HP EX475 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live, Windows Home Server, 1 TB Hard Drive) Reviews

• Microsoft should be proud of their work, and a pretty HP box too!

  
  By A3RQ1ZKL3TYXDC on 2007-11-28
  *EDIT 7/7/08* Power Pack 1 has fixed all of my issues with this server - and I would give it a 5 star review but Amazon will not allow me to change the rating.
  
  First, I am programmer that works from home, with some expertise in setting up a usable home network. This little box allows me to remote in when i am on the road, replace a few NAS drives, simplify backup, AND share music and photos. There's only one REAL BIG complaint that I have, and that's working with 64 bit systems. I will go into that...
  
  I added 3 1TB drives to this in minutes without shutting the system down. The drive sleds are very innovative, as they require no tools to use. You just need to lift a handle, pull out the sled, and place the new HD in using pins that flex to hold the HD in place. You then just put the drive back in its bay and lock the lever/handle in place. Visually, there is a light for each drive that will show you it is ready for use. You must use the WHS console to add the drives to your existing storage, and the light goes from purple to blue - and is ready to use. What is cool here is that your users don't see 4 different drives, but just 1 with all the space as if the existing drive automatically grew. If you want to replace a drive with larger capacity, it is simple as well. You use the console to remove the drive. When you remove a drive, WHS will copy the data off of that drive to the others (if they have room to do so) and then tell you when it is safe to dismount it.
  
  Before this, I was using 4 seats of gotomypc professional for just under $600. 3 for my machines, and 1 for my wife's. I got the pro level because I wanted to administer all of the boxes centrally. My wife is definately not as technical as I am, but she needs access to her files from work and home (she works in higher ed, and is also working on her master's). Using the network shares and the web interface, she no longer has to rely on her laptop being on with gotomypc running. She can still remote in if her laptop is on, but she now can get the files she needs, and edit them at work. And send them back so she has the most up to date at all times. I am keeping 1 account of gotomypc active, because you cannot remote into a 64 bit OS from the web interface at this time. But the cost savings here almost pay for this alone!
  
  I have three NAS drives, and two of them are going away as obsolete. I mainly used them for backup using Retrospect. I still am keeping Retrospect for my Windows x64 boxes and my linux clients, as the backup doesn't support 64 bit OS's at this time. I am backing up to the WHS thru Retrospect, and it is being backed up to the other NAS. The WHS allows you to duplicate shares to multiple drives, so this is in a since like having 3 backups of the data. For the 32 bit Windows clients, this backup is near perfection. It's mindlessly simple to set up, and it keeps multiple backups and automatically disposes of the older ones if you need the space. The mindless backup for 32 bit clients is easily paying for the rest of the cost of this box.
  
  So for 64 bit users, this may not quite be for you just yet. Microsoft has stated that they are working on the 64 bit client for WHS, but gives no release date. As soon as they get this, it will serve my needs much better. Both remoting and backup can be solved for 64bit OSs if you have the know-how, so it's not as terrible as some might make it, but is annoying enough that I deducted 1 star for each.
  
  The sharing functionality for music/video is really nice. Two of the pre-existing shares are called "music", and "video" and if you have a media center extender/XBOX360, it will show up there as a media center with whatever playable content you happen to put there. It won't magically allow you to play iTunes AACs, but any format that your media center could play, it will work. If you do have iTunes - it may add more value because you can have the system create a music database from ALL of the iTunes user's machines. I use iTunes and so does my wife, but this won't work for us because I'd like to be able to use the music directory directly available to iTunes for each of us, so that we both share the same song list, and if she buys a song, then it shows up in my iTunes library and I can make a playlist with that song in it. This is *almost* how it works with the iTunes sharing here. I can see a shared system named "HP MediaSmart Server" but you can't copy the songs locally, and you can't edit the playlists it contains. Kind of a bummer, but it may work for you.
  
  The photosharing web application is a nice idea. You can make albums using photos from your machine - but suprisingly you can't just pick from the "photos" share on the drive. So if you want to do that - you must map a drive to the "photos" share and choose them that way. Not very efficient to copy from the network instead of directly from the disk! You can then create a list of people to share the album with, and send out a message to look at your album. You can choose existing users you've set up for remote access, or create a visitor profile. This allows you send it to Grandma and not have to create a "Grandma" user on the server itself. Very nicely done.
  
  Another small caveat is if you use TZO for Dynamic DNS currently. You need to call TZO to get your existing account setup correctly on the box.
  
  Update 3/11/08:
  
  I've had the EX470 for 4 months now, and I am still confident that at this time it warrants a 3 of 5 star review. There is still no connector to Vista Ultimate 64bit. I have not used the photo sharing application because there are just much better options on the internet. I do stream to my XBOX 360 and PS3 - but you can't stream MP4 based video - so this means no M4Vs, no DivX/Xvid. It has no problems streaming MPEG movies, so this is a limitation of both the PS3 and 360.
  
  In terms of add-ins - I have tried a lot of them, but kept 2 - Jungle Disk and LobsterTunes. Jungle Disk uses the Amazon S3 SOAP APIs to back up your home server's share files online. It is slow, but it works and is very cheap to use. It does not backup the WHS OS or local files - just the shares. LobsterTunes exposes my music collection to my smart phone. It does not stream them, but makes a local copy on the device - so make sure you have an unlimited and fast data plan for this. I've used it to pull up obscure music for a friend to sample, and it's a keeper. I have also installed Raxco's PerfectDisk software to keep the drives from becoming overly fragmented.
  
  I have upgraded the memory to two gigabytes as well. This should be the standard in these servers. It made a HUGE difference in throughput and response times from the WHS OS. I have also installed my own SSL certificate because I was sick and tired of seeing the bad certificate message everytime I used the web interface. Most people won't get this problem because they are using the standard windowshomeserver.com domain. Those that use custom domains will know what I mean.
  
