In-depth Review of the Acer Aspire easyStore H340 Windows Home Server
24. May, 2009 | by Andrew Edney |
318 Comments
Up until now, there have only been a few really big players in the Windows Home Server hardware market – probably the biggest being HP.
Now, Acer steps onto the playing field with their Aspire easyStore H340 Windows Home Server.
At first glance this looks a lot like the HP MediaSmart Server, only shorter and fatter. It has a polished black finish and a front drive bay door that opens to allow access to the drive bays.
SPECIFICATION
The actual specification of the H340 is as follows:
PROCESSOR
Intel Atom 230 processor
MEMORY
2GB of DDR2 DRAM
NETWORK SUPPORT
Built in 10/100/1000 RJ45 Ethernet
INTERFACES
4 USB 2.0 ports on the back
1 USB 2.0 port on the front
1 eSATA port (on the back)
INTERNAL HARD DRIVES
2 SATA 7200 RPM 640 GB drives
or
3 SATA 7200 RPM 1 TB drives
SIZE
20 cm (W) x 18 cm (H) x 12.2 cm (D)
Adding additional storage is a breeze thanks to the way Acer have designed the E340. You just open the front door, press the orange button the drive tray, slide it out, pop the new drive in, and slide it back. Simple. This is a very similar approach to that of the HP MediaSmart Servers, and one that I know a lot of people, myself included, love.
UNPACKING AND CONNECTING
The box itself is quite small with everything coming very well packaged inside.
The contents of the box include the H340 itself, the power cable, an Ethernet cable, some software CDs (the PC software disk, the server recovery disk, and a PC recovery disk), a warranty book, a user’s guide (a more complete guide is included on the CD) and a just for starters guide.
Plugging it in all shouldn’t take more than a few moments, now it’s time to switch it on and get it working.
INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING
The first thing that needs to be done after you have connected up the H340 to both the power and your home network, and switched it on, is to install the Client software on one of your computers. This performs two functions, the first of which is install the Windows Home Server Connector software on your computer but also to enable you to configure your new Windows Home Server, with details such as the server name and admin password (but more on that in a moment).
After you pop the Software Installation CD in the drive, you then follow the usual steps to install the Windows Home Server Connector software. I won’t walk through all those steps again in this article, but I have included the screenshots for those of you who might be interested.
So once you have go to this stage, then its time to configure the Windows Home Server itself. You have to do it via this method because there is no facilities available on the H340 for you to plug in a mouse, monitor and keyboard.
Again, I won’t bother with going through each and every step, although again I have included the screenshots for those of you who might be interested 
Once you have completed these steps then you can log in to the Windows Home Server Console as normal.
The very first time you log into your Windows Home Server, you will see that the Hardware Health and Performance Monitor Service is not running. This is because it needs you to type in the password you created for the administrator account. Just type this in and then click OK to continue.
USING THE H340
The first screen you will be presented with in the WHS Console is Computers and Backups view.
You can also see what storage you have available on the Storage tab.
As the H340 comes preinstalled with Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, you will need to update to Power Pack 2 before doing much else.
Just go to the Settings tab, and click on Update Now to retrieve that, and any other updates that are available.
Depending on how many updates might be needed, this could take a little while.
There are a few additions to the H340 that are worthy of mention.
SYSTEM INFORMATION
This tab provides an all around monitoring mechanism to help you keep an eye
on the home server’s health and performance details.
You can easily monitor elements such as the version of the software, the current performance, fan speed and system temperature and change settings such as the brightness of the front panel LEDs and whether to remote awaken the WHS.
HARDWARE HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE MONITOR
You can use the Hardware Health and Performance Monitor settings page to set a refresh interval for monitoring data, configure performance threshold settings, specify email destinations to which alerts should be sent when temperature, voltage, and fan speed abnormality is detected or the pre-configured threshold is exceeded.
IP CONFIGURATION
The IP Configuration settings page allows you to view the home server’s current IP configuration settings or change the IP configuration manually. This is a nice feature that saves you from having to use Remote Desktop to get access to these kind of changes.
DIGITAL MEDIA SERVER
Digital Media Server is an application compatible with DLNA 1.5 and runs on Windows Home Server to provide with content directory service which auto starts upon booting of the server system. With Digital Media Server enabled, other Digital Media Controllers and Digital Media Players based on UPnP structure can co-work with the application to help you browse, access and play media contents on Windows Home Server. Besides, it also makes possible for iPod, iTunes and Xbox360 users to share media files on Windows Home Server of their respective self-supporting formats.
Digital Media Server uses a database to manage media contents on Windows Home Server. It avails of the album, artist, genre and playlist information to sort music files. As for photos and videos, it uses folder mode to collect them.
The Settings for DMS (Digital Media Server) page allows you to enable or disable digital media server function and customise the sorting method of photos and videos.
With DMS enabled, digital media controllers and digital media players using UPnP (Universal Plug’n Play) protocol, will automatically discover, access, and play media files on the home server. It also makes possible for iTunes, PS3, or Xbox 360 users to share media files on Windows Home Server.
The home server supports the following digital media files:
• Music: MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, AC3, FLAC, APE, OGG, VOC, AIFF, AU, MID
• Video: WMV, ASF, MOV, AVI, MPEG, 3GP, SWF, FLV, RMVB, RM, RA, RAM, MP4, MPG, MPE, M2V, TP, TS, MLV, MKV, DIVX
• Photos: GIF, PNG, BMP, JPG, JEPG, ICO, TIFF, DXF, WMF, EMF, PICT, EPS, CDR
iTUNES SERVER
iTunes Server allows iPod and iTunes users to share and play music on Windows Home Server. To achieve this, the application creates a virtual music library on the local device and treats it as an iTunes repository, which makes it possible for music files to stream from Windows Home Server to Windows or Mac computers running iTunes.
