Workplace (RWW).  During the course of the troubleshooting I received an E-mail from a fellow SBSCer, and member of the local SBS users group, Bill.  He was helping a client get setup with Office Live and recalled my comments at our previous users group meeting mentioning that I'd taken advantage of the SBSC Office Live Premium site benefit.  I was glad to take a moment to answer his E-mail as I was stumped by my RDP issue and felt a small break would refresh me and get me back on track.  We swapped a few messages back and forth and I received a thank you for my help as I'd got him pointed in the right direction.  Now this probably would have been the end of the story if I hadn't responded to his thank you.

In sending my "You're Welcome" I mentioned I was glad I could help him out and wished I was able to figure out my RDP issue as easily.  Next thing I know, my cell phone is ringing and it's Bill.  He asks me if ISA is installed, to which I say yes.  He then asks if I've made any changes recently, and at first I say no and then realize in troubleshooting a remote access issue for the client earlier that week I made a policy change to allow direct access to the Terminal Server temporarily.  So I pull up the changes and he recommends I either move it below the Server RDP policy or remove it altogether.  I take the latter approach and next thing I know my issue is resolved!

During the course of my initial troubleshooting, I didn't take ISA into account as I was unable to RDP either remotely (RWW) or locally (RDP).  I had forgotten that unlike a typical hardware firewall that is concerned about External access, ISA also can affect internal access, especially with regards to itself.

So, being a Small Business Specialist, having taken advantage of one of it's many benefits, and participating in my local SBS Users Group helped me out immensely that day.  If you've been on the fence about going for your SBSC, take a moment to think about it again.  Also take some time to check and see if there's an SBS Users Group in your area, and if not, use the SBS Partner locater tool and contact someone close by and meet for coffee or lunch.  Next thing you know you may have the beginnings of your own local group.  If you're in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, check out the group I belong to, DFW-SBS.

If you have a tape stuck in a drive and it won't eject here's a quick fix that will work with most drives.  First, power down the drive.  Now press and hold the eject button and power up the drive, continuing to hold the eject button in until the tape ejects.  Obviously if your drive is an internal one you will have to power down the system it's connected to.  In most cases, if this works you'll be able to use the drive again without issue.  I don't have a technical explanation for what happens so I'll just say that the drive apparently got its "eyeballs crossed" and needed to be reset to release the tape.

I was at a client site today setting up a new laptop for them to use for client presentations.  During the course of the process they asked that I reset the password on the account they used for these demos.  Pretty straightforward request right?  Well, I went through the process from the Users screen within Server Management and through Active Computers and Users directly and regardless what I tried I could not reset the password.  After a little detective work digging through all the various options on the account I finally found the culprit.  I had forgotten (and didn't document) that when we setup this account a few years ago that we had restricted it to only being able to logon to the original demo laptop that this new one was replacing.  The client wanted a little extra insurance that someone using that account wouldn't be able to logon to another system.  So what was happening is the password reset was working correctly.  However, when I attempted to use it on the new laptop to run the Connect Computer Wizard (or via OWA when trying to test the password that way) it would return an incorrect password error.  It never gave me an error stating I wasn't allowed to access the computer I was attempting to logon to.

In summary I've learned several valuable lessons.  First, when setting something out of the ordinary don't forget to document it.  Second, don't forget to look at the big picture.  I was so focused on trying to determine why, as a domain admin, I couldn't reset a password I never considered that the password reset had actually worked and something else was amiss.

I spent yesterday getting my last SBS client up to SP1.  Yeah, I know SP2 is now out, and I doubt I'll wait as long to roll it out, but right now I'm taking a wait and see approach and let my peers work out the kinks ;-)