  Microsoft had promised a patch due at first in January, then slipped to February, then March. Known as Power Pack 1, it is supposed to add support for 64 bit Windows clients, allow you to back up the OS itself, and other smaller niceties. I wouldn't hold your breath for this patch. The slippage occurred because of a nasty bug in WHS ( google for KB #946676). This bug causes files to get corrupted if you attempt to modify the files directly on the home server. It will only affect WHS boxes that have multiple hard drives for storage. Now, all storage drives on the OS will show as one drive, with WHS constantly monitoring and moving the files around to "balance" the amount of space used on each drive. The problem is that in order to show the shares as a single drive, their contents are mapped and cached in memory. It's basically like a switchboard operator that knows where your files are supposed to be. Most of the time, there is no problems, but the mechanism to update the switchboard operator's lookup is not keeping up with the balancing when there is a lot going on. So instead of getting Klondike 5-3226, now your getting mostly that, but maybe a bit of Klondike 5-3227.
  
  I've only had this happen once, to my wife. She wanted to archive some of her Outlook email, so she created a PST on the server and moved the emails over to the new PST. The corruption occured in the middle of this - and she lost all of the emails that were copying over to the share. This was an easy solve issue, because the WHS backup had run and she only ended up loosing the last 5 emails she received. Now, I have trained her to save locally and copy to the server, and pull down from the server first, modify and repeat. There have been no problems since.
  
  

• Saved my photos

  
  By A3VX3BLXYZG2NF on 2007-11-03
  I have been using a beta version of the HP MediaSmart for quite a few months. Two weeks ago I discovered that over a month ago during some quick "I need disk space delete non-essential stuff" exercise, I had accidentally erased a large directory of travel photos from my laptop. And I discovered that I had not first copied them to my usual "Photos" directory on my home server first. I was totally bummed for a few hours until i realized that my laptop has been automatically backed up on the home server for months. I went back to the old backups (they are set to save there for a long time), and was thrilled to find the photos right where they were before i deleted them. What a relief. That alone paid for the product times 10.
  
  

• HP QUALITY

  
  By A2I98OOPNIJNYY on 2007-11-21
  I have owned and operated HP micro and mini computers since 1982. The name "Hewlett Packard" has for me always stood for quality (except when Compaq was acquired). I just got my EX470 direct from HP. Since the holidays are here I couldn't wait for a preordered unit from Amazon - so I paid a little more to get it direct from HP. [If you are not in a hurry then Amazon is the way to go - as I would not trust any other mail order house to order sophisticated electronics]. The EX470 is a one 500GB windows home server. The EX475 has two 500GB drives. I opted for the one 500GB drive so that I could fill the other 3 bays with 1 TB Seagates (7200.11) so that I could have 3.5TB of needed storage. [See Tomshardware dot com for a great review of those drives. If you are interested I ordered the drives for a great great price from NewEgg.] It is important that you have at least 2 drives in this unit to enable the server to make 2nd backup copies of important files that are backed up from your several PCs on your network, otherwise you risk losing your backup in the event that a hard drive on your server quits.
  
  Anyway, the unit is a piece of art - you can't stick the thing in a closet - as it is too pretty! Very well made hardware. This is not a piece of plastic that rattles, rather it is tightly assembled, dense (surprisingly) and well, beautifully put together. Mark my words, you are getting far more for your money by buying this hardware than anything you have purchased for less than $600 in the past! I simply plugged in the power and the gigabit lan and presto - we're connected. After a minute or so system test you incert the appropriate discs into one of your networked computers and within 15 minutes you are up and running.
  
  I have yet to configure the remote capabilities of the server and will wait until I understand what I am doing. One thing you don't want to do is make all your personal data available to anyone on the internet! So I will go a little slow in that department. Once I get my other Seagate drives on Monday I hope to add to this post. If for some reason I gave too many stars to this review I will make it known in that supplement that my opinion has changed. However I doubt that that will happen! :) Buy it - you'll like it.
  
  UPDATE: OK it is now January 9, 2008. Since my initial review I have replaced the original Seagate 500GB drive with a 1TB Seagate 7200.11 one, and installed 3 other 1TB Seagate's in the other 3 bays. In addition, I have also added a Rosewill eSATA external HD enclosure and added another 1TB Seagate drive. Now I have 5TBs and I feel I will need more space after a year or so.
  
  For those of you who are kicking the tires on this Windows Home Server, I would stick with HP. In a few more weeks both HP and Microsoft will be coming out with a series of software upgrades and enhancements. There will be features for you to actually backup all or part of your Windows Home Server. 64 bit clients as well as 32 bit clients will have complete functionality. Moreover, McAfee virus protection will be added on a 6 month free trial (which is good if you plan to do remote sharing). [Microsoft is also working on a fix of certain corruption problems people have had using certain software to edit and save to the server directly.] So far I am completely happy with my purchase. I am looking forward to the exciting new add-ins that will be available for this unit in the future. I would give this unit six stars if I could. :)
  
  

• Excellent now that PowerPack 1 has been released

  
  By A1KGKPWWG61U42 on 2007-11-23
  I'm updating this review again because PowerPack 1 has just been released which fixes several problems and the data corruption bug.
  
  THE GOOD: The remote access to files works VERY well. I've been able to upload and download files to/from work and while travelling. The web interface has been improved and there is now an ActiveX control that allows multiple files to be uploaded while showing a progress bar and the status of the files (this only works in I.E., Firefox still uses the old interface).
  
  The software is very easy to set up and use. The console lets you manage most everything.
  
  The photo sharing software works great and lets you share photo galleries with your family and friends without having to use up any of your allotted 10 user I.D.'s.
  
  Adding more storage is a breeze, you don't even need a screwdriver.
  
  The server box looks great, is very small, and is very quiet, with far less fan noise than the computers to which it is connected.
  