The H340 also comes with some WHS specific applications already installed for you. Both of these applications are available as Add-ins for non-H340 owners and it is interesting to see that Acer have opted to included them as built-in applications rather than Add-ins, so you cannot remove them from the WHS Console if you don’t want to use them. Lets take a look at both of them, shall we.
LIGHTS OUT
Lights Out is an application that was developed by a fellow WHS MVP, Martin Rothschink that allows you to set the home server into suspend mode or wake the system at a chosen time with the aid of a calendar event.
The default Uptime screen displays a chart showing recorded uptimes in the home server, such as when a backup took place, which home computer was active, or when the home server woke up from
sleep mode.
The Calender view displays the calendar window and allows you to add, edit, delete a calendar entry.
You can also change the default settings that are used.
In order to control the Lights Out functionality on your WHS, you need to install the client software that comes on the CD.
McAfee TOTAL PROTECTION
McAfee Total Protection provides virus protection to your Windows Home Server and its files.
You are given a free 6 month subscription to anti-virus updates, after which time you will need to pay for them or stop using it. If you want to remove it completely, unlike other Windows Home Servers that have it as an add-in that can be removed via the WHS Console, you will need to use Remote Desktop to connect to the server, then manually remove it using the Add/Remove Programs tool.
You can easily set up an scan schedule if you wish as well.
ONE-TOUCH USB BACKUP
This feature is unique to the H430.
The USB backup button on the front panel allows you to backup data from a USB storage device to the home server. Windows Home Server copies all files into the Publics shared folder first then classifies the files according to media type into their corresponding shared folders, namely Music, Videos, Photos. When Windows Home Server cannot determine file type, the file is automatically stored into the Others folder.
So all you have to do is plug in a USB hard drive and press the USB backup button on the front of the H340 to begin (it will now be glowing blue). If you have a lot of hard drives that are not external USB drives you should consider buying an adaptor, they can be very useful.
I did a little test and was very impressed with the results, and it was quite quick. This is much easier that plugging in a drive to your WHS, and then having to map drives and manually copy files over.
CONCLUSION
This is a very good piece of Windows Home Server hardware. It is relatively cheap, easily expandable and simple to use and set up.
My only real negatives are that it is not the quietest Home Server I have ever heard, but equally it is not the loudest either, and also that there is no easy way for the average user to remove the McAfee service without having to Remote Desktop onto the server, go to Add/Remove programs and manually remove it. Also, while there is an application to update various things on the H340, such as the BIOS, you need to install it on a client PC, already have downloaded the updates, and then point the application to the updates. I would have preferred to see something seamless from within the WHS Console that just required a click of a “check for update” button. Maybe that will come later with an update?
Obviously the H340 doesn’t have the same level of additional software that say the HP MediaSmart Servers have, but this may not be an issue for you. If you just want a WHS to backup your computers and share you files then you cannot go wrong here. If you want lots of additional built in features then you should compare it with the HP MediaSmart EX485 and EX487 servers and decide if the extra money for those machines is worth the additional features.
For anyone who is interested, here is a comparison shot of the H340 and the HP MediaSmart LX195 Server (both the same price). But you should remember that the LX195 only has, and can only have, one single internal hard drive. To read the full review of the LX195, click here.
For me, the killer feature on the H340 is the one-touch backup. It is very simple to just plug in your USB hard drive and press the button to start copying your data over.
I also really liked the fact that this is one of the only Windows Home Server’s I have seen that has come with an actual manual with simple step by step instructions for the average user to be able to get up and running quickly. Thanks Acer, but that also means that H340 owners probably wont need my book
Acer Aspire easyStore H340 Windows Home Server is available now in the US (around $399) and also in Germany and Holland. The price in Europe is €399 for 2x640GB model and €499 for 3x1TB model. Certainly the better bargain is the 3x1TB model.
No firm release date or pricing for the UK, but expect this information shortly.
Similar posts you might be interested in:
- BIOS Update for Acer Aspire easyStore H340 Windows Home Server Released
- Newegg Offering Acer Easystore H340 Windows Home Server for $299.99
- In-depth review of the HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Windows Home Server
- In-depth Review of the HP MediaSmart Server EX485 and EX487 Windows Home Server
- In-depth Review of the HP MediaSmart Server EX495 Windows Home Server
Author Info
Hi Andrew,
Just wanted to check with you about other Antivirus Protection softwares that could be installed on the Acer H340 after removing McAfee. Any suggestions?. Thanks.
Hi JD
The choice is yours really you just need to make sure that you use something that is WHS aware, for example Avast.
Andrew
You need the small business edition of most virus programs. These generally cast more than the retail version of AV.
I have been using Avast WHS Anti-Virus for the last couple of years, you can also buy a the product with 10 additional avast professional licenses for your connected workstations/Laptops
INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING
Hi Andrew, while initial installation my new H340 I received an error “Server initialization failed” after first step in configuring the Windows Home Server. After this I have Server icon it the tray but I can’t reach «Server console”. It asks my password, but I was not able and I didn’t put it!!! Could you advise what I have to do? “Password update” is also inaccessible.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Valerii
I would suggest running the installation again – check the instructions that came with the machine to perform a clean server installation.