So getting back on topic, the upgrade went smoothly and everything looked really good.  I had a few hardware changes to implement, BIOS, Firmware, etc., but all in all pretty straightforward.  All of the patches had been applied and then I took that last pass through Microsoft Update.  Waiting for me was the aforementioned SP2 and IE7.  Well, I normally don't surf the 'net from a server, except to go to Microsoft Update, pull down a hardware patch from a vendor site, etc.  Even so, I felt it made sense to load IE7 because of it's additional security features, phishing checks etc.  So I kick off the download and everything goes smoothly.  At the end it's time for a reboot.  After the server comes back up, I log in and get the expected little "pop-up" that says it's setting up my personalizations.  Problem is it stayed that way for the next 20 minutes (When I saw it pop up I went off to complete an update on one of the desktops and came back to wrap up the server).  So when it was still there after 20 minutes I knew something was wrong. I started digging around with Task Manager (Since it was "stuck" I had no desktop, explorer, etc.).  When nothing obvious showed up, I decided to log off and back on, on the off chance it was a one time glitch.

So logging back in, I'm right back where I left off.  So in digging around logs after I killed the process (and still had no desktop) I saw a reference to Java.  That brought back a memory of one of the things I did at the start.  I had uninstalled the really old version of Java that was on the server during my cleanup process prior to kicking off the SP1 install.  Well guess what!  IE7 doesn't like the lack of Java support, hence the "hang".  So I figured no big deal, I'll grab the latest Java and install it.

Now comes the "fun" part of the story.  Without a desktop and IE7 hanging, there's no way to get out to Sun's Java site.  So I figure I'll go to it from one of the desktops and then drop it on the server.  From there I could use the "New Task" feature of Task Manager to execute the java installation app, The problem is that if java is already installed on the machine you're using then you can't get there from here as it takes you to the "verify installation" page. So I do a Live Search for "Sun Java download" and on the list of 'hits" is the manual download page, located here, http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp. I download the version for Windows and head back to the server. I bring up Task Manager, click on File-->New Task and browse to the Java download.  I execute the application and as soon as it finishes the IE7 personalization finishes and I'm at my desktop. Whew!

So what did I learn from all of this?  That I shouldn't throw things in at the last minute.  That I should review my plan before starting and then see if there's anything I want to add.  If so, then add it at that time and put it on the checklist.  So you can bet from now on, I'll make sure Java is on the system prior to trying to install IE7 and that if I remove an old version of an app that I make sure I either have an updated version or I know that I won't need it again.

How often have you connected in to a site remotely for a support issue and the first thing you have to do is wait for the system vendor's bitmap logo to slowly crawl down the screen.  Well, there's a simple fix for this as long as you don't mind hopping into the Registry.  The logo you're seeing is setup for the default user as wallpaper.  To eliminate it, it's a simple matter of clearing the value in the following Registry key:

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper

Just set the value to nothing and no more logo during login!  It makes a big difference even when you're connecting via a high speed line.

Like always, make sure you have a good backup of your Registry before making any changes.  One mistake in there and you could render your system unuseable.

Today I was helping a colleague with an SBS 2003 server recovery.  During the infamous "Sliding Blue Bar" time we decided to get his new Motorola Q SmartPhone setup to sync with his own SBS server.  With Windows Mobile 5 there's a nice built-in wizard that walks you through the basic configuration to sync with Exchange.  The tricky part comes when you go to install your certificate on the phone.

With my older Motorola Mpx220 on Cingular's network you can just copy the certificate to the phone and click on it to install.  His phone is on Verizon's network.  As a result we had to create a folder on the phone called STORAGE, copy the certificate to that folder and then copy a program called VZW_spaddcert.exe to the phone and execute it.  If the certificate isn't in the STORAGE folder and that folder isn't in the Root directory of the phone you'll get an error.  Otherwise, you'll get a series of prompts showing you the contents of the certificate you're about to install and asking you to confirm you really want to do this.  Once this process is complete you can bring up ActiveSync on the phone, hit the Sync button and you'll be receiving data momentarily.

The above steps are listed on Motorola's support site and can be found here, http://motorola.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/motorola.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=12932&p_topview=1.

Now the above procedures may work with other Verizon SmartPhones as well, but so far the Q is the only phone I've had experience with.  If you're still running Windows Mobile 2003 or 2002 and you're on the Sprint or Verizon networks this Microsoft Knowledgebase article will help you, http://support.microsoft.com/?ID=841060.

Good luck and have fun syncing!