  With PowerPack 1, the shared drives can be backed up to an external hard drive for off-site backup peace of mind. The software can now wake up all PC's on your network to back them up. There is a repair utility for corrupt backup files. I've been backing up files for about 8 months now, though, and have never had a problem.
  
  THE BAD: Support is non-existent. E-mails are not answered, and, after an hour on the phone, I was told that phone support has yet to be established for this product because it is too new. I don't know if this has been fixed since I haven't had to call support again.
  
  The incluced 512mb of RAM is not enough to do anything serious with this server, especially with all of the various add-ons now available. I found instructions online to upgrade to 2 gigs, and did so successfully, but this is not for the faint of heart since it involves disassembling the box (and voiding the warranty). The server should come with 2 gigs out of the box, even if it means upping the price $50.
  
  THE BOTTOM LINE: This server is now a mature product. I would change my rating to five stars if I could.
  
  

• A must-have for multi-PC families

  
  By A3J0GU1JWKN0Y1 on 2007-11-26
  "You need a what? Why do we NEED a home server?" is what my wife asked incredulously when I told her I had to have the EX470 MediaSmart Home Server. If you're like our family, you have more than 2 PCs (we have 6 PCs, 1 media center, 2 XBOXs, and 2 MP3 players) and your music, photos, and multi-media are spread throughout the network. You also have never done a single backup of any of the PCs in your house and you're one hard-drive failure from losing those precious moments.
  
  The HP MediaSmart Home Server, based on Microsoft's Home Server Edition is not your plain-vanilla backup drive. Instead it has some killer features:
  
  - Speedy, intuitive setup in a great looking machine (took me literally 10 minutes to setup)
  - Automatic backup with optional folder duplication
  - Hot-pluggable storage allows you to expand storage up to 16 terabytes on the fly (we have 1 terabyte)
  - Login remotely and upload/download files from anywhere
  - Access other computers on your network remotely (like Go-to-My-PC)
  - File/media serving and print serving (centralize your media and access it from any device)
  - Setup a domain in a few clicks so you can share your folders with friends and family over the web
  - Monitor all your PCs for security...you will get alerts if antivirus or the firewall aren't working
  - Extensible "Add-ins" allow developers to build and offer (usually freeware) some cool features like remote management, mobile access, and dozens of other custom applications
  - You can also sign-up for internet storage and backup your Home Server automatically (for additional safety) to offsite providers for as little as $5/month for unlimited storage
  
  Overall, I consider the Home Server to be a breakthrough in home technology. There's no other backup drive or NAS on the market that offers the breadth of features or extensibility, in a centralized and automated fashion (for those lazy home administrators). I am really happy with this purchase and particularly happy that all of our family pictures are finally safe from hard-drive failure. I heartily recommend the MediaSmart Home Server.
  
  
  
• Just TOO cool!
  By A38CHVJLM9WXKU on 2007-11-30
  I pre-ordered after figuring out I could not put together as nice of a box for twice the price. Good Call!
  
  This is really close to a perfect product right out of the chute. The difficulties I ran into mostly had to do with some complicated PC configurations I have. If you are moderately comfortable with your operating system then you probably won't have too much trouble. I wouldn't dump it in a novice's lap, though.
  
  Couple of quick tips...
  
  1. Don't run more than 1 anti-virus/spyware/security package on your pc. This caused some difficult complications for me.
  2. Before you install the server allow your PC's firewall to forward all IP traffic from your local network. This will allow the installer to find the server and do its thing without any blocking.
  3. Check your services and make sure Volume Shadow Copy and COM+ are enabled and set to Auto.
  4. It seems best to setup all your pcs with the same user names and strong passwords. The MediaSmart doesn't organize things by name but rather identifies each PC individually. This REALLY simplifies things!
  
  Using a Remote Desktop Connection you can access the underlying WHS operating system. I set mine up with a static IP and changed the Workgroup to match the rest of my LAN. Also, I checked the performance and everything is cool even during a backup with a remote connection. I also plugged in my LaserJet 1300 and used WHS to add the printer for sharing. This didn't go well until I went to device manager and updated the printer driver from there. Then it was like butter and the printing speed is super quick.
  
  I considered upgrading to 1GB of ram, but it seems really unnecessary. If you'd like to... Kingston #KVR667D2N5/1G has worked for another - it's PC2 5300, fyi. Messing around in WHS is at your own risk, of course! But my gigabit network is fast and server discovery is bullet fast. I use a Netgear GS108 ProSafe switch and Cat6 cables. iTunes sharing is awesome, too.
  
  I connected from work through a large corporate network and it worked like a charm, fyi.
  
  I loaded it up to a total of 2.5TB but that may be overkill. Two wired dual-boot PC's and a wireless connection comprise my home network. The router is a Buffalo WHR-G54S firmware flashed with dd-WRT. The server auto-configured the unit flawlessly. It is amazing how the backup operation conserves space amongst multiple PC's.
  
  Nice Job MS, HP and Amazon!!!
  
  
• Chancy--no HP product support
  By A2112T5VDEU2S4 on 2007-12-24
  Could be a good product, but I've had a file copy problem with one of the PCs on our network, where that PC can't copy to the server, though the PC has full access privileges. I'm sure it's a simple issue, but there is no HP support of the product. No email support, no live chat. The phone help is a joke: the first call resulted in 30 minutes of trying to find someone whou would recognize that this was an HP product, then the support person who finally got stuck with the call had absolutely no suggestions, then dropped the connection on me after an hour on the phone. The next call had me on hold for 30 minutes, with no pickup.
  
  This is very unusual for HP. I don't know if HP wants Microsoft to carry the freight on product support or what, but I've been left high and dry.
  
  Would not buy until the product has matured.
  