I dont see any other option to be honest.
Sorry!
Andrew
Hi Andrew, I’m thinking between HP EX490 & Acer H340. The key issue for me is 2TB HD support. I’m planning to use 4x 2TB HDDs, and the H340 is not support 2TB. Some people said, the H340 work with 2TB HDDs, had you tried?
Thanks
Tony
Hi Tony
I havent yet tried a 2TB drive in either, but I will do soon.
What do you want to do with the WHS? For example, if you are planning to do a lot of media related “stuff”, I would recommend going with the EX490.
If not, then either are good machines.
Andrew
Tony, did you test any of the 1.5TB drives, I was looking at WD WD15EADS Caviar Green Hard Drive, and wondered if it was compatible with the Acer H340 Home Server. In the documentation on-line it has a limited list of drives with a maximum of 1TB and mostly 500G. Then in this forum I noticed that someone posted that the reason for the limited selection is at the time that was all the drives that were available and people have tested up to 1TB and have not had any issues. PLease let me know what your experience has been, Thanks, DM
Dany
I just tried one of the new Western Digital 2.0TB Caviar Black drives in the Aspire H340 and it worked fine. Only gave me 1.82TB of available space but Im getting used to that!
Andrew
I installed three (3) 2TB HITACHI Deskstar HD32000. Now just trying to figure how to configure all of the drives: increase storage vs. backup. The Console Help suggests having the backup on an external drive to be separate from server – which seems logical. How have others been setting up their additional drives?
This NAS looks great.
Is there a way to rip one’s BluRay and feed them to the PS3 ?
I’m interested in the 2To HDD support too.
Why not post this question in our forum?
Andrew
Andrew,
Thank you so much for taking the time to create such a great review of this product, it is very much aprieciated.!
My one question is this:
Can this product handle a 5 bay HDD encloser that uses esata replication? (I think I asked that correctly) The model I’m using is the Rosewill RSV-S5?
Thanks Again!!
Hi Robert
Thank you
I believe it can, but I dont have one to test with the Aspire unfortunately.
Why not post this question in our forums and Im sure you will get a more accurate answer!
Andrew
It is unclear to me whether all the drives need to be instyalled at the same time, or if not, is there any data lost due to the server redefining the drive???
The reason I ask is that I could get away with adding a 1.5 TB to the standard 1 TB drives that come with the unit for now as long as I know that there will be a seemless transition when I do choose to add 1 or 2 additional HDD in the future.
Thanks
Toshu
If you are just adding drives to the server you can add them whenever you want.
If you are replacing existing drives you will need to do them one at a time and follow the wizards for removing drives and then adding drives.
If you want to replace the main system drive you will need to do a server reinstallion once you have changed the drives. All your data should be in tact you will just need to create all the users and reinstall any add-ins.
Andrew
Using RDC I brought in all the updates, removed McAfee, installed Comodo Firewall and Anti-Virus and rebooted per Comodo instructions. BIG MISTAKE!! Though WHS was configured for RDC, the firewall configured itself to refuse RDC. Apparently I should have configured firewall to accept RDC before rebooting. Now I am reformatting H340 and reinstalling it all because it will not respond to my RDC connection request.
Andrew,
I sure hope you can help because I got stopped right at the beginning.
I have 6 computers, all of which have Internet connection through the Acer server. However, when I tried to install the software I keep getting the message that the server cannot be found. I have been using the Norton virus protection and firewall. I thought if I disabled the firewall that it might help but frankly I really don’t know how to disable the software or even if I should. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
Len
Len,
Where is the Norton software installed? If its on the server then that is your problem – its not meant to be installing on a WHS and I guess it has changed settings. You will probably have to reinstall your WHS now to fix it.
If its on your computers then you will probably have to set exceptions to the firewall.
I suggest contacting Norton for assistance on doing this if you are not sure.
Andrew
Andrew,
This is a quick follow-up to my previous question. I have tried install the software using 2 different notebook computers. Has the Vista operating system and the other XP. Both computers will not recognize or find the Acer server.
Thanks again.
Len
I again Andrew,
it appears that Norton’s not the problem. I have tried installing software from 3 different computers only 2 of which have Norton’s on them. I completely disables Norton’s on my main computer and it still could not find the server. I can access the Internet with no problem on all the computers. Is it possible I got a defective server? Thanks for your help; I don’t know where else to go without spending a ton of money and having no confidence in the “experts”
Len
Hi Len
Was your WHS working previously? If so, what changed, any ideas?
Can you ping the server? Go to a command prompt on any computer, and type ping servername where the servername is the name you gave your server. If it doesnt respond then its a network problem.
Andrew
Andrew,
The WHS never worked properly because it has never been installed. The little black box just sits there doing the same thing as my router. How can I ping the unit when I cannot even name the server. When I start the instalation I get the message that the server cannot be found.
I am thinking of returning the server.
Len
Hi Len
Ok, thats interesting.
Are you connecting the WHS directly into your router? Can you also connect a computer directly into your router?
if you have done that and it still doesnt work, then it might be a faulty unit I suppose.
I would suggest contact Acer to see if they can provide you with any additional troubleshooting steps prior to returning it.
