If you work in an office, you probably don't lose much sleep
worrying about whether your files are safe if your PC melts down.
Company IT departments handle those things for business networks.
But how about all those precious photos, address lists, the family
genealogy, and everything else that lives on your home network?
Windows Home Server can save the day if one of your personal PCs
hiccups, and Windows Home Server For Dummies serves up all
the stuff you need to know to put it to work.

Forget everything you've heard about previous versions of
Windows Server; this all-new variation has been designed for people
who don't wear white lab coats or pocket protectors. Woody
Leonhard has tested it and it passed with flying colors. If you
have a home or small business network, this book shows you how
Windows Home Server helps you

* Share files among all the PCs in your home

* Access your files from anywhere

* Make regular backups automatically

* Store files securely

* Play music, TV shows, or movies on your Xbox

* Share multimedia across your network

* Keep your virus protection and system upgrades up to date

* Get regular reports on the overall health of your network

Windows Home Server For Dummies provides sage advice on
choosing a version of Windows Home Server, installing it, setting
up users and passwords, using remote access, scheduling automatic
scans and backups, and having fun with multimedia. Trust
Woody-- you'll sleep better.

Forget everything you've heard about previous versions of Windows Server; this all-new variation has been designed for people who don't wear white lab coats or pocket protectors. Woody Leonhard has tested it and it passed with flying colors. If you have a home or small business network, this book shows you how Windows Home Server helps you

• Share files among all the PCs in your home
• Access your files from anywhere
• Make regular backups automatically
• Store files securely
• Play music, TV shows, or movies on your Xbox
• Share multimedia across your network
• Keep your virus protection and system upgrades up to date
• Get regular reports on the overall health of your network

Windows Home Server For Dummies provides sage advice on choosing a version of Windows Home Server, installing it, setting up users and passwords, using remote access, scheduling automatic scans and backups, and having fun with multimedia. Trust Woody you'll sleep better.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

How This Book Is Organized 2

Part I: Getting Windows Home Server to Serve 3

Part II: Setting Up the Network 3

Part III: Making the Most of Multimedia 3

Part IV: Sharing in the Wild 3

Part V: Backing Up 3

Part VI: Staying Alive and Well 4

Part VII: The Part of Tens 4

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 5

Part I: Getting Windows Home Server to Serve 7

Chapter 1: Bringing Windows Home Server to Life 9

What Can You Do with Windows Home Server? 10

Backing up and restoring 10

Sharing folders 11

Managing disks 12

Accessing your network from far afield 14

Keeping the home fires burning 15

Streaming media 16

How Do You Control Windows Home Server? 16

Welcome to the Console 16

What happens behind the scenes 18

Knowing Windows Home Server's Limitations 19

What Windows Home Server won't do 20

Tapping into previous versions of a file 21

What Hardware Do You Need? 22

Choosing a Great Windows Home Server 24

Positioning the Server in Your Home or Office 26

Chapter 2: Installing the WHS Software 27

Do You Need to Install Windows Home Server? 28

Preparing to Install 29

Installing Windows Home Server 31

Part II: Setting Up the Network 37

Chapter 3: Bringing Computers into the Home Server Fold 39

Kick-Starting the Network 39

Installing Windows Home Server Connector on a Windows XP Machine 42

Installing Windows Home Server Connector on a Windows Vista Machine 46

Configuring Windows Home Server 49

Chapter 4: Adding Users and Controlling Passwords 55

Understanding User Control 56

Raising the Bar for Passwords 57

Adding New Users the Smart Way 60

Using the Guest Account 65

Synchronizing Passwords 68

Changing Passwords the Old-Fashioned Way 71

On the server 71

In Windows XP 72

In Windows Vista 73

Chapter 5: Using Built-In Shared Folders 75

Organizing Files with Shared Folders 76

Finding the Shared Folders 77

Opening shared files on the server 78

Pinpointing each user's shared folder 79

Controlling Access to Shared Folders 80

Experiencing folder permissions firsthand 80

Changing shared folder permissions 82

Controlling Shared Folders from the Console 84

Creating new shared folders 86

Usin' your noggin with sharin' 89

Duplicating Shared Folders 90

Part III: Making the Most of Multimedia 95

Chapter 6: Sharing Music and Videos 97

Sharing from A to Z to PC to PC 98

Playing From (and With) the Server 102

Ripping to the Server 107

Sharing C.R.A.P Music on the Network 110

Chapter 7: Recording and Playing TV 113

Understanding Windows Home Server and Recorded TV 114

Storing Shows on Your Server 115

Creating a shared home for recorded TV 115

Moving recorded TV to the server 118

Recording TV directly to the server 124

Viewing TV Shows Stored on the Server 125

Why WHS Doesn't Back Up Recorded TV 126

Chapter 8: Streaming with the Xbox 129

Using an Xbox in Server Land 130

Getting Your Xbox to Play with the Server 131

Using a Media Center PC to Stream to an Xbox 137

Connecting an Xbox to a Media Center computer 137

Playing media files with a connected Xbox 139

Chapter 9: Nailing Down Your Photos 141

Using the Windows Tools 142

Modifying XP for Shared Photos 144&l...