  
• Does not work with 64bit Clients!
  By A2Y9JX0WRNZGD7 on 2007-11-26
  Was looking forward to this box all week. I get home from work, plug it in and put the disk in my PC and...You can not install HP MediaSmart Server on this version of Windows. Where did it say on amazon or hp that is won't support 64bit? Nowhere! Except here after I wasted my time getting this box http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01212412&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3548165&lang=en
  
  
• HP EX470 MediaSmart Server good and bad
  By A3KHG1OYOE57JQ on 2007-12-18
  Had good experience setting up and getting it running. Had one issue on first install because the setup is so SLOOOOOW. Once I learned to just go get a cup of coffee and give it time it was ok. I had to deinstall and reinstall the admin software.
  
  Imagine my surprise when I installed the client SW on all my machines then when I fired up my laptop it demanded a password! Since all 7 of my home computers are single user I never use passwords. But now we do because WHS demands that they be used and by installing the HP software on a client it magically now requires a password to use the machine.
  
  It appears to me that on all "my" machines where I use the userid of Rob, WHS set up the start up page of my computers to demand a password for the first time. On the wife's machine since her USERID matches her WHS account, it now demands that she enter her WHS password in order to gain access to her laptop. A little feature.
  
  Also, I discovered that logging on to the admin for WHS is totally different than logging on as a user. In fact, I have been logged on to both at the same time many times from ALL of my networked computers. If I am logged on to one computer then log on as admin on another computer it terminates the session on the first and creates a new one on the second one. Once I figured out the difference I was ok but till I figured out this little feature it was interesting.
  
  I treat the box as hot swappable and just left it running while I added or subtracted drives. I installed two unformatted WD .5TB drives to go with the factory .5TB drive it came with. They dont show up in the user account but do show up in the administrator account as unused. I sellected them, added them and within a few minutes (surprisingly quickly) the added 1TB of space showed up on my user account. I then added a 160 MB drive and same experience. Two days later, I received another .5TB drive from New Egg and in the admin account told the Server to empty the 160MB drive and left it alone for half an hour. When I came back, the now reduced total drive space showed up as a single number in my user acccount and the admin account showed the 160MB drive unused. I swapped out the 160 for the .5TB drive and within a few minutes it showed up, I added it in the admin account and it showed up in my user account as added space to the virtual single drive. Very easy and quickly done.
  
  I have 200+ movies in ITUNES and am on the way to 600+ so I need a lot of space and it needs to be expandable. This little box does that very nicely. My migration plan is to continue to migrate to 1TB drives in the future when the price point gets where I want it or I really need the space.
  
  I hoste ITUNES on my quad-core server to 3 AppleTVs but have outgrown the HD space on that server. So the ITUNES library is hosted on a separate 1TB NAS. I use the HP EX470 MediaSmart Server as the backup and share point for the growing ITUNES library file.
  
  The good news is that the HP SW went out and found the existing ITUNES library and imported a copy to HP EX470 MediaSmart Server (sloooowly but surely). The bad news is that the HP ITUNES SW does not look below the album layer in the ITUNES library. ITUNES saves all added movies as MPEG4 files INSIDE a "Movies" album folder in ITUNES library. This works fine for ITUNES but . . HP EX470 MediaSmart Server does not look below the folder level (album) so once it does an import it treats the "Movies" folder in my master ITUNES library as "old" and does not import any movies added below the movies folder level.
  
  I use CUSOFT to convert my DVDs to MPEG4 and drag them into ITUNES. I have now started dragging imported movies to both ITUNES on the quad-core server and to the "Movies" folder in HP EX470 MediaSmart Server and it works just fine. Would be nice if HP could actually fix this little problem but
  
  Another little feature is the ITUNES share folder in HP EX470 MediaSmart Server saves imports from each separate computer in to a unique folder created internal to the HP EX470 MediaSmart Server ITUNES share folder. It does not apparantly create a single integrated ITUNES library. It does save off the ITUNES data files that you can then point to from any ITUNES client and play.
  
  I also discovered that HP EX470 MediaSmart Server is not found by the wife's laptop that is connecting through a wireless hub. (Apple Extreme) All ethernet linked boxes find it just fine. I am going to have to reconfigure my network by connecting the Apple Extreme hub to my 24 port switch and see if that works. BUT I can connect using the web interface from the laptop over the wireless. If I enter the HP EX470 MediaSmart Server IP into Internet Explorer it comes right up. You can get at data (photos) but with that interface you do not get all the photo management features.
  
  Once I discovered this little feature I then logged on to my HP EX470 MediaSmart Server as 1) admin, 2) user and then brought it up in the 3) web interface. Very interesting. But it still will not connect up through my COMCAST SMC8013WG modem.
  
  MY BITCH ABOUT HP EX470 MediaSmart Server is that HP basically has no viable support for the device.
  
  I tried to do email support and its not available.
  
  I tried to do online support and its not available.
  
  I tried online support and with the exception of FAQ you can't get any support from the HP website.
  
  So I called. And I got a person who spent 10 minutes creating an support account and trouble ticket then transferred me to . . . nowhere.
  
  I had a great deal of difficulty understanding the individual who while very nice and caring does not speak the same version of English that I have for 60 years. Not being critical but unless you feel very comfortable with figuring out this little box on your own . . . getting any support from HP is problematical at best.
  
  I have yet to find a way to feed back to them the issue with ITUNES even.
  
  Having said that, I LOVE this little box so far. It does everything except share folders online which is probably a unique problem to my situation. It connects to the internet ok as a client but will NOT communicate as an FTP site for photo sharing.
  
  
• Good overall, but some rough edges
  By A19F15KKRW5YUA on 2008-01-22
  The MediaSmart server is a very nice product for any multiple computer home. It offers a luxurious amount of storage space for all of your huge media files, and makes sharing and backup for all computers on the network downright simple. It is VERY easily upgraded - you don't even need any tools to add a new hard drive, just snap it into the tray, slide the tray in, and it only takes a couple of clicks to add the drive. The four trays will offer years of upgrading.
  