Let me know how you get on.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I am new to WHS
If my OS drive fails,I can reinstall the my WHS to a new HDD. What about all the data on the other three HDDs ?
please advise Thanks
zoonby
Zoonby
As long as you perform a SERVER REINSTALLATION rather than a NEW INSTALLATION after the OS has installed youu data should be fine. You will have to reinstall any add-ins and recrete any users you have but the data should be intact.
If you have any additional questions, please post them in our forums.
Andrew
Hello Andrew
How can I have video stream with Acer EasyStore H340
Thanks
n
Nirandon
Go into the settings area, and enable media streaming then just point your media player at the share.
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I’m receiving many WHS e-mail warning messages “The memory utilization has exceeded 90 % for more than 5 minute” and wondering if a RAM upgrade would help? (Are you aware if there is room for additional RAM? and if so, once installed is it recognized, or is further configuration required? (it came installed with 2GB (2/0) DDR2 800 SDRAM)
Hi Lou
Upgrading the RAM always makes an improvement.
You may have to remove the existing ram and replace it with larger ones. There should be no configuration required.
What else are you doing on your box that has only started recently? Any new add-ins or software installed?
Andrew
I think it may have been a result of moving larger folders of files to the server. FYI, i opened the box and it appears there is only the one slot for ram, so you’re correct i will likely have to replace the one shipped if i choose to upgrade.
Thanks for your response.
L.
Andrew,
I started getting email warnings as soon as I started doing backups.
I filled the box with 3 x 1TB caviar green drives from external WD Elements cases that were not compatible with Vista or W7.
How can I turn off these warnings before rogers accuses me of spamming?
Xmariner
Xmariner
What exactly is sending you the email warnings?
And what do those warnings say?
Andrew
xmariner,
In the console go to settings.
Select hardware health and performance.
Uncheck all of the warning “Performance Settings” that will stop the emails.
Alternatively you couuld click the SMTP setup button and remove your mail account, then the server would not be able to send the emails.
Something I noticed about the email alerts and gmail.
Gmail is considering all notification emails to be a single conversation, and each new email gets quoted out do to its similarity to the previous one (75% full, 85% full, cleaned up some files, then 75% full again)
Gmail works great for me as a source address, but I think I will point it to send the alerts somewhere else, where they won’t get quoted out.
hello, you may help me,
I cannot succeed H340 sending email alerts, using a gmail account.
I tried multiple settings with pop, smtp port 587 SSl, .. with no success.
1- can you let me know how to enter correctly parameters
2- is it possible the issue comes from elsewhere (knowing that distant awccess works & that IP config seems OK)
Thank you in advance
Bernard
I thought the Atom processor was maxed at 2 gig of ram, have you actually found a memory upgrade for the Acer?
Brian
I havent upgraded the ram on the Acer, so I cant comment. Has anyone else tried this?
Let us, and Brian know please…
Andrew
I tried the one touch backup today and my server nearly filled itself.
I have just the preinstalled 1tb drive (looking at getting an extra 2tb drive soon) and it was at about 75%. I plugged a usb hard drive enclosure in the front port and pressed the usb backup button.
The drive had about 110gb of videos on it.
First the files were all copied from the usb drive to the public folder. THEN the files were COPIED (not moved) from public to the videos folder. I watched as my free space continued to decrease even after all the files were already present in the public fodler.
Can anyone who has run usb backup to completion tell me if the files in the public folder get removed after it pushes them into the media folders (like video, music and photo), or do you end up with 2 copies of every file?
HOW CAN I MAKE PLAYLISTS IN ITUNES? THE ACER SERVER DOESNT LET ME MOVE MY SONGS EITHER ONTO THE ITUNES LIBRARY OR INTO PLAYLISTS.
someone can help ?
hello, you may help me,
I cannot succeed H340 sending email alerts, using a gmail account.
I tried multiple settings with pop, smtp port 587 SSl, .. with no success.
1- can you let me know how to enter correctly parameters
2- is it possible the issue comes from elsewhere (knowing that distant awccess works & that IP config seems OK)
Thank you in advance
Bernard
Andrew,
I am pulling my hair out–I hope you will help me with my HP . I have 3 computers hooked up. My 2 Vista computers seem to be working ok but my XP notebook shows me files that are “read only” and this is the computer I need to share folders with. Any ideas?
Len
hi andrew,
.
great info/website! i would lik to ask you some questions about my new acer WHS.
first: the back up button on the front side: in some reviews its says you use it to back up the server; you say its to back up the hd contents you conect to the front.. before i overwrite my hd-data i would like t clear this up
the second question is that i have 3 computers connected to the WHS and backed up two of them so far, but there is no data in my photo/music folders so far..
did i misunderstand the concept? is the only way t get it there to manually copy-paste the pics and music into the folders. i was under theassumption that it sorted these out like you explained in your review like when connecting a drive.
If i have to copy it manually: how does it restore the contents of a crashed pc, or does it just put the basics like OS back?
And second; if i copy photos from 2 pc’s to the server, what happens with duplicate folder names (with possible different contents)?? (that last comment is the case in my home a lot..)
I hope this doesnt sound to stupid, but i’m new to this stuff, thanx for your help!
Rob
Hi Rob
1st question – the button is used to bring data OFF a USB drive onto your WHS. It saves a few clicks of the mouse.
2nd question – yes, the only way photos or music will appear in the shared folders is if you put it in there. Backing up your computer only backs up the computer, it doesnt sort your data (although that would be a very cool feature, I know it would save hours and hours of sorting)!
If you need to restore a pc, you use the restore cd on that computer, which connects to your WHS and you select which backup to recover. WHS then does the rest for you in a very short time.
