Tips and Tricks

Welcome to my Windows Home Server Tips and Tricks page. If you have any specific part of WHS that you would like to see covered, please e-mail me at homeserverblog at gmail dot com.

Windows Home Server Documentation:

Windows Home Server Getting Started Guide

Windows Home Server Reviewers Guide

Windows Home Server SDK

Troubleshooting Documents for WHS:

This set of documents come courtesy of the Windows Home Server Development team.

Remove Log Files to regain space:

  1. Logon to the Administrator Desktop
  2. Click on Start -> Run
  3. Type “cmd” (without quotes)
  4. Type “net stop qsm /yes” (without quotes) —- This stops all the Home Server services and allows you to delete log files.
  5. Click on Start -> Run
  6. Type “%qlogs%” (without quotes)
  7. Delete log files that are taking up large amounts of space
  8. Restart server and you should be good to go.

Troubleshooting Client Join Issues

The client connector uses a web service that resides on the Windows Home Server. If you are having issues with client join, this could be a problem with the way that your Internet Explorer proxy settings are configured. Most home environments do not use proxy servers, so the best method to resolve the client join issue, is to disable proxies in Internet Explorer. To do this, follow the steps outlined below.

  1. Open Internet Explorer

  2. Click Tools -> Internet Options

  3. Click on the Connections Tab

  4. Click on the LAN Settings button

  5. Make sure that "Automatically detect settings" is unchecked

  6. Click OK twice

  7. Close IE

  8. Attempt to reinstall connector.

Do I need to restart my computer when I open a backup?

No. You will get a message saying that "Windows has installed new devices, in order for them to be fully functional you need to restart your computer." You get this message because when a backup is opened it loads a disk driver that allows you to open the backup as a separate disk. If you restart your computer you will have to start the process of opening the backup all over again. Do not restart your computer, the backup will open and you should not have any issues.

Troubleshooting Console Launch Issues:

If you are having issues launching the console on a home computer there are a couple things you can try.

  1. Open a Command Prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd) and make sure you can ping your server. (ping servername) If you can ping your server, your network is functioning as expected.
  2. Try to launch the console normally, if the console does not work, you can “debug” the console launch.
    1. Click Start
    2. Run
    3. Type "c:\Program Files\Windows Home Server\HomeServerConsole.exe /debug"

This command will launch the console in debug mode, and show you what is happening on your server as it is trying to launch the console.

Troubleshooting Add-in installation issues:

If you are having issues installing add-ins and you want to look at the troubleshooting logs on the server to troubleshoot what is happening here’s how to do it.

  1. From a home computer, click on Start
  2. Click All Programs -> Accessories
  3. Click on Remote Desktop Connection
  4. Type the name of your server and click Connect When prompted for logon credentials use ‘Administrator’ for the username, and the password that you chose for the Home Server Administrator password.
  5. On the Home Server Administrator Desktop click on Start
  6. Click Run
  7. Type ‘%qlogs%’ (w/o quotes)
  8. Press Enter

In the Home Server logs folder there will be many log files, but to troubleshoot console issues, it is best to look for HomeServerConsole.todaysdate.timeconsolewaslaunched.log This is the latest log that was generated by the console, and you can try to troubleshoot the add-in issues, or you can send that log to the add-in developer so that they can debug their add-in.