  Note that, despite the high points of the product, there are some rough spots. First, it is significantly short of memory. Windows Home Server, the MediaSmart's operating system, is a very trimmed down version of Windows Server to fit into 512mb... but HP added a number of features, bloating it back up to about 700mb. As a result, the server, in its default configuration, will tend to repeatedly read the virtual memory, SIGNIFICANTLY slowing down the server. It's best to upgrade the server from 512mb to a far more comfortable 2gb... but note, this requires practically dismantling it, voiding the warranty.
  
  The other issue is one not of the MediaSmart server itself, but of the Windows Home Server operating system. As of the time of this review, it has an extremely critical bug that causes file corruption. There are specific conditions that prompt this, but it's a relatively common condition - Editing a file that's in a shared directory, on a MediaSmart server with multiple hard drives (which the EX475 comes with by default). The bug is slated to be fixed, but until Microsoft releases the patch to correct them, it will limit much of the utility of the server. Until the patch is released, the bug can be worked around by copying the file to a local computer to edit it, then copying it back, but it does, unfortunately, mean that it isn't possible to run BitTorrent on the server itself until the bug is fixed.
  
  Overall, it's a nice little server if you need some extra space to share files between computers, and you'd like something you can either tuck back into a closet and never worry about or display nicely on a bookshelf. I would primarily recommend it to those who are not afraid to pop it open due to the memory issue, however - the lack of memory is a huge stumbling block to the use of the device if it's unupgraded. The WHS issue will be corrected, hopefully soon, and I purchased the server despite already knowing of the issue since I knew I could work around it until it was fixed.
  
  
• Windows Home Server Exceeds Expectations
  By A273CD54W1XYJ6 on 2007-12-01
  Have you ever
  - Lost a hard drive with all your personal pictures/documents.
  - Spent hundreds of dollars on backup hardware to have it fail
  due to a tape failure.
  - Have your personal pictures/files storied across several computers.
  - Needed a file when you were hundreds of miles from your computer.
  - Looking for a way to share your photos and videos with friends and
  family.
  
  All of these issues were a common problem for me and Microsoft and HP has come up with a perfect solution.
  
  The most common issue that I have noted that I have seen as I reviewed the product was based on the cost. If you add up the cost of hardware and software that can and will back up your data this system is a great value. As a bonus it will continue to grow, not only in storage space but also in applications.
  
  I don't normally give reviews, but I feel very strongly about what a great product EX475 with WHS is.
  
  For you small business owner... take a good look at this product. It will save you time and money.
  
  
  
• Disappointed!! EX470/475 = Pain in my %$@#^...Neck!
  By A3HE41JXW1B2E1 on 2008-01-26
  At first, I thought this is a great idea - now, 2 months later, I feel like I wasted my money and should have built my own server solution!! The biggest pain is the constant issues and warning messages: either the "Passwords don't match" (which is total BS; I've made them all the same a million of times...), or there's a "critical issue" with the factory-supplied Harddrive (turns out to be bogus, too - as the server is just complaining if you upload/download too much (... how much is "too much"?) at once. I AM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED, and vow never to buy any HP products again. My advice: put your money into a different solution, at least until all the bugs with the current servers [1st Gen..] are fixed. Makes me feel like a Beta Tester allover again; every single day...
  
  
• UPDATED: Wonderful Idea... Destroyed by Microsoft
  By A2QSDXDDW1TISD on 2008-05-19
  UPDATE: Microsoft's 'Power Pack' has been released (about 9 months late if you ask me). My issues with the device have been resolved and I would give it 4 stars today, if I never had to deal with corruption in the first place... but I can't change my vote now. END
  
  First, this box from HP is great, it's amazingly small, attractive and easy to use (and it comes with all the drive trays, start doing that with your real servers HP, instead of gouging us with overpriced, relabeled drives or forcing us to gray market trays.)
  
  As is so often the case, Microsoft has made some great innovations with WHS, promised quite a bit and it really has potential. Unfortunately, it's all for naught thanks to Microsoft and their unwillingness to correct mistakes or take unsafe products off the market.
  
  For 6 months now, WHS has been made useless (in my opinion) by a data corruption bug that basically destroys data when edited if the WHS has more then one drive.
  
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946676
  
  Microsoft and HP should be utterly ashamed for continuing to sell this product. It is unsafe and could actively destroy you otherwise safe data.
  
  DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT WITH MULTIPLE DRIVES.
  MAKE NETWORK SHARES READ ONLY.
  DON'T EDIT FILES ON THE WHS, BACKUP ONLY.
  
  Don't take my word, here's HP on the matter:
  
  "HP recommends that you not open/edit files directly from the server until this fix is delivered."
  
  
• Very nice - a few flaws
  By A284Y9E8UP7FNJ on 2007-11-27
  First of all, this should be in everyone's household to help backup data on a regular basis (and share files). It's a great, easy solution. That said, there are two main issues with it:
  
  1) Disk and data are not really redundant. In theory, if a disk fails, you simply pull it out and put a new one in with no data loss. In reality, with WHS you must specify which folders you want duplicated. If you don't and a disk fails - you have no idea what data you lost! Ideally they make this thing as easy as Drobo where you don't worry about it.
  
  2) Silent backups. We use mainly use laptops in our family which are off at night. If you miss a backup, I wish it would just do it silently in the background (like "Proactive backups" on EMC Retrospect), rather than popping up alerts all the time.
  
  Other than that - this system has a lot of promise and should be used for backups by anyone with more than one computer and a network!
  
  
  
• A Microsoft product that works - REALLY WELL
  By A2J8T58Z4X15IO on 2007-12-23
  It's hard to describe how happy I am about this product without sounding like an idiot.
  
  First of all the basics; it's a nice looking device. It's VERY quiet, and cabling is nice and simple; power and ethernet. Included in the box is the device, the cables you need, a set of CD's and a getting started guide.
  
  On the back is an eSATA port (not shown in the Amazon photos or mentioned), 3 USB ports for more storage and a USB port on the front.
  