As for the duplicate name thing, well thats just the same as any folder, you cant have two items with the same name in the same folder.
Feel free to ask any more questions
Although you might get a quick response posting them in our Forum.
Andrew
Thanks for your reply. I surfed through the forum as well and use synctoy now to copy and backup photos and music on the server, it keeps track of duplicates and so on.. works fine so far.
The backing up from a usb drive made a mess: i put 330 gig’s of mp3′s on it, and it made a huge list instead of keeping them in albums, when opening the music folder it takes very long to get all the data…
Keep up the great work,
Rob
Andrew
Hi Andrew, I though you and other readers might be interested to know that the “Advanced Admin Console” Add-in allows WHS Console access to other admin functions that usually require Remote Desktop connections. For example uninstalling the McAfee software shipped with the server can be done using “Add/Remove Programs” as usual, but from within the console.
HTH.
D
thanks Dave
Andrew
I had some issues with my server, but a friend of mine found somene on the internet who made cables that connect to the motherboard inside the acer server, now I can connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor to the server and use it like a normal computer. I have also maxed it out HDD wise with 4 2TB WD Green drives, and they all work great. I have Perfect Disk installed for WHS, now just looking for the antivirus software. Still learning how to set everything up, but after reading all the comments here I have learned quite a bit. Sometime down the road I plan to upgrade the processor and maybe the memory.
please send me de link for the cables, i need made cables that connect to the motherboard inside the acer server, now I can connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor to the server and use it like a normal computer.
1st Great site. Thanks. One of the main things I need to backup is uncompressed music files. Can I set the server to backup these files without compressing?
Thanks
Hi Boyd
The files are backed up to the Home Server and you cant define how they are backed up. If you back them up you cant play them from the server, you would have to open the backup.
If you want to store them on the server for playback, streaming, remote access, whatever, then they are just stored, as is.
hope that helps?
Andrew
Andrew
How do I remove McAfee from my acer H340 server. I notice when booting up my pc that the icon shows green and then show red, with pop window stating the spyware and firewall is not running, and then server icon turns back green again. When I check the status, it indicates everything is ok
Wesley
Use Remote Desktop Connection from your computer to connect to the desktop of your WHS. From there, launch Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and uninstall it from there.
If that doesnt work, or you have any problems, drop by our Forums and leave a message as it will get answered quicker.
Andrew
Hi Andrew, I have 3 computers backed up on my WHS, one W7 Home Premium, the other 2 Vista Home Premium, but when I try to access it from remote I get “Not supported on this operating system.” Do you have a solution for me?
Gordon
The reason they dont work is because Home Premium (both Vista and 7) do not provide remote access capabilities. This is not a problem with WHS, but with Windows itself. You can either upgrade your Windows machines to Ultimate, Enterprise or Business (not exactly the best option) or you can do a search on Google to find a hack/work around that enables remote access on those machines.
Andrew
Can I install software on this Acer HOME Server, like the Perforce P4 Server.
Hugo
As long as the software is compatible with Windows 2003 then yes, however there is always the chance that whatever software you install could break Windows Home Server, so be very careful!
Andrew
Thanks a lot Andy, this complete review, your own blog and of course your excelent book (I just purchased at Apress in pdf format) helped me to setup 3 H340′s for 3 small business that needed jus a file server. I reinstalled the software on a 2Tb Hardrive and added 3 more to each unit, 2 for storage and 2 for backups. They are very pleased and have access to their files from all the world.
Please keep doing this fine work.
Best regads
Kokopterodactilus
Hi Andrew,
I have couple of questions:
1. I’m trying to remotely connect to a Windows 7 PC thru the H340, but it says “Not supported on this operating system”. Is there a software upgrade or something like that will fix this issue?
2. I have a Windows XP Professional PC connected to the H340 and have the “Remote Desktop Web Connection” setup on the PC already. The Windows Firewall is also turned off. However, the H340 says “Connection disabled” when I tried to remotely connect to this PC. Is there something else I need to do on the PC?
Thanks.
Hi Ken
You didnt say which version of Windows 7 you are using, only certain versions support remote desktop connection, so I suspect that is why (you need Enterprise or Ultimate basically).
Can I ask you to post your question in our forums so that others can help you?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I think I found the answer to my question #2 in my last post. I also think I am probably out of luck about connecting to a Windows 7 PC.
In any case, I do have couple other questions:
3. How do I login to the H340 Operating System so I can install the McAfee Total Virus Protection software?
4. How I change the default picture (the family running around) in the initial login screen?
Thanks.
OK, Andrew. Let me register to the forum and then I will post this and the other two questions that I have. BTW. I have all Windows 7 Home Premium PCs and they are the ones that I couldn’t connect to. Thanks.
Ken
Hi Ken
to answer 3, you need to use remote desktop connection from a pc to the WHS
for 4, do a search on google, there is a way to do it but I just cant remember off the top of my head
Andrew
Hi,
Great site you have. I just picked up my H340 and look forward to making the best out of it. I have a few questions for you.
1. I plan to use all the extra 3 bays. I would prefer to put 2 TB drives into the extra slots. I have noticed on previous posts that some have been doing this. Just wondering if anyone has a any update on how using 2 TB drives are working out. Can the processor deal using these 2 TB drives.
2. Using the H340 for storage and backup. There appears to be many differant ways to accomplish this and what would be the best menthod…Mirror one drive to another. Mirror 1 to 2 and 3 to 4?