  You plug it into your network, install the CD and you are good to go. No fooling around with product activation, no 30 minute setup.
  
  The software; it's spectacular. Microsoft made this easy to use without treating you like a fool. Setting up shared storage and scheduling a backup couldn't be easier. If you ever need to restore, then you just pop in the included boot CD into the target machine and it'll let you restore backups stored on the server.
  
  The 500Gb (or 1Tb) drive is fine for most people, but in my case I added some more drives. You just pop them into the cradle, slide them into the server and select "add" in the control panel. It automatically turns them into one large drive you can access. You can then select in the control panel which directories you want to duplicate (mirror) and it will make a backup copy onto one of the other drives. If you ever need to remove a drive, it will let you copy the contents onto the other drive(s) before doing so.
  
  Another cool feature is the iTunes server; it will copy your local iTunes library onto the server in the background so you free up space on your PC and have a network accessible iTunes server on your lan.
  
  All in all $577 WELL SPENT. There are other solutions out there (Drobo, Infrant, FreeNAS) but this integrates perfectly in Windows and is in my opinion the best value for money.
  
  
• Great server, great software
  By AA98GW5LPFBNC on 2008-03-26
  Disclosure: I was a beta tester on software of this product beginning a year ago, so I have a rather strong bias in favor of it.
  
  Since I build my own computers, I used Microsoft's beta version of Windows Home Server as it moved slowly through various beta versions. I agonized as various bugs appeared, but never did I lose any backups and with each new version WHS became more stable. When the final version was released in late fall 2007, I managed to snag a copy and installed it on an old computer. It ran like a champ.
  
  So why did I opt for the HP version? Quite simply, I wanted a small server (this thing's a lot smaller than it looks) that would use far less energy than my old "warhorse" from days gone by. So what do you need to know that other reviews may not have told you?
  
  1. For optimal performance, you really need to be running a gigabit network. This may be as simple as buying a gigabit switch. You may have a salesman tell you that CAT5e cable won't run gigabit, but that's not true. As long as you don't have huge cable runs, you'll be just fine. If you can't run a gigabit network, you'll have a really long first backup, but after that WHS is smart enough to only backup what's changed, so things will go faster.
  
  2 You can't back up a computer with FAT32 formatting. Surprise! My wife's old computer is still FAT32 and I get a message saying I have to convert the drive to NTFS. Ok, but that means I have to find a way to backup her data before I back it up. Hmmm . . .
  
  3. Now this is cool: I set my computers to run backups between 1:00 and 4:00 AM. Then I put the computers in sleep mode, which effectively shuts them down. During the middle of the night the server wakes up the computers, does the backup, then puts them back to sleep. A lot of energy saved there! You can have up to 10 home computers installed, not likely, but it's there if you want it.
  
  4. Adding storage is ridiculously easy. You just slide out a tray in the HP Server, drop in a drive and slide it back in. No screws or wires. And everything is on the front. Also, the server runs "headless" which means you don't need a keyboard, mouse, or monitor to set it up.
  
  5. I added another 500GB drive (for $109) which gives me 1TB of storage. The HP Server comes with a Seagate 500GB drive installed and a 1TB version is also available. Here's another cool feature. In case you don't want to trust all of your backups to one drive you can set up your HP home server to write your data to two drives, so if one fails, you've got a complete backup on the other drive. Of course this takes more space, but . . .
  
  6. The WHS software only backs up one instance of each file. So if you have the same picture on three computers, it saves space by only writing one instance of the file. Really smart.
  
  7. Remember, WHS is not just for backups, but for sharing files across your network, and potentially across the world. Depending on your ISP, that may be easy or potentially difficult, but that's not really the fault of WHS.
  
  Other goodies: You can check the server temperature, fan RPM's and voltages from any computer on the network -- if there's a problem you'll be alerted on your computer; the front of the server has status lights which change colors according to the health/status of the server, and you can set the brightness of the lights (in case it's in your bedroom). It's quiet, but I have it in the basement and anything would seem quiet next to the multi-fan monster it replaced.
  
  And finally, WHS is based on the business Windows Server 2003, which is rock stable. While the HP EX470 is not going to wind up in every home in America, if you're a computer enthusiast you won't have much trouble justifying this purchase. I've spent a lot more money over the years on backup solutions that were tedious and didn't really put a backed up file within easy reach. With WHS you can restore a single file or the entire drive. I restored my laptop drive when I upgraded to a larger drive and it worked quickly and perfectly.
  
  So stop worrying about your backups. Yes, it's a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. Microsoft and HP hit a homerun with the HP EX470.
  
  
• Terrific value
  By A21FOQDWGOP41Q on 2007-11-06
  In reviewing the specs on this server, seems like a great price/value for a central storage home system - very well done.
  
  
• Absolutely Awesome (and simple)
  By A2JJ1Y65AX250H on 2007-12-18
  I just received the server yesterday after having it overnighted. I was so stoked to be getting it. I was able to set up the server, install the software, configure the remote access, guest accounts and permissions within minutes. I work in the software industry so I have a little bit more know-how than someone who doesn't but it was still pretty easy - except for configuring the router (more on that in a minute) for remote access.
  
  The box is just so cool - the lights and being able to control the brightness is sweet. I placed it on my desktop it's so small and quiet. This has to be one of the best NAS devices available (and is smaller and more stylish than anything else out there). I'm planning on adding three 1 TB drives tomorrow to increase the storage.
  
  One of the first things I did was copy my music library and photos to the server and also a couple of DVD's that I ripped (yes, legally). I have an XBox 360 attached to one of my TV's upstairs and I was able to immediately browse to the box, play my music and have a photo slide show running with no work at all (literally I just had my XBox search the network and it found the MediaSmart server and I didn't have to do anything at all).
  
  So, my two complaints: I have a full network running at home with a Windows Server 2003 domain which has Routing and Remote Access enabled which then plugs into my router and then into my cable modem. Using the auto configure router just doesn't work. I suspected I would have issues but it was still annoying. Still, that only took a few minutes to overcome.
  My next issue is usernames. Because you can't join the MediaSmart server to a domain I can't use my username/password to log onto it. The instructions say to create the same username and password, but doesn't let you use the domain username (the username on the client keeps resolving to the domain). So, you have to create a different username. It's a minor nit and I know why Microsoft did it that way, but it's still a pain.
  
  Aside from these two minor, minor items, I LOVE this NAS!!!!
  
  
• Data Corrupting Software Cripples Stellar Hardware
  By AX7317G153T8W on 2008-03-19
  Don't buy this (yet).
  
  There's a notorious bug with Microsoft's software that can actually destroy the files on the server just with normal use. Currently they hope to have the problem corrected by June 2008, but use Google to check the progress of the patch before moving forward.
  
  If it weren't for that issue, this would be one slick machine. I've never seen a consumer machine with hot-swappable drive bays, and the potential for expansion to add physical drives to the same logical drive, plus all the other cool features would have made this one beautiful machine!
  
  Unfortunately, the bug attacks the safety of the primary purpose of this machine.
  
  That said, it only affects machines with more than one drive, so if you can stand only having 500 GB of space and still want the rest of the benefits this machine offers, then the single-drive MediaSmart HP EX470 is a better buy for the moment. Just don't add hard drives to the system until the bug is fixed.
  
  
• Great technology!
  By A3JOYHJODEGFNB on 2007-11-27
  This server is a breeze to set up. HP has done a great job simplifying the setup process, and I had it running within minutes. The capabilities of Windows Home Server are outstanding; backups of my home PC's and the ability to share photo files between users are so easy to set up and use. The price is well worth it; anyone with more than one PC at home and the need to backup and share files will find this a great technology for such use.
  
  
• Amazingly Simple Setup
  By A1PGU604ZLS5ZV on 2007-12-06
  From the hardware to the software this baby rocks. This should be the operating system Microsoft says, "WOW!" about. Out of the box to up and running with backups configured on three computers took about 30 minutes.
  
  The hardware is well thought and well built. The server is slightly taller and wider than my HP Media Vaults, but not as deep. The overall look is a very nice, professional piece of hardware. Adding additional hard drives is a breeze and can be done without shutting the server down. The best part is all the storage looks like one space; no guessing where a file has been saved. External drives can also be added to the storage pool via USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA port.
  
  On the software side, there is the connector software that is installed on each client PC and then the actual server operating system. The home server's "console" can be access from any client PC. Here all the day-to-day administrative aspects of the server can be managed from one simple interface. Additional capabilities are available through third-party plug-ins in this console. For more in depth administrative work you can use a Remote Desktop Connection to directly access the operating system like you would any other Windows computer.
  
  The nightly back ups are fast and efficient. You can specify how many copies of daily, weekly and monthly back ups the server should keep. The one downside here is an inability to set backup times for specific computers. The scheduled time is for all computers, though a five minute warning does appear and allows the user to delay a backup for one hour.
  
  Overall, this is an incredible computer and a must for multiple PC households and small offices (up to 10 computers) needing centralized storage and automatic backups.
  
  
• Remote Access Doesn't Work With Vista Home Premium
  By A1LHS0JZLKR9ZI on 2007-12-21
  Great system but it seems te remote access feature cannot be used unless you are a Ultimate, Enterprise, or Business user of Vista. This is a Microsoft's restriction not an HP restriction.
  
  HP is to blames somewhat as I have not found this anywhere in the documentation and you won't discover this flaw until you purchase it.
  
  I give one star because remote access to my PC was the reason I bought the server.
  
  Alas, it cannot be done without an upgrade.
  
  
• Great Product and OS
  By A3K4WHWXXO2L3D on 2008-01-01
  I canceled my Amazon order and got the EX475 directly from HP. Ground shipping was free, however, I had it in two days! I've been involved with computers both at home and at work for more years that I care to think about and have to say that the installation was without a doubt one of the easiest things I've ever done. The most difficult part was plugging it in. I will say that before I received it, I read the book "Windows Home Server for Dummies" which was great and provided a lot of information that was useful during setup and use. I was pleasantly surprised when the remote access worked the first time, particularly since I have an older router that I had to configure manually. Overall, I'm very satisfied with both the EX475 product and the Windows Home Server operating system. It has certainly lived up to all of my expectations.
  
  
• Everyone with more than 1 Computer Should Have One
  By A24V0OH916O2TJ on 2008-01-09
  Not sure what to do with this thing?
  
  Backup all the computers in your house each night without lifting a finger.
  
  Being a backup freak, that's reason number one to get this HP Home Server. I can't tell you how many times I've had to help people recover lost data or give them the bad news that years of photos were lost because they never backed them up. Backups only work if you do them. And this thing does them for you automatically. Every computer on the network (even Media Centers) get backed-up every night without fail.
  
  Like another reviewer mentioned, either purchase the EX475 that comes with 2 drives or the EX470 - and add a drive - to make sure the HP Server can evenly distribute the data across multiple drives. It's not a RAID configuration, but a Window Clustering system that does the same thing to protect data so even if 1 drive fails, the data is duplicated across remaining drives.
  
  Over the years, the computers in our house have collected different sets of photos from different cameras in a way that I'll never be able to reconcile. With the HP Server, it doesn't matter anymore since every computer is backed up each night - and only the changed and added files are backed up after the first, massive backup.
  
  What else?
  
  Remotely access anything on the server (your backed-up photos, videos, documents - everything) or your home computers from any web browser in the world. It's cool to download a full-length, hour-long family video directly to a family member's computer in another state with nothing more than a browser.
  