Is there a RAID that can be used where all 4 drives work with one another to backup the data.
How about using an external drive via a USB to back up.
Thanks again and look forward to reading all your comments
Markus
Hi Markus
To try and answer your questions:
1 – I have used 2TB drives in my home servers without any problems so far. The processor has no issue using the drives.
2 – you dont get a choice about mirroring or raid with WHS. When you add a drive to the storage pool WHS uses its own built in “raid like” software, called Drive Extender to do the work.
You can connect an external drive to do backups of your shared folders using the built in software or you can use an add-in like BDBB to backup your backup database.
If you have any further questions, please dont hesitate to ask, but can you post them to our forums please so that others can respond?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Thanks so much for your answers. So just to confirm that the information is stored amungst all the drives that are used. If one drive fails, replace it and no data is lost.
Also, is the backup information stored the same way..If you lose the PC hard drive, your just do a restore and all the data is restored.
Using the server for storing data like pictures is just like using one big hard drive…Would that be a fair way of looking at it
Sorry thought I this post was on the forum..where is the forum.
Markus
Hi Markus
The link the forums is at the top of the page.
Yes, data is stored amongst all the drives – WHS just sees it as one big pool.
Data will only not be lost if you have folder duplication turned on. You might want to visit the Microsoft website and read the Drive Extender Technical Brief – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=40c6c9cc-b85f-45fe-8c5c-f103c894a5e2&DisplayLang=en. It will be much clearer how DE works.
Backup information is not stored the same way and there is only a single copy.
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. I did find one solution from the following web site:
http://www.andrewgrant.org/whiist
Ken
thats goods news Ken
Andrew
Hy,
somebody hep me to restore my OS from my aspire? I instal an antivirus and i can acces my NAS.
Ovidiu
You will need to perform a computer recovery using the cds that came with the WHS. You run it on the pc that has the problem, it connects to your WHS and asks you which backup to recover – then you just wait.
Check out the instructions that came with the Aspire for more information – or post another question in our forums
Andrew
Hy Andrew,
i have a Acer Aspire easyStore H340, i instal an ativirus inside of easyStore and after i can’t acces it my Acer Aspire easyStore H340. I try all metods, i read the book, but i can’t do. I try with cd but i can not find. I want to reset the storage.Do you have a recomandation Andrew?
Thank you!
Hi Ovidiu
If you want to perform a server reinstallation, take a look at this post I wrote : http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/2009/05/31/how-to-perform-a-server-reinstallation-of-windows-home-server/
Good luck.
Andrew
Thank you Andrew,
“Exactly the same as when you first installed Windows Home Server, your computer must support being able to boot from DVD or USB stick, otherwise the installation will not be able to take place. You may need to go into the BIOS of your computer in order to set the boot priority so that the DVD or USB stuck is first in the list. Consult the documentation that came with your computer if you are unsure how to do this. The other option is to choose the boot device when the computer starts up – again, check your documentation on doing this.
You should then see a screen displaying Windows is loading files…. (that means it working so far). If you don’t see this, then try again making sure you are booting from either the DVD or the USB stick.”
But, i have a storage not a pc or laptop to boot.
I don’t know how i boot from a storage..
Thank you in advantage.
Ovidiu.
Ovidiu
There should be a server recovery DVD in your Acer pack – it is labelled Server Recovery Disc – you run that from a computer on your network which then connects to your WHS via the network and performs the recovery that way.
Andrew
Andrew,
but :” server not found”.
Do you have any suggestion?
Thank yo very mutch.
Ovidiu.
Hi Ovidiu
I think at this point you should go into our Forums and post a detailed question on what you have done and tried so that people can offer suggestions as this page is for the review of the Acer.
The forums can be found by clicking on the link at the top of the page.
Andrew
i wana ad second ethernet card how its possible
You cant add a second ethernet card into the box – its not supported either.
Cool stuff, Andrew. Thanks.
I read a post from a user who said they had put a USB ethernet card on their WHS so that if the built-in ethernet port failed they wouldn’t have a “bricked” machine. Server 2003 certain supports multi-homed machines, so I’m surprised you say it’s not supported. Any further thoughts about this critical redundancy?
Ofeu
Ofeu
I said it wasnt supported, not that it wouldnt work
Microsoft are very clear that there are quite a lot of things that you can do with Windows 2003 (WHS being built on that) that could break WHS, plus if you read the EULA (not that anyone does) you are not supposed to make changes (again, everyone does).
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I wasn’t able to find the answer on the forum so I hope you don’t mind me asking you instead. How do I start a regular Windows login session on the H340? I was able to do that before by following these steps:
1. Connect and login to the H340 from a remote PC.
2. Select the “Computers” tab.
3. Click on the “Connect to your Home Server” link.
4. Enter the “Windows Home Server” password.
5. After Windows Home Server Console has come up, minimize it and I would have the Windows desktop.
However, somewhere along the line something happened and now I can’t minimize the Windows Home Server Console so I can’t access the disk drives directly anymore.
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.
Ken
Ken
I never do it that way, I just fire up Remote Desktop Connection from my PC and do it that way.
Have you tried this?
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. Do you mean initially I would need to use “Remote Desktop Connection” to connect to the H340 from another PC that’s on the same local network as H340 and try to connect to “//ACERHOME”? After the H340 is setup for remote access then use “Remote Desktop Connection” again to connect to it from a remote PC?
Hi Ken
It depends what you want to do remotely. If you just want to connect to it from inside your home network I would just use remote access. Outside your home, then the WHS remote functions.
Im not sure what to suggest though if you are having issues with it.
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. In that case, I will see if I can get it to work again as before and I will post my findings. This is a pretty useful “undocumented feature” because it would allow me to connect to H340 Windows Home Server OS from any PC at a remote location. Otherwise, I would have to physically go to where the H340 is located to perform the tasks that are not available through the Windows Server Console.
Ken
Kenchan and Andrew: The mechanism that WHS uses to permit secure remote connections to PCs in the home does not permit Remote Desktop Connection to the WHS directly. This is by design. A workaround would be to connect to the PC first and use that PC to open a session with the WHS. Probably you could open the relevant port on your router manually to forward to the WHS directly, but this would not be a secure connection.
Ofeu
Ofeu
What I was referring to with RDC was from a PC in the home direct to your WHS, not using WHS’s remote function.
Andrew
Will the Acer WHS auto reboot on resumption of power if there is a power failure?
Kurt
I dont think so – no. But thats fairly normal of any computer kit.
Andrew
I primarily bought the H341 for storage space and to backup one OS (my primary PC).
I put 2 blank 1TB drives in there, then put 2 more 1TB drives in, those 2 contained data.
How do I use the H341 for both the above efficiently? When I RDC into the NAS I only see DE and system folders. Where are all my existing files? Can I not transfer back and forth between drives within my case and the NAS?
Shelley
Firstly WHS is so much more than just a NAS.
When you added your data drives to WHS what options did you select in the WHS Console? If you added them to the pool then they would have been formatted.
If you didnt add them to the pool you will need to RDC to the WHS and map drives to them to make the accessible.
Like I said, WHS is so much more than a NAS.
If you want WHS to handle the data for you then you will need to move the data from those drives to drives that are part of the WHS storage pool, then WHS can do everything, including protecting the data, because at the moment using the scenario you have described the only thing WHS will do is backup that one computer!
Andrew
Hey Andrew I really like your review and Im considering to buy it in about 2-3 months.
My question is would this device be alloud by rogers to run on my network? And if you use remote desktop to it what would u see? And yes i never used this o/s but im guessing its simular to windows 7 layout? lolz
And can u compare a Synology NAS server and this acer server?
Please and thxs
Hi Peter
There is a newer model out now so you might want to look at that unless you can get a really good deal on the H340 (and there are a few good deals out there).
To answer your questions:
would this device be alloud by rogers to run on my network? – i would have thought you could put any computer you wanted on your home network. But if you are unsure just check with the,
nd if you use remote desktop to it what would u see? – if you use RDC from your computer to the WHS then you would see a usual Windows 2003 desktop. If you are referring to the remote access capabilies of WHS then you would see information on your computes, backups and more. Do a search on the site for remote access and have a read through some of the articles to familiarise yourself.
i never used this o/s but im guessing its simular to windows 7 layout – no, this is not an OS you use or log into like Windows 7 – it runs on the WHS and the WHS runs quietly in the background. You do everything you want via the Windows Home Server Console that you install on your computer. Again, take a look at some of the articles, including http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/what-is-windows-home-server/
And can u compare a Synology NAS server and this acer server? – would depend on which Synology box! I have reviewed some on the site – again, do a search for synology in the search box at the top of the page.
Personally I think the WHS is better, but thats just me. You can do so much more with WHS, and its more expandible, and easier to use, etc, etc.
But dont just take my word for it
Andrew
Well where i buy stuff i cant find the newer version heres the links to wats availible to me..
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=570_7_125
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?cPath=570_7_124&sort=2a&page=2
What would you recomend? my budget is 500$ with tax and those stupid eco fees lolz
and Apprently rogers hate servers because they say it slows there networks down lolz.
And i have the 110J 1bay synology server with 1TB HDD
Also would i be able to run/use the vent server app?
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my posts
Have you tried looking on Amazon? I cant suggest anywhere in Canada as I am in the UK, so all I can suggest is Google.
the H340 is a good machine – so much better than the Synology 110.
I dont know what the vent server app is – sorry. If it runs on Windows 2003 then it “should” run but unless there is a WHS version (which I doubt) then it may not work correctly. You need to remember that WHS is not meant for you to connect directly to and to things outsides out the Console.
Andrew
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for the great site. I bought a H340 based on your comments. I have loaded it and can connect easily to my computer but I instantly had a problem with the H340′s red “i” light going on. When I initially turned on the H340, I waited for all the lights to turn blue but they don’t. The “i” always flashes red. After waiting over 3 hours I installed the WHS software. No problem with that and I can easily navigate and connect to the server. Once the software was loaded and I rebooted the machine, the “i” light flashes blue and eventually goes completely blue. Unfortunately once the HD drives kick in and go blue the “i” light immediately goes red.
This is preventing me from using the quick connect usb port and has been really frustrating. Dragging and dropping my files seems ridiculously slow. I couldn’t do a complete back up of my computer in over 12 hours.
Other and that, the machine looks like exactly what i’m looking for. I have now returned 3 (yes 3) back to the store because of this issue. The manual tells you about 6 reasons why the “i” light would flash red but doesn’t tell you how to fix the problem.
What am I missing. Any thoughts?
thanks
Hi Bill
to be honest I am not sure what to suggest – especially as you have had 3 machines! The chances of 3 having the same fault seem pretty slim to me.
Can I ask you to post this question in our forums as more people will see it as this is quite an old post. Someone may have the answer.
Have you tried speaking to Acer?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I am a fairly new user of a WHS. I have a Acer H340 with 3 1TB HDD. I added one 1TB HDD more to expand my storage however, now it seems to crashed. I recieved error messages from my WHS telling me that files was not readable because the device was not attached. It seems that my extra 1TB wich is not the same type as the three original, and older, is malfunction. My question is. Is it possible to switch it to a new HDD and the WHS simply reinstall my files by using my duplicateted files or is it possible to get hold on the duplicated files and simply remove the bad one from the storage list?
Thanks in advance
Hi Bjorn
Assuming you had all your folders set to duplicated then you should be able to just swap out the drive and WHS will then use the new drive as part of its storage pool.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
I started doing that in hope of that was the best way but got unsecure what the WHS would do.
It asked if I should formate it and I didn’t get any message what it would do afterwards. Maybe it will when the HDD is formated. The manual doesn’t say anything.
I Have all the files duplicated except for some movies which isn’t importent.
However, I installed a addon which made it possible to see the duplicated files but i couldn’t copy or read them but they are there.
Is there a way to get hold of the duplicated files and copy them to another HDD on my network before changing the HDD. Just to be sure. I really don’t want to loose them files since most of them are fotos.
Bjorn
Hi Bjorn
Once the new drive has been added to the pool WHS just does its thing in the background, you dont get told anything and you dont get asked anything.
If you are really unsure about your photos, I would just take a copy of them on a different drive or copy them to your computer for now if you have space.
But this is normal behaviour for WHS.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
This sounds like music to me.
If I got this right, when I replace the bad HDD with a new, the WHS formate it and reconnect it to the pool and restore its’s contents using the duplicated files and if there is no duplicated file the WHS remove from the FAT and it is lost.
Bjorn
Hi Bjorn
Yes, thats right – WHS will then just use that drive as part of the pool – it may take a little while, but it will happen.
Andrew
Hi Anfrew,
My Acer WHS was running for good since about 2 years now. Two days ago, I wanted to stream a video from my PS3, but the Server was not visible anymore. I checked what happened, and it seems the Server doesnt even get an IP, means it is not accessable in any way anymore. I use a Fritz Box router and the DHCP does not recognize it at all. I used IP scanners etc. no results..
Now my question is, how this can happen, especially when I didnt make any changes at all and no updates at all … The strange thing is, I get a “link” on the ethernet line, but it switsches to 100Mbit not 1000Mbit. The switch is a Giga switch and the Acer and my PC also got Giga Ethernet.
I tries to connect directly to the server through my PC, even then there is only an “unrecognized” Network, nop WHS also. The server does boot up totally, but just is not accessable.
I did read several forums and I saw some other peoples got similar problems, with the same. I really wonder what is going on, since I do not believe at all that this is a hardware fault. The only conclusion is, that something with the ethernet drivers is in very bad shape. Are there any known issues with it yet maybe ?
I didn’t do the recovery yet, but I assume it might fix it, it just can not be the solution, since the root problem will stay.
Anyone else got this problem yet ?
best regards,
Mark
Hi Mark
You say you didnt do any updates but if your WHS was set to automatic updates then it will be updated on a regular basis without you doing anything, and there is always the slight possibility that a updated driver will break something (it happens on occasion).
As server reinstallation will fix whatever the problem is though.
I havent heard of any particular problem – can I suggest you post a question in our forums so others might be able to reply as this is a very old thread.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
I replaced the bad HDD with a new in the same place as the bad one but the WHS didn’t seem to understand that I wanted the bad one switched with the new one. The WHS formated it and I was qustioned if I wanted it to be a part of the pool or as a backup. I choose with the pool since that seems to be the most right but the WHS simply added it to the pool and the bad one was “missing”. I looked in the help files as well but how can I tell the WHS that I want the bad one switched.
Bjorn
Click the bad one in the list and choose remove so its no longer there.
the new one will just be used by WHS – there is nothing else you need to do, it will just happen in the background over time. Its not an instant thing, thats not how WHS Drive Extender works, but eventually it will use the space on the disk as it needs to.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
It’s me again
I can be quite percistent when I want to understand something.
So when I remove the bad HDD from the pool list the WHS use the duplicated files when it find a corrupted file on the bad one?
Bjorn
Hi Bjorn
not quite – i think the best thing to suggest is you have a read of the Microsoft Technical Brief for Drive Extender which explains exactly how it works.
The link is: http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/f/c/2fc09c20-587f-4f16-aa33-c6c4c75fb3dd/Windows%20Home%20Server%20Technical%20Brief%20-%20Drive%20Extender.docx
if you still have questions can you post them in our forums please?
Andrew
Hi Andrew
No problem I’ll continue in the Forum. Thank you very much for your help to get me this far.
Bjorn
I bought the Aspire hoping to combine my 2 external hard drives into one so that i can access them with both my computers. I have it all installed but can’t seem to get to the files that were on the hard drives previously. I tried the removing and adding thing, but it has to be formatted and i hadn’t backed up what was on there yet. Is there anyway to access the server like you would with windows explorer, or at least be able to access the files on there?
Nick
If you have already added the drives to the pool and they have been formatted then the data is gone.
if you havent added them to the pool yet then just connect them to your computer and copy the data from the drives to the shared folders you want.
Can i ask that any further questions be posted in our forums to allow others to respond?#
thanks – Andrew