  Upload photos to the server so family and friends can access them from your Home Server web site. This is much better than sending massive emails to friends or having to shrink down photos so they don't bounce back. They can see all of them and download full-resolution versions if they want. The thumbnail view needs to be improved, but it's a minor flaw. If you want, the server will even send emails to family and friends of your choosing when you upload new photos. I even have photographer friends who use their Home Server to upload their photos from the road to ensure they don't get lost or erased before they get home.
  
  Access the desktop of any computer in your house from a web browser. Sure, with a Windows computer with Remote Desktop installed, you can do this too (if you've configured your router the way it requires). This is better. Without installing any software, you can access any desktop in your home through the server.
  
  Media Sharing. Share your photos, videos and music to any other computer in the house. Using the free add-in software, you can stream it to Media Players hooked up to your TV too. Unleash your computer-bound photos to the TV room where more people can enjoy them. And listen to your MP3s on a real stereo.
  
  Also - if you run low on server space, just drop in another drive. It's quick and easy to do. You don't even have to open the case to do it!
  
  This is an attractive, practically silent, useful addition to your home you should honestly consider. It's even smaller than it looks in pictures, so if size is a concern, check out the dimensions or other pictures of it on the web. I love this thing!
  
  
  
• Not ready for prime time
  By ALM3BMFYWEXKR on 2007-12-10
  This product is not ready for prime time. Here are the specifics. Hp has a problem with "SOME" switches. We tried 3 switches (Belkin vision gigabit wifi station and two dlink switches). We could only make a management connection with the oldest dlink switch. Customer support said this was an issue they were looking into but that they could not point to any known good products that we could use. BAsically with two people working on this for 6 hours and little support and followthrough from customer support it was returned.
  The install script is all automated and does not allow for any real advanced troubleshooting. It also does not really let you inovate to try and get the thing working.
  One good idea we did get was to use the remote desktop connection feature of windowsto get into the box. YOu will need to have been able to set the admin password but if you have gotten the setup to work once the admin user name is "Administrator" and then the password you setup through the install wizard.
  
  I am truly disappointed and will be very happy when this beta product ships as a ready for prime time server.
  
  
• Works Like Advertised
  By A3BUNZ54RKXDK6 on 2007-12-30
  I often buy new products and do so with some fear and trepidation as there are generally lots of hitches. This device installed with almost no problems. I had to manually configure the Belkin N1 router for the ports necessary for outside access. I had no problem adding the other computers in the house. It found my iTunes files and copied them to the server without a hitch. The server showed up in all installed copies of iTunes and songs can be played from the server. I added two 320 drives that I got for 60 bucks each in the empty bays and the server added them flawlessly. It appears to me that HP and Microsoft have hit a homerun with this device.
  
  
  
• Absolutly no support from HP
  By AX89XUHGK1MYT on 2008-01-20
  I have a file copying and deleting problem with this server. There is (as mentioned in another post ) no email or chat support for this product. The phone support is really bad....After several attempts and reroutes nad about 40 minutes of being shuffled between desktop and business server support I was put on hold with an announcement in french and after another 10 minutes connected to a pocket PC support tech. He said that all the mediasmart techs were very busy and that he didn't know why I had been connected to him. He created a case number and told me they will call back, but I doubt this will happen.
  My guess is HP has bitten off more than they can chew in trying to support this OS. I would advise anyone looking at this to buy a generic box and buy Windows Home Server directly from Microsoft where there might be some hope of support. (If you buy this product you are forced to use HP support
  
  
• Finally!
  By A1FXK1FN2QJSO9 on 2007-11-30
  I have been looking for a system to manage my media and files. The problem is finding affordable NAS servers. This worked like a charm!
  
  The good:
  It's compact - The HP pic makes it appear larger than it is
  It was up and running with in less than a half hour
  Adding additional 1TB drives was a snap (easy no tool required)
  Easy setup for alternative computers (not using the software)
  Quite & the lights are controllable
  
  The Wish list:
  It would have been nice to allow the console to install a printer Having multiple computers running with a central printer is a great option (can be installed if logged into the actual server). You can access the server with Remote Desktop, be warned read the MS notice on what not to do. Apparently they did not remove some standard Windows Servers applications and if used (user manager, disk manager, shared folders, data access) the server will get broken...
  
  There are a bunch of add in's that are coming out already more are certainly going to come out...
  
  Fun fact:
  
  Easter Egg's; HP has hidden a unique little feature. When in the server console (Media Server tab) press your shift - control - alt and click on the picture of the media server. A Easter egg will appear allowing you to select different light patterns for the front display.
  
  Great little device!
  
  
  
• Dead on Arrival
  By AX6QEI8HB3360 on 2007-12-25
  I am generally a big fan of HP products (the computer I'm using right now is an HP) but I was sorely disappointed when I went to set up the HP EX470 on Christmas morning to find out it was "dead on arrival". When I contacted HP about it they told me that they were aware of the problem (4 red lights on the hard drives) but they don't have a replacement process in place so the only remedy is to contact the store I bought it at and ask for a replacement, which isn't much comfort since the EX470s are currently on backorder.
  
  
• A terrible product
  By A3TWCBY131EVQ0 on 2008-02-29
  I bought this from amazon in November. This was a big mistake. I get error messages from the server at least every other day. After two months, there was a major software failure that required at least four hours of help by technical support to partially fix. A week later, I'm still not back up to functioning. The remote access never worked, despite help from tech support. I'm fairly tech savvy, but this server technology/software is clearly over the head of average users.
  
  I'm very sorry I bought this and would advise others to avoid it.
  
  

• Quicken Deluxe 2009
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
• Norton Internet Security 2009

• Microsoft Windows Home Server Unleashed
• Windows Home Server For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
• Seagate ST31000340AS 1TB Barracuda Sata 7200 Rpm 32MB Cache 8.5MS Hard Drive
• Seagate 500GB 16MB 7200 RPM Bulk/OEM Hard Drive ST3500630AS
• D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch